Dusty Blue Strapless Mini Dress, Carlie

Short, strapless and coloured a muted dusty blue, the Carlie Mini Dress leaves the shoulders bare and stops well above the knee. The shade is the softened version of blue, closer to a faded sky than a bright one.

With no straps to interrupt it, the neckline runs straight across and the shoulders and collarbone carry the dress. That open top half is balanced by the mini length, so the proportions stay short and clean from top to bottom. The dusty tone is deliberate: a bright blue at this cut would shout, while this one sits back and lets the skin and the shape do the work.

A strapless mini dress of this kind is built for evenings that start warm. Think a birthday dinner, a rooftop drink, a summer date. Heels lengthen the line that the short hem starts, and a fine chain or a single cuff is all the jewellery it needs. If the air turns, a light jacket dropped over the shoulders does not spoil the neckline.