For a business formal office, polished silhouettes like blazer dresses, fitted midis, or sleek wrap dresses pair beautifully with heels, a structured blazer, and elegant accessories for a sophisticated look
In Fashion in Costume, 1200-2000 (2000) Joan Nunn discusses the changes in fabric and color during this time: Throughout the period light colours were fairly general for evening wear and were considered more suitable for young ladies, as were cottons like muslin or tarlatan, but by the 1860s cotton had lost ground as a high-fashion fabric, and silk, satin, taffeta, faille, moir, silk poplin from Ireland, and velvet for more mature ladies, were used for formal dresses. (166-67) Red was a relatively common color at this time among the elite due to its richness, especially when created through the new aniline (synthetic) dyes that evoked novelty and opulence
READY TO SHIP
It took me less than 2 hours to make (I love a quick and easy sew)