The breezy white linen dress I feel effortless and cool in all summer.

On the soft linen dress whose lace waist quietly flatters, that skims instead of clinging, covers the arms, and stays cool on the hottest day — easy, timeless, and pretty without a bit of fuss. Why a small South Carolina family made it this way, and why they're clearing it now.

By Sandra Thompson · Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

Posted September 2026 · 6 min read

I am 63 years old, and every summer I go hunting for the same thing and rarely find it: one easy white dress I can throw on and feel cool, pretty and pulled-together in. The white dresses I found were either thin enough to see through, stiff and shapeless, or so plain they looked like a nightgown. And most clung the moment the day grew warm, in exactly the places I would rather they didn't.

What I wanted was simple. A soft, breathable dress in a timeless white that skimmed over my middle instead of clinging, covered the tops of my arms, and had just enough of a pretty detail to look considered rather than plain. Cool, easy, and quietly lovely.

Then a woman in my church group here in Mount Pleasant wore the loveliest white linen dress to a summer lunch, cool and elegant while the rest of us wilted, a little lace at the waist catching the light. I finally asked her about it. 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 Jolanda, 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 lace waist that quietly flatters

We set a pretty crochet-lace band at the empire waist, just under the bust, so it draws the eye to the narrowest part and lets the skirt fall softly away from there. A little lace that flatters, and lifts a simple linen dress into something quietly special.

2A flowy cut that skims

We cut the skirt full and flowy from that high waist, so it drifts away from the body and skims right over the middle and hips instead of clinging. Forgiving exactly where you want it, and cool and easy to move in all day.

3A sleeve that covers the arm

We gave it a three-quarter sleeve that covers the arm past the elbow, and a soft round neck with a little button placket. The tops of the arms stay covered — the part so many of us like covered — and because it is airy linen, you stay cool while you are covered.

4Cool, breathable linen

We made the Jolanda from a light, breathable linen that lets the air move and keeps you cool when the day heats up — no clinging, no wilting — and it only softens with every wash. It comes in a timeless antique white and a warm rust, to wear all summer long.

5Easy, timeless, and pulls right on

We kept it simple and timeless — a soft neck that buttons, a flowy skirt, no fuss — so it slips on in a second and works for a lunch, a stroll, or an evening on the porch. A dress that never dates, and always feels like you.

6It fits the body you have

We make the Jolanda from an XS all the way to XXL and cut it soft and forgiving from the high waist. It is meant to fit the woman — not make the woman fit the dress.

The Jolanda, against the white dresses you've been buying

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Jolanda at $149.95 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 less than half of that.

I ordered mine that evening. It arrived a few days later in a kraft-paper parcel with a short handwritten note from the family. I have reached for it more than anything else in my closet since.

I do not usually write things like this. But every summer I hunted for one easy white dress that was cool, covered and pretty all at once, and never quite found it — and this soft linen one, with its lovely lace waist, is exactly that. If that sounds like you, I hope you find your size before it clears.

— Sandra Thompson · Mount Pleasant, SC

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.