The one dress that makes me feel elegant the moment I put it on.

On the one-shoulder drape that skims instead of clings, the soft knotted waist that gives me a shape, and the way it looks like it cost a fortune. The dress I reach for whenever I want to feel special.

I am 63 years old, and an invitation had started to fill me with a small dread. Not the evening — the getting dressed for it. The elegant dresses were cut too young or too tight; the ones made for my age were matronly and stiff. So I would stand at the closet, hold up one thing after another, and end up in the same tired outfit I always wear.

It wore on me more than I let on. I had started to feel a little invisible, even on the nights I most wanted to be seen.

Then a woman in my church group here in Mount Pleasant came to a dinner looking quietly like the best-dressed woman in the room. I finally asked her. She laughed and told me to read the Clarke family's letter first.

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 Camilla, 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.

1A one-shoulder drape that turns heads

We gave the Camilla a soft one-shoulder neckline and a fluid, draped cut — the kind of quietly dramatic line you would expect on a dress that cost a great deal more. It makes an entrance for you, without a bit of fuss.

2A cut that skims, never clings

It falls in a fluid drape that skims the body instead of gripping it — no clinging, no straining, just satin that moves and flatters as you do, from the first hello to the last goodbye.

3A knotted waist that gives you a shape

A soft gathered knot at one side draws it in at the waist, so it gives you a defined shape without squeezing anywhere. Elegant where you want definition, easy everywhere else.

4One graceful draped sleeve

One shoulder is left bare and elegant; the other carries a soft, draped sleeve — a graceful balance that feels refined and looks considered from every angle. Special, without being fussy.

5A hem that moves with you

The hem falls in a graceful high-low line that sways when you walk — long enough to feel elegant, with just enough movement to feel alive. It catches the light, and the eye, in the loveliest way.

6It fits the body you have

We make the Camilla from a size S to 3XL, in a fluid cut that drapes and flatters a whole range of shapes. It is meant to fit the woman — not make the woman fit the dress.

The Camilla, against the occasion dresses you've been settling for

	The usual occasion dress	The Camilla
The look	Matronly, or too young	An elegant one-shoulder drape
Shape	Clings, or hangs stiff	A fluid drape that skims
The waist	Squeezes, or shapeless	A soft knot that shapes
The feel	Cheap, or fussy	Looks like it cost a fortune
The hem	Flat, or stiff	A graceful high-low that moves

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Camilla 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 one is going out at under sixty-five dollars.

I ordered mine that evening. It arrived a few days later in a kraft-paper parcel with a short handwritten note from the family. It is the dress I reach for now whenever I want to feel like the best-dressed woman in the room.

I do not usually write things like this. But I had spent too many good evenings feeling plain and a little invisible — and this one elegant dress quietly handed me back the pleasure of getting dressed up. If that sounds like you, I hope you find your size before it clears.

— Sandra Thompson · Mount Pleasant, SC

See the Camilla — $64.95 →

This is a personal account from a Clarke Family customer. Sandra was not paid to write it. · The Clarke Family · Family Fashion · South Carolina, since 1986 · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee.