The long twirly skirted sailor-collared dress of my dreams....

August 22, 2023 1:00 PM

I ask a lot of "where do I find this dress" questions - and here is another! Ever since I saw a "layering influencer" wearing this Son de Flor dress last winter, I have been slightly obsessed with finding something similar, but darker and preferably not starting at $250 (I know I could request that they custom-make me one in black, but that would very quickly get more expensive than I even want to entertain.)

You turn up a lot of costumey stuff when you search for a sailor-collar dress. Or just...little bodycon clothes (and I am not looking for that.) I want to move toward a more romantic striding-the-moors look and away from anything remotely Donald Duck.

This April Cornell dress comes closer - note it doesn't even SAY it has a sailor collar, maybe it technically it is not. But it gives that impression without hitting you over the head. The colors are just not that great for me. I'd prefer black, a dark floral print or gray to olive or that pumpkin orange they are offering. I don't have a fabric preference at this point, although I'd love to avoid poly.

I have been looking forever so I can't imagine that the swishy-skirted midi or maxi loose-ish dress (long sleeve or short, no matter) with a reasonable sailor collar exists in black somewhere for me to buy under $300. But just in case someone here knows about one....PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT IT. This is definitely a want more than a need so custom is not really an option I'm considering.

posted by 41swans to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (7 answers total)

I love both of those, esp. the slightly raised, loose waistline and roomy skirt, and I like sailor or other pretty collars. I often wear a scarf scout-style.

I did not find any sailor collars, but you could probably get one made. Here are some dresses from etsy, and 1 from amzn that might or might not be worthwhile. Dyeing linen is easy, dyeing it black takes effort, but can be done.
posted by theora55 at 1:53 PM on August 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Black linen loose-fit dresses:
Hazel & Rose's Alila dress
Avril Loose Sailor Collar at Off On Clothing
Same Avril dress and manufacturer on Etsy
Menique's Cecelia Linen Smock Dress, Beatrice Puff Sleeve Dress
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:06 PM on August 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: theora55 and Iris Gambol - thank you! These dresses are dreamy!!!
posted by 41swans at 5:13 PM on August 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

kibitzing, I find that the fabric matters a whole lot for how flowy dresses hang and move in real life, so you probably do want linen or heavy cotton or ramie. Which won’t be cheap but will last well.

I find that black linen fades, but if it’s not a blend re-dying it isn’t too bad. Or you can stride about the moors in your faded dress, very atmospheric.
posted by clew at 10:52 AM on August 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

I just saw this dress that you could wear to wistfully cross moors.
posted by theora55 at 10:50 AM on August 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: theora55 - there is some serious whimsy on that site, I've never been there before! I look forward to exploring it!
posted by 41swans at 9:18 AM on August 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

WOW. I wasn't looking for a swirly dress but the links on the responses are amazingly fun to browse.
posted by bluesky43 at 12:43 PM on August 26, 2023 [1 favorite]