Women's ivory floral lace trim dressing gown

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. In the same vein, have a look at our off white dressing gown.

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 ladies floral 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 contrast trim — worked at the collar and the cuffs, where the eye actually lands
• Floral print — the print people reach for in spring, and the one that makes a plain fabric look considered

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. The same need shows up in our floral dressing gown.