Women's black lace dressing gown with a tie belt

Start with what the garment is for: a dressing gown is for the hours either side of sleep: the kettle at seven, the sofa at ten. Lace here is a trim, not the body of the garment: it is worked at the collar, the cuffs and the hem, where it catches the light without adding weight. That is the difference between a lace robe and one that only looks the part.

In use it shows up as one thing: detail where it is actually seen — collar, cuffs and hem are the three places a robe is looked at. There is more of this in our dressing gown belt range.

Women ask about the cut through the shoulder and where the belt sits at the waist before anything else, and they are right to — it is where most robes fall down. There is more of this in our lace dressing gown range.

• Scalloped, not printed on — a worked edge, which is what separates this from a pattern stamped on a flat fabric
• It lifts a plain fabric — the reason a simple satin robe reads as considered rather than basic
• A self-tie belt — it adjusts to you instead of the other way round, and it keeps the front closed when you sit down
• Belt loops that hold the belt — a small thing, and the first thing missing on a cheap robe

Lace does not like a machine cycle — it pulls out of shape and it does not go back. Hand wash is not optional on this one. Hand wash cold and hang to dry. Treated that way, a lace dressing gown lasts five winters rather than one — the difference between a robe you keep on the back of the door and one you replace every autumn. That is also what our sexy dressing gown range is for.