The Dress That Gave Me a Waist Again

A sleeveless watercolour-floral midi with a fitted bodice and a flared skirt — shaped where you want it, forgiving where you need it, and cool all summer.

Somewhere in the last few years, my waist quietly disappeared. Not really — but every dress I owned had stopped acknowledging it. Loose, shapeless, comfortable things that hung off me like a sack and added ten years and twenty pounds in every photograph.

What I really wanted was one dress that gave me a shape again — that nipped in where I still have a waist and skimmed over the parts I'd rather not think about — without squeezing me into something I couldn't breathe or sit down in. The fitted things clung everywhere; the comfortable things were shapeless. Nothing was both.

It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who told me to stop hiding in tents and try one from a small family boutique here in South Carolina — a floral midi she thought would give me my shape back. 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 Flory, 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 dress that gives you a waist again

We cut the Flory with a fitted, seamed bodice that nips in gently at the natural waist — so it gives you a defined shape again, the one loose dresses hide, without squeezing or pinching. You put it on and, for the first time in a while, there's a waist in the mirror. Shaped, but never tight.

2Fitted on top, forgiving below

Above the waist it's fitted for shape; below it, the skirt flares out and falls away from the body, skimming right over the hips and the tummy instead of clinging to them. Defined where you want it, forgiving where you need it — so you look put-together from every angle, with nothing pulling anywhere.

3Cool and sleeveless, but a proper dress

It's a light, sleeveless cotton midi that stays cool through the hottest afternoon — but it's tailored and pretty enough to wear anywhere, not just around the house. All the ease of something sleeveless, in a dress you are genuinely proud to be seen in.

4A joyful floral you feel wonderful in

It's covered in a beautiful watercolour floral — pinks, yellows and blues, like a painting of a summer garden — cheerful and grown-up at once, never garish. It's the kind of print that lifts your mood the moment you put it on, and has people telling you how well you look.

5Polished for the occasion, easy for every day

It's tailored and pretty enough for a garden party or a christening, yet comfortable and easy enough for lunch or the shops on an ordinary day. One dress that quietly does the work of several — so when an invitation lands, you're never caught out with nothing to wear.

6A size for you, from S to 4XL

It runs from S to 4XL, cut to flatter a real range of bodies — shaped at the waist, easy through the skirt. A dress made to fit the woman, not to make the woman fit the dress.

The Flory, against the dresses you've been buying

	Typical dress	The Flory
Your shape	Shapeless sack, or clings everywhere	Fitted waist, flared skirt — a shape again
The middle	Every lunch on show	Skims right over the hips and tummy
In the heat	Sleeves too warm, or a shapeless sundress	Cool and sleeveless, but a proper dress
The colour	Safe beige and grey	A joyful watercolour floral
Where you wear it	Nothing right for an occasion	Polished for the event, easy every day

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Flory at $199.95 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 under a third of that.

Mine arrived folded in tissue with a little handwritten note on top. I slipped it on, turned side to side in the mirror, and there it was — a waist I hadn't seen in years.

I don't usually write things like this. But the Flory gave me back something I thought was gone — a shape, and a bit of joy when I get dressed. Fitted enough to feel put-together, forgiving enough to be comfortable, and pretty enough that people tell me I look wonderful. If you've been hiding in shapeless things 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 Flory — $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.