Women's short stretch kimono robe

Start with what the garment is for: a kimono robe wraps rather than buttons, and the sleeve is cut wide — it is a layer, not a coat. Chiffon is woven from very fine twisted yarns, which is what makes it translucent and weightless. It is a layer rather than a cover-up, and it is meant to be seen through. That is the difference between a sheer chiffon robe and one that only looks the part.

In use it shows up as one thing: it moves with the air — the drape is the whole point: it floats rather than hangs, and that is what it is bought for. The same need shows up in our ladies kimono 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. The same need shows up in our womens short dressing gown.

• It weighs almost nothing — you forget you have it on, which is not true of any other fabric here
• It layers over anything — over a slip, over swimwear, over nightwear — it changes the outfit without adding heat
• Cut above the knee — nothing trails on a wet bathroom floor, nothing catches on the stairs, and it goes on and comes off in seconds — which is most of what a robe is asked to do.
• Belt loops that hold the belt — a small thing, and the first thing missing on a cheap robe

Chiffon is sheer, and it gives no warmth at all. This is a layer for a warm room or a beach, not a robe for a cold morning. Hand wash cold and hang to dry, away from direct sun. Treated that way, a sheer chiffon kimono robe 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. For more on this, browse our kimono robe dressing gown.