A letter from a reader ELENA
In real heat, all I want is a dress that does not touch me.
On the plain column of cloth that hangs from the shoulder and nowhere else — no waist, no belt, and nothing to adjust all day.
I am 63 and I live in South Carolina, which means that for about four months of the year getting dressed is not a question of what looks nice. It is a question of what I can bear.
And I worked out something obvious rather late. Every single place a piece of clothing touches you is a place you are warmer. A waistband. A sleeve gripping the arm. A skirt sitting against your legs. None of it registers in May. By the middle of August you can feel every one of them.
It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who told me to stop buying summer dresses that were merely thin and look at one from a small family boutique here in South Carolina. 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 Elena, 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 hangs from the shoulder and touches nothing else
The whole weight of it is carried on your shoulders, and from there it falls straight to the floor with nothing at the waist, nothing at the hip and no shaping anywhere. In heat that is not a style decision, it is a physical one — air moves between you and the cloth instead of the cloth sitting against you. Every seam we left out is a place you are cooler.
2Plain and matte, so it is a daytime dress
Every other easy floor-length dress is either satin, which means evening, or covered in a print, which means vacation. This one is a plain, flat, matte cloth in a plain color. That is the reason you can wear it to the grocery store at ten in the morning and out to dinner the same night without it looking wrong in either place.
3The collar is what keeps it a dress
A plain column of cloth with a round neck is a nightgown. It is that small a margin. So we put a soft collar at the top with a deep V opening beneath it — one piece of structure in an otherwise entirely unstructured dress, and it does all the work. It also breaks the neckline open, which stops a long column of one color reading as a block.
4Slits at the sides, so you can walk in it
A floor-length dress cut as a straight column has one flaw, and it is that you cannot take a full stride in it. So there are slits at both sides near the hem. Your legs move properly, stairs stop being a small event, and the air gets in from below as well — which on the worst day of the year you will notice.
5Sleeves to the elbow, on a dropped shoulder
The sleeve reaches the elbow, so the upper arm is covered, and it is cut wide enough that it hangs rather than grips. The shoulder seam sits low on the arm rather than on the point of your shoulder, which means nothing pulls when you reach for something on a high shelf. Covered, and still nothing in contact with you.
6Five colors, and a size for you — S to 3XL
The Elena comes in five colors and the one you see me wearing is the black, which is what I reach for most. There is a red, a white, a warm tan and a blue besides, and because the dress is so plain the color is the only decision you are making. Sizes run S, M, L, XL, 2XL and 3XL. It is cut very loose, so if you are between sizes take the smaller one.
The Elena, against the summer dresses you own
| The usual summer dress | The Elena | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it touches you | Waist, hip, arms — everywhere | The shoulders, and nowhere else |
| The fabric | Shiny, or covered in a print | Plain and matte, so it works all day |
| The neckline | A round neck — closer to nightwear | A soft collar with a deep V under it |
| Walking in it | A closed hem that shortens your stride | Slits at both sides |
| The arms | Bare, or a sleeve gripping the arm | Covered to the elbow, hanging loose |
- Touches you at the waist, hip and arms
- Shiny, or covered in a print
- A round neck, closer to nightwear
- A closed hem that shortens your stride
- Bare arms, or a sleeve that grips
- Touches you at the shoulders only
- Plain and matte, so it works all day
- A soft collar with a deep V under it
- Slits at both sides, so you can walk
- Covered to the elbow, hanging loose
Why they're clearing it now
They priced the Elena at $169.95 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 a third of that.
Mine arrived a few days later in a box on the bed. I put it straight on and went out in it, which I have never once done with a new dress.
The Elena Dress
- Hangs from the shoulder — no waist, no belt, no shaping anywhere
- Plain matte cloth, so it works from morning through the evening
- A soft collar with a deep V — the one piece of structure
- Slits at both sides so you can take a full stride
- Sleeves to the elbow · 5 colors · sizes S–3XL · Free UPS shipping
The Elena Dress · $54.95 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 had spent years buying summer dresses that were thin, when thin was never the problem — what mattered was how much of it was resting against me. If August is the month you dread getting dressed in, I hope you find your size before it clears.
— Margaret Ellison · Mount Pleasant, SC
See the Elena — $54.95 →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.