Numoco Chiara Maxi Dress with Slit and Straps, Satin, Glitter or Plain

One maxi dress with slit, three very different fabrics

Chiara is Numoco's maxi dress with slit: thin straps, a wrap neckline, a fitted waist and a skirt that runs to the floor at 125 cm. The cut stays the same. What changes is the fabric, and that changes the whole mood.

You can pick shiny satin, a brocade with a fine glitter, or a plain matte version. All of them are 95% polyester with 5% spandex, and the supplier says they are made in Poland.

At a glance

The piece: which colour button is which fabric

This page carries fourteen versions, and our colour buttons do not say which fabric you get. Here is the key, taken from the maker's own descriptions.

• Satin, described as shiny, smooth and slightly stretchy: yellow (a gold), green, red 2 (red), red 3 (burgundy) and navy blue 3.
• Glitter brocade with stretch: navy blue 2, pink (a fuchsia), blue 2 (cornflower), Taupe (the maker says beige) and black.
• Plain: beige, navy blue, pink 2 (dirty pink) and green 2, which the maker calls a smooth green fabric.

Not every size is in stock in every colour; the size buttons show what is left.

Who it's for

For you if the invitation says long and you want to move in it. The slit lets you walk at a normal pace and sit down without gathering half a skirt in your hands.

It also suits a group. Bridesmaids or a prom table can wear the same cut and each choose a colour, as long as you agree on one fabric first. Satin next to matte in the same photo looks like a mistake; five satins in a row look planned.

Closer look: what the maker states and what the photos show

• Maxi length with a slit on the skirt (maker's data; on the left leg, from the upper thigh, in the photos)
• Thin shoulder straps on every version (photos)
• Wrap-style V neckline, with pleats gathered to one side of the waist (photos)
• Fitted waist and a skirt that widens to the floor (photos)
• Covered zip at the back (maker's data for the plain green version; a centre-back zip is visible in photos of other colours)
• Small gold-tone metal tag at the waist on several colours (photos)

One correction to the supplier's text: it calls the glitter versions "strapless". Every photo, glitter included, shows the same thin straps. We go with the photos. The supplier does not say whether the dress is lined.

Fabric and feel: satin, glitter brocade or plain

Every version has the same composition, 95% polyester and 5% spandex. The difference is in the weave and the finish.

The satin is the loud one. The maker calls it shiny, smooth and slightly stretchy, and in the photos it throws back light along every fold of the skirt. The brocade is described as a stretch fabric with glitter; on camera it gives a fine, even sparkle, the kind you notice when someone moves. The plain versions are matte and look the calmest, which also makes them the easiest to wear to a daytime ceremony.

The spandex gives the bodice some stretch in all three. The supplier lists the weight at 650 grams.

Fit and silhouette: fitted to the waist, wide to the floor

The bodice sits close and the skirt flares from the waist, so the waist and chest numbers decide your size. In satin, size M has a chest of 86 cm and a waist of 70 cm; XL has 98 and 78 cm. The glitter brocade runs a little narrower in the chest at the top end (94 cm in XL) and adds an XXL with a chest of 100 cm and a waist of 82 cm.

Length is 125 cm in S and M, and 126 cm in L and XL for satin and plain. That is long. Whether it touches the floor on you depends on your height and your heels, and the straps do not look adjustable in the photos, so measure from your shoulder down before you order.

Size chart (cm)

Source: the maker's size tables. Satin also covers the plain green version. The maker gives no hip measure for glitter brocade, and the plain table lists a much wider hip figure than satin for the same cut, so we think it was measured lower on the skirt. It is not stated whether these are garment or body measurements.

Styling: match your extras to the fabric

In the photos the model wears heeled sandals, a small clutch and a watch. Simple, and it works for all three fabrics.

With satin, keep jewellery small, because the dress already shines. A pair of drop earrings and bare shoulders is enough. Glitter brocade can take plain metallic shoes and little else. The plain versions are the ones to dress up: a wide cuff bracelet, a bold earring, a wrap over the shoulders in a second colour.

The slit shows your shoes with every step. Choose a pair you are happy to have on display, and one you can dance in.

Occasions

The maker names weddings, New Year's Eve, proms and carnival balls. We would add a gala dinner, a graduation ball and a cruise evening with a dress code.

As a wedding guest, the plain dirty pink or navy blue is a safe choice for the ceremony. Satin in burgundy or green fits a December party. Keep beige for events where nobody else is wearing white.

Care: follow the label

The maker's data has no washing instructions, so follow the label sewn into the dress. That matters here, because the three fabrics may not ask for the same treatment.

Some general habits: hang the dress as soon as it arrives so the folds from the parcel drop out, and steam it from the inside instead of pressing satin or glitter flat. Close the zip before washing.

The wow detail: pleats that all point to one spot

Look at the waist on the left side. The pleats of the wrap neckline run down to it, and the slit starts just below. Everything in the dress meets at that one point, marked on several colours by a small gold-tone tag. In satin the pleats catch the light like the folds of a curtain. In the matte fabric they read as fine lines. It is the same seam in each, and it is why the dress looks so different from one fabric to the next.

Fashion that gives back

5% of each sale goes to a cause you choose. You pick it at checkout from causes linked to 11 of the 17 SDGs, the global goals of the United Nations.

Our promise

Ships from the maker's wholesale partner in Poland, inside the EU, with tracking. The wholesaler lists up to 3 days to prepare an order; within the EU delivery usually takes 2–7 business days after dispatch. Delivery is free within the EU on orders from €69; below that it costs €4.95 in the Netherlands and €6.95 elsewhere in the EU.

You have 14 days after delivery to ask for a return, as long as the dress is unworn and still has its tags. Our promise is plain: if what arrives does not match what this page says, send it back within 14 days and we refund you.

More long dresses for a party or gala are in our evening dresses collection.