The Occasion Dress I Finally Felt Elegant In

A flowing navy chiffon gown with long sheer sleeves and a floral hem — elegant enough for the wedding, comfortable enough to enjoy the whole evening.

My grandson's wedding was six weeks away, and I still had nothing to wear. I'd been to shop after shop and come home each time close to tears — everything was either cut for a woman half my age or made me look like I'd quietly given up.

What I really wanted was one elegant dress that felt like an occasion — that covered what I wanted covered, flattered the middle I've become self-conscious of, and that I could actually breathe and sit and dance in. The dressy things were stiff and unforgiving; the comfortable things weren't fit for a wedding. Nothing was both.

It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who told me to stop trudging round the shops and try one from a small family boutique here in South Carolina — a flowing navy gown she thought would be just the thing. 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 Ziva, 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 for the occasion you've had nothing to wear to

We made the Ziva for exactly those events a woman dreads shopping for — the wedding, the christening, the anniversary dinner — a flowing navy chiffon gown that feels like a real occasion without being cut for someone half your age. You put it on and you feel elegant and considered, not invisible in the back row. One dress, and the dreaded search is over.

2Sheer sleeves that cover your arms, beautifully

So many occasion dresses are strapless or sleeveless, as though no woman past sixty ever gets invited anywhere. The Ziva has long, sheer chiffon sleeves that cover the arms right to the wrist — light and floaty, never hot or heavy — so you are covered and elegant, with no cardigan thrown over the top to ruin the look.

3A ruched waist that quietly flatters the middle

A soft ruched waistband gathers gently at the middle, giving you a defined waist while skimming right over the tummy. It shapes without squeezing and flatters without a fight — you look put-together and graceful, and nothing pulls or pinches all evening.

4Floor-length chiffon that flows and forgives

It's a flowing chiffon maxi that falls all the way to the floor and moves with you — the soft skirt skims and forgives the body rather than clinging, and the large blooms placed along the hem catch the light as you walk. Graceful floor-length that does the flattering for you, and moves beautifully every time you do.

5Elegant, but comfortable enough for the whole evening

Dressy so rarely means comfortable — the zip digging in, the seams too tight to sit. The Ziva is soft, floaty chiffon with a gently gathered waist and real room to move, so you can sit through dinner, get up and dance, and stay comfortable the whole night while looking every bit the occasion. Elegant you can actually relax in.

6Navy with a placed floral, in sizes S to 2XL

It comes in a deep, flattering navy with large blush-and-cream blooms placed along the hem, and it runs from S to 2XL, cut to flatter a real range of bodies. A gown made to fit the woman, not to make the woman fit the gown.

The Ziva, against the occasion dresses you've been trying

	Typical occasion dress	The Ziva
Finding one at all	Shop after shop, nothing right	One elegant gown, the search over
Your arms	Strapless or sleeveless, cardigan on top	Long sheer sleeves that cover, beautifully
The middle	Clings, or hangs like a tent	A ruched waist that shapes and skims
The length	Swamped, or too short to feel dressy	Graceful floor-length that flows and forgives
All evening	Counting down till you can take it off	Comfortable enough to dance till the end

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Ziva at $234.95 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 gown 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, saw myself in the mirror, and for the first time in years I wasn't dreading the wedding — I was looking forward to it.

I don't usually write things like this. But the Ziva turned an event I was dreading into one I actually enjoyed — elegant enough that people asked where it was from, and comfortable enough that I stayed till the very end. If you've a wedding or an occasion coming and nothing you feel lovely in, this is the one I'd tell you to try, while the sale is still on.

— Margaret Ellison · Mount Pleasant, SC

See the Ziva — $69.95 →

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.