What could I wear over a Fortuny style dress for a wedding?

[Itsnouse]

I have a Fortuny style dress made by Patricia Lester. It’s sleeveless so I really want something to wear over it.
it’s identical to one one worn by Helena Bonham Carter in Wings of the Dove. It’s made of finely pleated silk. I’d like to wear it to a wedding event and as is the modern trend this seems to involve wearing black tie during the day. It will be too chilly on its own. I think perhaps I’m after some sort of vintage opera coat, but I’m hoping for some ideas.

I'm going 'off-brief' now but, much as I love vintage, I think that dress could also look amazing with something unapologetically modern. I'm not sure what but I'll know it when I see it. Just a thought.

I hope you can think of something because I’m stumped 🤔

I think I would go for a men’s green or blue velvet tux.

I agree with @Floisme that something modern might well be the best way to go. And also with you that (without going full 1910s-30s costume) it's a really tricky one!!

I did a hunt last night of some vintage & modern possibilities - I'll sift through them later & post what I think are the best options, depending on what route you want to take.

I thought the dress was an unusual shade - hovering between burgundy & rust. And that makes it even trickier as "true" burgundy or rust clothes are too blueish/cool or too brownish!!

Plus I'd thought navy - perhaps even metallic navy - might work for accessories instead of black. It's great with burgundy but, as this verges on rust, I don't think it works here.

Gold does though, & you've said you've accessorised with it before. And I think that olive green would also work?

I'd actually looked at some olive-green velvet jackets!

Also, @Itsnouse , you said there's a "no black" specification for guests.

Do you know if it definitely extends to outerwear too? I'm curious - is it for men as well?

I ask as I've spotted some lovely black options, & black works very well with the dress. Some of them are patterned/multicoloured including black. I may post them anyway in case the request is not a draconian one!!

This would be great if the collar & turn-back cuffs were in the same fabric (I love that kind of oriental-pattern silky jacquard). Not so keen on the brown fake fur - but the shape & material are lovely.

@Itsnouse - I'm posting four photos of your dress fabric side-by-side, as they look quite different in these images. The first is another Charles & Patricia dress in what you've said is the same fabric as yours. The second is - I think - exactly the same as your actual dress, on IstDibs?? And the third & fourth are your photos.

In the first image, the fabric looks as if it's been dyed to have a very very subtle blend of tones - burgundy, rust, brown & maybe even dark olive green or some black?

In the second, the fabric looks much brighter, & reads as warm rust/burgundy - but a blend of tones isn't really discernable.

And in your own photos, it's somewhere in between but hard to tell if it's one colour or a blend?

If there are gradations of colours in the dress, it probably makes it easier to pick them out & tone with one or more of them. So is the fabric more like the first photo?

Il going to have a proper comparison tomorrow in daylight and take a better picture. At first glance I thought the 1st Dibbs dress was mine but the label is different and it does look more rust than mine is. Mine is definitely all one colour silk, the variation in tone being caused by the way the light reflects on the different density of the pleats.

I will also photograph it with olive green.

Many thanks for your time and effort.

I do like a kimono-style jacket. But I think these velvet, patterned/self-patterned ones are very 70s-does-30s. And, although the OP's dress is a fairly modern (to me, vintage to others!) 80s copy of a dress that originated in 1910 or so, the overall vibe of it would probably be read by most people as vaguely 1920s/30s?

So these could, IMO, look a bit too much - together with the dress - like that droopy soft silhouette of that era, & therefore maybe a bit too period drama-esque? That's not to say they wouldn't work aesthetically - some of them would - it's more that I personally would want to avoid what might appear as an entire 1920s/30s look.

However, you have made me think that a beautiful wool or cashmere kimono/belted/wrap-style cardigan in a similar warm rusty/burgundy colour might work ...?? In a very luxuriant lounge-wear type way!

Thanks - that's good to know. Even though it's all one colour, & has no brownish/greenish tones within it, I do still think that olive green & gold would work well with the dress.

I've got a teal brocade fitted jacket that would look perfect with that dress.

I loved those dresses but they were too expense for twenty something me, I had a friend who trained with them, their methods were kept secret ..
To work with the Fortuny feel of the dress, but still look relatively contemporary, you need a simple kimono shaped coat or jacket. This could be in a contrasting silk, or velvet, or wool. The pleats are the star so the coat needs to be loose and open, and not overly decorative. Or you could wear a large fine wool wrap in a jewel colour. Flat velvet Venetian slippers maybe, as another nod to Venice.

I would though say that, if the OP wanted to go down the route of a velvet kimono jacket, the floral one from Plümo/One Hundred Stars is the nicest - & also adds colours to work with when accessorising.

I liked some of the One Hundred Stars jackets & dresses when they first appeared on Plümo & Monsoon's other brands section. But they seem to be stocked by so many shops now, & I've seen the viscose jackets on quite a few people (being worn in a not very stylish way!), so I've gone off them rather ...!!!

I do still really like that primula print though, & that colourway.

Nothing knitted, even cashmere. It will fight the pleats.

How interesting! The closest I got to the Delphos dress was a black silk plissé ankle-length skirt from Fenn Wright & Manson. I absolutely loved it - but have no idea where it ended up ... like quite a lot of my 80s/90s clothes!

Well I’ve just woken up thinking cropped, silky bomber jacket. Maybe with a bit of embroidery. Just putting it out there…

I was bemused by the ‘no black’ on the invite and I was told that men can wear black dinner suits but ladies shouldn’t wear black dresses. I’m guessing perhaps the bridesmaids are in black, but I could be mistaken. Perhaps they just want it to look a bit more cheerful.

This is all new territory for me as it’s the first wedding I’ve been to where there is a stated ( as opposed to unwritten) dress code.

Here’s the dress in daylight. And with olive and teal for colour comparison. Teal suggested by @Redrosesposies and they are Venetian slippers!

In the 80s I bought a large rust coloured silk velvet shawl from Georgina van Etzdorf which I still have, but I think the company has gone. You might find one on a vintage site. They are astonishingly warm to wear.

Have you looked at 100 stars? They do some lovely opera style coats.

Would this, or something similar, work, OP?

https://www.wallis.co.uk/product/wallis-petite-cropped-faux-fur-cape_byy16334?colour=berry

I have a gorgeous Hampstead Bazaar silk devore kimono. They do some short jackets too and there are a few on ebay.

That looks lovely - warm and glamorous. Not in my size sadly.

Something short in faux fur?

www.katespade.co.uk/products/faux-fur-jacket/KN462-201.html?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23828375200&gbraid=0AAAAADQ1PS9ncENueGa5YQPVOCM3ZQ4ip&gclid=CjwKCAjwzNTUBhAjEiwA7zcvWvODvw9EI6RkKPjt_3ujYF1e0Y6hURyL6Un5gWzJFyO3P5uClG1-0RoCsVQQAvD_BwE