Aubergine Asymmetric Ruched Peplum and Cream Trouser

A judge asked me for something that would let her step out of her robes after a long day on the bench and walk into dinner without changing. The robes do most of her dressing for her in the daytime. After hours, the wardrobe has to do its own work without being theatrical about it.

So we built her this. The aubergine reads as serious in any light, including the fluorescent of a courthouse corridor and the candle of a private dining room. The asymmetric ruching at the side hides the small softness most women carry through a working day and gives the silhouette its only flourish. Long sleeve, mock neck, cream wide leg trouser, all of it set in a fluid crepe that moves with her without crumpling.

The peplum hem closes the silhouette like a verdict. She wears this when she wants the dinner she walks into to feel like the second half of a conversation she has already won. She reordered it in oxblood last December.