Clarissa Tiered Floral Maxi Dress

Straps that stay where you put them. The shoulder straps sit wide at the front and cross into a tie at the back, so the neckline holds its place through a whole afternoon of standing, greeting people and photographs.

Why you'll feel good about this

This is a dress for the spring calendar — the garden wedding, the race day, the long lunch that runs into the evening. The skirt falls in three ruffled tiers from a seam at the hip, so it moves when you walk and settles again when you stand still, and the print is painted rather than repeated, which is what lifts it out of day-dress territory.

Design notes

• Deep V neckline with wide shoulder straps
• Sleeveless, with an open back
• Fine straps crossing the back into a tie
• Cut-outs at both sides of the waist
• Three ruffled tiers falling from a seam at the hip
• Floor-length maxi
• Watercolour floral print in rust, magenta and purple

Why you'll love it

• A back that adjusts — the crossed straps tie at the waist, so you set how close the bodice sits
• Three tiers of movement — the skirt swings when you walk and falls straight again when you stop
• Open where you choose it — the skirt is full length and the openness sits at the back and the sides

Details

• Neckline — Deep V, wide shoulder straps
• Sleeves — Sleeveless
• Back — Open, with fine crossed straps and a tie
• Waist — Cut-outs at both sides, seam at the hip
• Skirt — Three ruffled tiers
• Length — Maxi, to the floor
• Print — Watercolour floral in rust, magenta and purple
• Wear it for — Spring weddings, race days and garden parties

Fabric & care

• Fabric — a light, fluid woven fabric that falls in soft tiers, as shown by the maker; fibre composition not stated by the maker

Size guide — body measurements as listed by the maker. Pick the row that matches you, not the dress.

Fabric & care

Wash cool with like colours, dry in the shade to help preserve the colour, and iron on low on the reverse if needed.