The Maxi That Made Me Look Tall and Elegant Again

A long linen dress that falls in one elegant column from shoulder to floor — a deep V that flatters, long sleeves that cover, and cool linen across the seasons.

I'd quietly resigned myself to looking dumpy. Somewhere in my sixties the mirror stopped being a friend — everything I put on seemed to shorten me, widen me, and add years I hadn't earned yet. I'd stopped standing up straight in photographs.

What I really wanted was one dress that made me look tall and elegant again — long, lean and put-together — that covered my arms, flattered the middle, and didn't cost the earth. But the elegant things were sleeveless and clung, and the comfortable things were shapeless. Nothing was all of it.

It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who told me to stop hiding and try one from a small family boutique here in South Carolina — a long linen dress she thought would give me my height back. Before I tell you what it did, I think you should 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 Doris, 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.

1The elegant linen maxi that lengthens and flatters

We cut the Doris to fall in one long, elegant column from the shoulder to the floor — a semi-fitted line with a soft front slit — so it lengthens and slims rather than shortening and widening. You put it on and stand a little taller; you look long and elegant in the mirror, the way you remember feeling. Flattering, refined, and entirely grown-up.

2A deep V-neck that draws the eye up

It has a soft, deep V-neckline that draws the eye upward and elongates the neck — flattering and elegant without being the least bit revealing. It's amazing what the right neckline does: it opens up the whole look and lifts it, and you'll stop reaching for a scarf to fill in the closed, ageing necklines of everything else.

3Long sleeves that cover your arms

It has long linen sleeves that cover the arms all the way to the wrist — light and cool, never hot or heavy — so you're covered and elegant, with no cardigan thrown over the top to spoil the line. Coverage that still looks like an occasion, for the part of us so many would rather not bare.

4Cool, breathable linen across the seasons

It's made of a cool, breathable natural linen that lets the air move through it — light enough for a warm afternoon, yet with long sleeves for the cooler edges of the day, so it carries you right across the seasons. One long dress you'll actually reach for, not one that comes out for a fortnight a year and goes back in the wardrobe.

5Dressed up or down, for any occasion

Dressed up with a necklace and heels it's elegant enough for a dinner or a gallery; with sandals and a straw bag it's easy enough for lunch or the market. One long linen dress that rises to the occasion or relaxes right down, whatever the day holds — so you're never caught out with nothing to wear.

6Six colours, and a size for you, from S to 2XL

It comes in six beautiful shades — soft blue, sunny yellow, red, cream, green and black — and it runs from S to 2XL, a semi-fitted cut made to flatter a real range of bodies. A dress made to fit the woman, not to make the woman fit the dress.

The Doris, against the dresses you've been buying

	Typical dress	The Doris
Your height	Shortens and widens you	Lengthens in one elegant column
The neckline	Closed, high, ageing	A deep V that draws the eye up
Your arms	Bared, or a cardigan on top	Long linen sleeves that cover, cool
The fabric	Hot and heavy, weeks a year	Cool linen, right across the seasons
The occasion	Right for one thing only	Dressed up or down, for anything

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Doris at $220.00 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 for under a third of that.

Mine arrived folded in tissue with a little handwritten note on top. I slipped it on, stood up straight in front of the mirror, and — for the first time in years — liked the long, elegant line looking back at me.

I don't usually write things like this. But the Doris gave me back something I thought was gone — my height, and a bit of elegance. Long and lengthening, covered where I want it, and cool enough to wear all summer and beyond. If you've been feeling shortened and hidden the way I had, this is the one I'd tell you to try, while the sale is still on.

— Margaret Ellison · Mount Pleasant, SC

See the Doris — $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.