A Letter From Claire About The Darlene Midi Dress
A Letter From Claire · The Darlene
Every good dress she is offered either holds her in or hides her. The Darlene was the one that did neither — and it is the one I am saddest to let go.
On the six things I would tell you about it across the counter, how it compares to what else is on the rack at this price, and why the whole shop is clearing now.
I am Claire. For a very long time now I have stood in a small shop in Brighton and helped women find something to wear to the days that matter.
In all those years the same conversation has happened more often than any other. A woman comes in with a wedding, a sixtieth, a christening. She has already been out looking. And she tells me, almost apologetically, that everything she tried on was one of two things.
The first kind is cut close through the middle. It looks beautiful on the hanger and then asks her to wear something underneath it that she will regret by three in the afternoon. The second kind has given up. It is loose, it is forgiving, and it makes her look like the aunt who is helping in the kitchen rather than someone who was invited.
She does not want to be looked after. She wants to be dressed.
The Darlene is the dress I have been putting into those women's hands for the last two years, and it is the one I would want you to have before the shelves are empty. Here are the six things I would tell you about it if you were standing in front of me.
1The drape falls across the middle, not over it
This is the whole dress in one detail. There is a soft asymmetric fold that runs diagonally across the front, and because it crosses on an angle the fabric moves away from the body instead of running straight down and catching. Nothing pulls. There is nothing to smooth down when you stand up, and nothing to hold in while somebody takes a photograph. Women put it on in the fitting room and stop checking the mirror sideways. I have watched it happen a hundred times.
“As someone who usually wears a 2XL, I’m always a little nervous ordering dresses online. But this one fit beautifully right out of the package.”
2A proper shoulder line, not a thin strap
It is sleeveless, and I will be straight with you about that, because it is the first thing most women say to me.
The shoulder here is cut wide and sits on the shoulder bone, so it holds a bra strap and does not gape at the underarm. That matters twice over: the dress looks finished on its own, and it is the one shape a wrap or a light cardigan sits properly over. On or off, neither version looks like a compromise. Most women I have sold it to take it on and off three or four times in a day and think nothing of it.
“From the packaging to the fit, everything was perfect! You can tell this brand puts so much thought into every detail.”
3You can sit down in it for four hours
Nobody tests this in a fitting room and everybody needs it. A wedding is mostly sitting — the ceremony, the speeches, the car in both directions. There is enough through the skirt of the Darlene that it falls over your lap rather than stretching across it, and crossing your legs does not become a small negotiation. You get up from the table and there is nothing to quietly pull back down.
“My dress arrived earlier than expected and the quality is amazing. I’ve gotten so many compliments already!”
4A midi length that never needs managing
It sits at mid-calf. Long enough to feel properly dressed, short enough that you are not gathering it up to get out of the car or to go up a step. On grass, in heels, on a slope at a country wedding — that length is the difference between enjoying the day and keeping an eye on your hem all afternoon.
“Such great value for such a high-quality product. I was pleasantly surprised and will be coming back for more.”
5Six colours, at one price, in your usual size
Green, red, navy, pink, light blue and purple. I make a point of this because after a certain age the occasion rack narrows to black, navy and something apologetic in beige, as though colour were handed back along with your thirties.
It runs XS (6) through XL (14) and it is cut true, so take the size you normally take. If you are between two, take the larger — this dress is far happier with a little room than with none.
“Claire responded quickly and helpfully and assisted me in choosing the perfect size. Such great service!”
6It is not a dress you wear once
This is the part women write to me about afterwards. They buy it for one good day and it goes out five more times before the year is done — a sixtieth, a lunch in the city, a christening, dinner with the wrap over it. An occasion dress that hangs untouched for eleven months is not really a hundred-dollar dress. This one earns its place on the rail.
“The customer service was outstanding — they answered my questions quickly and even helped me update my order.”
The Darlene, against the rest of the occasion rack
You can find an occasion dress for a hundred dollars almost anywhere. I have had a long time to look at what comes back to me, and why. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
- Cut close through the middle, and it shows
- Thin straps that need the right bra and a search
- Tight through the skirt, so sitting is a decision
- Black, navy, or something apologetic in beige
- Worn once, then eleven months on the rail
- Asymmetric drape falls across, not over
- Wide shoulder — holds a strap, takes a wrap
- Room through the skirt, comfortable seated for hours
- Six colours, all at the same price
- Dressed up for a wedding, down for a lunch
Why the whole shop is clearing now
I would rather you heard this from me than from a banner across the top of a website, because it is not a marketing sale and it deserves to be said properly.
Claire & June began as a small boutique in Brighton, and for nearly all of those years my golden retriever June has been asleep on the floor beside the counter. That is where the name comes from. Anyone who walked through the door met both of us.
My children grew up and left, as they do, and the house went quiet. June was the one who was always there — the morning walks, the evenings, the days in the shop. She stopped being a dog somewhere along the way and became the company.
June is old now, and she is unwell. Our walks have got shorter. After all the years she spent waiting for me to close up, I have decided to give her the time back. I am retiring, and the Brighton boutique is closing.
Everything left in the shop is going out in the Claire & June Retirement Sale. The Darlene is A$99.95, down from A$333.95 — seventy per cent off — and if you take more than one, the discount keeps going.
I will be plain with you, as I would be across the counter. This is not a price that comes back next season, because there is no next season to order it in. There are five sizes and six colours, and it is the middle sizes that always go first.
Darlene | Sophisticated Midi Dress
- Asymmetric drape falls across the middle — nothing clings when you sit
- Wide shoulder line that holds a strap and takes a wrap
- Room through the skirt, comfortable seated for hours
- Mid-calf midi — no hem to manage on grass or getting out of the car
- Six colours, sizes XS (6) to XL (14), all one price
- Free shipping with Australia Post & 30-day money back guarantee
Every colour the same price · while sizes last
The more you take, the more comes off
Stacks on top of the retirement sale price. Applied automatically at checkout.
- Buy 2Extra 10% off
- Buy 3Extra 15% off
- Buy 4Extra 20% off
- Buy 5 or moreExtra 25% off
Sisters and friends order together more often than you would think. If there is a wedding, a sixtieth or a christening on the calendar this year, this is the sensible way to do it.
“I was amazed by how beautifully my order was packaged — you can really feel the love and attention Claire puts into her boutique.”
Of everything on the rails, the Darlene is the one I am saddest to see go, because it is the one that solved the conversation I have had most often across that counter. It is still wrapped in paper and tied with string, and there is still a note in the box. Whatever else is closing, nobody here has started cutting corners on the way it leaves.
If there is a day coming up that you have quietly been dreading getting dressed for, this is the dress I would put into your hands myself — while the sizes are still there.
— Claire, with June at my feet
Brighton, Melbourne
About this letter
This is a personal letter from Claire, founder of Claire & June in Brighton, Melbourne. The reviews are our customers' own words as written. Everything remaining is part of the Claire & June Retirement Sale — once a piece is gone, it will not be coming back.
Free shipping Australia-wide · 30-day money-back guarantee · Retirement Sale runs until the remaining collection is gone.
See the Darlene — A$99.95 while sizes last