A slim column dress worked all over in a fine vertical crinkle. The texture is the whole argument here: light catches unevenly across the surface, so a plain dress still holds interest from across a room, and the same crinkle quietly absorbs the small creases a smooth cloth would be showing by lunchtime. It runs uninterrupted from the shoulder to the hem, with no waist seam and no gathering anywhere to break the line up.

The neckline sits high and round with a clean sleeveless armhole, which keeps the shoulder line simple and leaves the collarbone open for whatever you wear around your neck. Through the waist and hip it follows the body closely and then falls straight to an ankle-length hem with no flare added. There is no belt and no fastening you can see, which is why it takes a flat sandal in the day as readily as a heel after dark. In black or white.

• Texture: fine vertical crinkle across the whole surface
• Neckline: high round neck
• Sleeves: sleeveless with a clean armhole
• Fit: slim through the body then falling straight
• Length: ankle-length maxi