A tie waist does something that a regular dress cannot. It gives you shape exactly where you want it, cinches at the precise point that makes everything else fall better, and lets you adjust the whole silhouette to suit your body rather than the other way around. In black, that becomes even more effective. The colour already does significant work in terms of looking polished and put together, and the tie waist adds a softness that stops it reading as severe or overly formal.

We’ve been genuinely obsessed with this combination. A black tie waist dress works for dinners where you want to look like you tried properly, for events where the dress code gives you almost no information, for occasions where a little structure signals that you understand the room. The tie detail also means you’re not locked into one silhouette for the entire evening. Loose or cinched, the dress adapts.

These are the versions we’ve pulled together because they do the job without looking like they’re trying too hard. In black, with a tie waist, you are already ahead.