The breezy floral dress I throw on all summer — and yes, it has pockets.

On the light, flowy boho dress that skims right over the middle, slips on in a second, and has real pockets — pretty, easy, and cool on the warmest day. 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 by the time summer comes around, getting dressed had become a hot, fiddly business. The pretty dresses were cut close and clung the moment the day warmed up. The cool, loose ones looked like a nightgown. And not one of them ever had anywhere to put my phone, so I was forever carrying a bag from room to room and out to the garden.

What I wanted was one easy summer dress that solved all of it: light and cool, pretty without fuss, loose enough to skim over my middle rather than cling — and, if I was dreaming, with a pocket or two.

Then a woman in my church group here in Mount Pleasant wore the most wonderful floral dress to a summer lunch, cool and happy and entirely at ease, with her hands tucked in its pockets. 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 Mana, 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 pretty floral, with an easy boho charm

We built the Mana around a soft floral block print with pretty contrast trim, for that easy, gathered-on-a-summer-morning boho charm. It looks relaxed and lovely, the kind of dress that has people asking where you found it — and it comes in a soft blue, a fresh mint and a warm pink.

2A loose, flowy cut that skims

We cut it loose and flowy, gathered from the yoke 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 wonderfully cool and easy to move in all day.

3A soft, flattering V neckline

We finished it with a soft split V and a little tassel tie, so you can wear it open and easy or drawn up a touch — either way it lengthens the neckline and frames the face. Pretty, and flattering, and entirely up to you.

4Real pockets, on a dress this pretty

We tucked deep side pockets into the seams, the kind your hands settle into and that hold your phone or your glasses. A pretty summer dress you can actually walk out the door in without a bag — a small everyday joy.

5Light, cool, and ready in a second

We made it lightweight and airy, with a pretty ruffle sleeve that covers the top of the arm, so it slips on in a second and keeps you cool from a morning errand to an evening on the porch. No fuss, no fastenings — just pull it on and go.

6It fits the body you have

We make the Mana from a size S all the way to 3XL and cut it loose and forgiving. It is meant to fit the woman — not make the woman fit the dress.

The Mana, against the summer dresses you've been buying

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Mana 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 summer dressing had become hot and fiddly and never quite right — and this one light, pretty dress, with its lovely little pockets, made it easy and joyful again. 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.