The Bold Dress That Got Me Noticed Again

A vibrant linen shirt-dress in a glorious pink and turquoise print — bright enough to turn heads, cool and easy to wear, with pockets and sleeves that cover.

For years I'd dressed to disappear. Navy, grey, beige — I'd told myself bold colour was for younger women, and I'd quietly become the woman nobody notices, blending into the wallpaper at every gathering.

What I secretly wanted was one dress with a bit of life to it — something bright that turned a head or two and made me feel seen again — but that was still comfortable, cool in the heat, and covered the bits I'm conscious of. The bright things were cut for younger women, and the comfortable things were beige. Nothing was both.

It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who told me to stop fading into the background and try one from a small family boutique here in South Carolina — a vibrant linen dress she thought would bring me back to life. 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 Saskia, 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 bold, joyful dress that turns heads

We made the Saskia in a vibrant linen shirt-dress print — glorious pinks, turquoise and orange — because a woman doesn't stop wanting to be seen just because she's over sixty. You put it on and you stand a little taller; it's the kind of colour that turns heads and has people crossing the room to ask where it's from. Bright, confident, and entirely grown-up.

2A colour that lifts your whole mood

It's a riot of joyful colour, like sunshine on linen — and the moment you put it on, something lifts. You catch sight of yourself in a window and you smile. After a closet full of safe, muted things, it's a little dose of happiness every time you wear it — cheerful and grown-up at once, never garish.

3Cool, easy linen that skims everything

It's a light, breathable linen with an easy, gathered cut that falls loose over the middle and skims the body rather than clinging to it — cool through the hottest afternoon, and forgiving where you want it to be. Comfortable and bright at once, never shapeless or frumpy.

4Handy pockets you'll actually use

It has handy side pockets sewn right into the seams — deep enough for your phone, your reading glasses, keys, or just a hand or two — so everything you need is right there, no bag required. Not the useless little slits so many dresses pretend are pockets, but proper, roomy ones. Such a simple thing, and it changes how you wear it.

5Three-quarter sleeves that cover the tops of your arms

Its three-quarter sleeves cover the tops of the arms and most of the forearm — the part so many of us would rather not bare — and because it's light linen, there's coverage without any heat. They roll up neatly with a little cuff when you want them shorter. Covered where you want it, cool all the same.

6A size for you, from S to 3XL

It's cut easy and generous, and it runs from S to 3XL, 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 Saskia, against the dresses you've been buying

	Typical dress	The Saskia
The colour	Safe beige, grey, invisible	A bold, joyful print that turns heads
How you feel	Getting dressed on joyless autopilot	A lift of happiness every time
In the heat	Stifling, or shapeless and frumpy	Cool, breathable linen that skims
Pockets	None, or useless little slits	Handy side pockets you actually use
Your arms	Bared, or roasting under a cardigan	Three-quarter sleeves that cover, cool

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Saskia at $159.95 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 over a third of that.

Mine arrived folded in tissue with a little handwritten note on top. I put it on that same morning, caught sight of myself in the hall mirror, and — for the first time in years — smiled at what I saw.

I don't usually write things like this. But the Saskia brought me back to life a little — bright enough that people notice me again, comfortable and cool through the summer, and covering the bits I'd rather it did. If you've quietly faded into beige 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 Saskia — $59.95 →

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.