A letter from a reader Camilla Assymetrical Dress
The flowing dress that skims your shape and covers your upper arms
Soft sky blue, draped from the shoulder, with wide sleeves and a hem that moves when you walk.
I am 63, and "something nice to wear" had become the hardest sentence in my house. Every invitation meant the same afternoon: a dress that clung at the tummy, another that left my upper arms bare, a third that looked like I had borrowed it from my own mother. I would end up in black trousers and a blouse and tell everyone I preferred them.
I had started to feel a little invisible in my own clothes.
It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who said I did not need a safer dress, I needed one that was cut for the body I actually have. Then she sent me a link one evening with three words: just read it.
The Clarke family runs a small boutique here in South Carolina, family-run since 1986 — three generations, mother to daughter. The dress is called the Camila, and their letter walks through the handful of things they refused to compromise on. I am going to let their words carry it, because they say it better than I could.
1It skims, it never clings
The Camila hangs from the shoulder rather than following the body. The fabric falls loose, is gathered softly at one side of the waist with a single button, and drops away again into the skirt — so it suggests a shape without tracing yours. Sit down, stand up, reach across a table: nothing settles on your tummy.
2A fabric soft enough to forget you have it on
We make the Camila in a soft, fluid crepe that moves like water and never scratches. It has just enough weight to drape properly instead of blowing about, and it stays cool against the skin on a warm afternoon. It is the kind of fabric you notice once, when you first put it on, and then not again all day.
3Wide sleeves that cover your upper arms
The sleeves are cut wide and loose, falling to the elbow on both sides, so the upper arm — the part most of us would rather keep to ourselves in a summer dress — is covered without anything gripping it. The neckline slips gently off one shoulder, which is the one bit of skin it shows, and a shoulder flatters at every age.
4An asymmetrical line that does the work for you
Nothing on the Camila runs straight across you. The neckline sweeps from one shoulder, the gather sits to one side of the waist, and the hem dips longer at the back and sides. Your eye follows those diagonals instead of stopping at your middle — which is the oldest trick in dressmaking and still the best one.
5Comfortable enough for the sofa, lovely enough for dinner
That is what surprised the women who wrote to us most. It is as easy as a nightgown to wear, and it looks like you planned your whole evening around it. Flat sandals and it is an afternoon at home; a small bag and a pair of heels and it goes straight out to dinner.
6It fits the body you have
We make the Camila from a size S all the way to 3XL, and every size is cut on the same generous lines — the larger ones are not simply stretched out. Because it hangs from the shoulder rather than the waist, it forgives a great deal. It comes in blue, yellow and white. Order the size you usually wear.
The Camila, against the dresses you've been buying
| The usual occasion dress | The Camila | |
|---|---|---|
| The fit | Fitted at the waist, so it clings | Hangs from the shoulder and skims |
| The arms | Sleeveless, so you carry a wrap | Wide sleeves over the upper arm |
| The line | A straight hem that stops at your widest point | Diagonals that lead the eye past your middle |
| The feel | Stiff, and you count the hours | Soft fluid crepe you forget you have on |
| The sizes | S to XL, then good luck | S to 3XL, cut the same throughout |
- Fitted at the waist, so it clings
- Sleeveless, so you carry a wrap
- A straight hem that stops at your widest point
- Stiff, and you count the hours
- S to XL, then good luck
- Hangs from the shoulder and skims
- Wide sleeves over the upper arm
- Diagonals that lead the eye past your middle
- Soft fluid crepe you forget you have on
- S to 3XL, cut the same throughout
Why they're clearing it now
They priced the Camila at $159.95 when it launched, and it sold at that price all season. But for America's 250th, the Clarke family wanted to give something back to the women who have kept their doors open since 1986 — so every dress is going out at less than half of what it was.
Mine came in a kraft box on a Tuesday, folded in white tissue. I tried it on in the bedroom and it went to lunch with me that Sunday.
The Camila Elegant Asymmetrical Dress
- Hangs from the shoulder — skims, never clings
- Wide sleeves that cover the upper arms
- A soft gather and an asymmetrical hem
- Fluid crepe that stays cool and drapes well
- Sizes S to 3XL · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
The Camila · $64.95 while sizes last
Buy 2 get 10%, buy 3 get 15%, buy 4 get an extra 20% off. When it's gone, it's gone.
I do not usually write things like this. But I spent years answering every invitation in black trousers and a blouse — and this one dress quietly made "something nice to wear" easy again. If that sounds like you, I hope you find your size before it clears.
— Margaret Ellison · Mount Pleasant, SC
See the Camila — $64.95 →This is a personal account from a Clarke Family customer. Margaret was not paid to write it. · The Clarke Family · Family Fashion · South Carolina, since 1986 · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee.