The Floral Dress That Made Me Feel Pretty Again

A soft floral midi with a pretty tassel tie — comfortable to pull on, cool to wear, and lovely to be seen in. You feel put-together the moment it's on.

For years I'd quietly stopped feeling pretty in my clothes. Comfortable, yes — I'd made my peace with elastic waists and shapeless things — but I'd catch myself in a shop window and think, when did I stop looking like me?

What I really wanted was one dress I could pull on and feel put-together and pretty in, without any fuss and without a waistband digging in all day. But the comfortable ones looked like I'd given up, and the pretty ones were fussy, or clung, or were far too warm. Nothing was both.

It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who told me to stop settling and try one from a small family boutique here in South Carolina — a soft floral dress with a little tassel tie she thought I'd love. 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 Noa, 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 easy floral dress you feel pretty and put-together in

We made the Noa in a soft floral with a pretty tassel tie at the neck, because a dress should be the easy part of your day and still make you feel lovely. You pull it on — no fuss, no waistband digging in — and you're comfortable and put-together at once. Easy to wear, and pretty to be seen in.

2Cool and light through the hottest days

The fabric is light and airy, and the loose, tiered cut lets the air move right through instead of trapping the heat against you. On the warmest afternoon it stays cool and away from the skin — a dress you can actually enjoy the summer in, not just get through it.

3Skims everything, never clings

Its soft, tiered cut falls loose over the middle and skims the body rather than gripping it — and because there is room in it, it sits just as comfortably at the end of the day as the start, on the days your body decides to change its mind. Relaxed, but pretty with it.

4A pretty tassel tie and soft puff sleeves

The split neckline ties with a soft drawstring and little tassels, and the sleeves are gently gathered — small touches that lift it from a plain dress into something you feel dressed-up in, while it stays the easiest thing to pull on. The details do the work, so you don't have to.

5A soft watercolour floral you feel lovely in

It's a soft watercolour floral — blush and apricot blooms on a light cream — gentle and grown-up, never loud or girlish. It's the kind of pretty that puts you back in the photograph instead of behind the camera, smiling, feeling like yourself again.

6A size for you, from XS to 2XL

It runs from XS to 2XL, cut relaxed so it fits and flatters a real range of bodies — not one narrow idea of a figure. A dress made to fit the woman, not to make the woman fit the dress.

The Noa, against the dresses you've been buying

	Typical dress	The Noa
How you feel in it	Comfortable, but plain and forgettable	Comfortable and genuinely pretty
In the heat	Heavy, or clings the moment it's warm	Light and airy — the heat moves through
The fit	Clings to the middle, or a shapeless sack	A soft tiered cut that skims — comfy noon to night
The details	Plain, nothing to notice	A tassel tie and gathered sleeves that lift it
The look	Dressing to disappear	A soft floral that puts you back in the photo

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Noa at $139.95 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 for a little under half of that.

Mine arrived folded in tissue with a little handwritten note on top. I tied the little tassel at the neck, looked in the mirror, and felt pretty for the first time in longer than I'd admit.

I don't usually write things like this. But the Noa has become the dress I reach for when I want to feel like myself — comfortable enough for a whole day, pretty enough that I'm back in the photographs. If you've quietly stopped feeling lovely in your clothes 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 Noa — $59.99 →

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.