Long dresses: the cut that suits you, without jargon

This is what changes the look most. A tie belt lets you place the waist where it suits you, instead of accepting a fixed seam decided by the pattern.

It is also what makes a piece wearable across seasons and body shapes — a real advantage for a shop that cannot stock ten sizes.

A finely ribbed fabric or viscose blend falls straight and lengthens. A stiff fabric breaks at the hip and creates horizontal folds that shorten the silhouette.

The fitting-room test: walk three steps and turn. A good drape follows the movement then settles on its own.

• Raise your arms. If the whole dress rides up, the armhole is too tight — no alteration truly fixes that.
• Sit down. That is when a waist that pinches or a skirt that pulls at the knees reveals itself.

Those two moves take ten seconds and prevent most returns.