A letter from a reader Ysolde S
The summer dress that skims past everything and clings to nothing
Soft blue with a white chain print, sleeves past the elbow, and a tiered skirt that floats instead of following you.
I am 63, and I had stopped buying dresses somewhere around my sixtieth birthday. Every one did the same two things: it clung at the middle the moment I sat down, and it left my upper arms out for the whole room. So I lived in trousers and a long top, and told myself it was a choice.
I had started to feel a little invisible in my own clothes.
It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who said the dresses were the problem, not me. Then she sent me a link one evening with three words: just read it.
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 Ysolde, 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 skims, it never clings
The bodice falls straight and easy, and below the waist the skirt is built in three soft tiers, each one gathered a little fuller than the last. That is what does it: the fabric moves away from you instead of following the line of your hip and tummy. You can sit through a long lunch and stand up without a single tug.
2A fabric soft enough to forget
We make the Ysolde in a light, soft cotton-feel weave that stays cool against the skin and never scratches at the collar or the cuff. It has enough body to hang properly and not a scrap of stiffness, so it feels like something you have owned and washed for years from the first time you put it on.
3Sleeves that cover the part you want covered
The sleeve is cut roomy and comes down well past the elbow to a neat banded cuff. The upper arm — the part most of us would rather not think about in a summer dress — stays covered, while your forearms stay free and cool. Nothing grips at the top of the arm when you reach for something.
4A chain print that looks put together from across the room
The print is a crisp white chain running in columns down a soft cornflower blue, with a band of it set across each tier. It is graphic enough to look deliberate and soft enough to be kind to your coloring. From across a room it reads as polished; up close it looks like something you found in a boutique abroad.
5Comfortable enough for the sofa, tidy enough for dinner
That is the whole point of it. The little stand collar and the buttoned front give it the shape of a good shirt, so it never reads as a housedress, and the soft fabric means you can curl up on the sofa in it all afternoon. Add sandals and a straw bag and it goes straight out to dinner.
6It fits the body you have
We make the Ysolde from a size S all the way to 5XL, and every size is cut on the same easy lines — the larger ones are not simply stretched out, and the chain print is scaled so it stays in proportion. It comes in blue and in purple. Order the size you usually wear; it is meant to sit easy on you.
The Ysolde, against the dresses you've been buying
| The usual summer dress | The Ysolde | |
|---|---|---|
| The fit | Clings at the tummy when you sit | Tiers that fall away from you |
| The arms | Sleeveless, so you carry a cardigan | Sleeves well past the elbow |
| The look | A faded floral, or plain navy | A crisp white chain on cornflower blue |
| Where you wear it | The house, or the occasion | Sofa to dinner without changing |
| The sizes | S to XL, then good luck | S to 5XL, print scaled to every size |
- Clings at the tummy when you sit
- Sleeveless, so you carry a cardigan
- A faded floral, or plain navy
- The house, or the occasion
- S to XL, then good luck
- Tiers that fall away from you
- Sleeves well past the elbow
- A crisp white chain on cornflower blue
- Sofa to dinner without changing
- S to 5XL, print scaled to every size
Why they're clearing it now
They priced the Ysolde 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 dress is going out at less than half of what it was.
Mine came in a kraft box on a Tuesday, folded in white tissue. I tried it on in the bedroom and wore it to lunch the next day.
The Ysolde Chain Pattern Midi Dress
- A tiered skirt that skims instead of clinging
- Three-quarter sleeves, well past the elbow
- A crisp white chain print on cornflower blue
- A soft stand collar and buttoned front
- Sizes S to 5XL · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
The Ysolde · $59.95 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 spent three summers in trousers because every dress clung or left my arms out — and this one quietly gave me dresses back. If that sounds like you, I hope you find your size before it clears.
— Sandra Thompson · Mount Pleasant, SC
See the Ysolde — $59.95 →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.