ISADORA | ELEGANT A-LINE MIDI DRESS

The volume starts under the bust, so nothing has to fit at your middle.

Two things usually go wrong with a crossover dress on a fuller body. The first is the neckline. The two crossing panels are cut to overlap on a smaller cup, so on a fuller bust they meet right at the point of the V instead of well past it — and the moment you lean forward or reach across a table, the top edge lifts and the V opens. The second is where the seam under the bust lands. On a straight-size block that seam sits high; on a fuller bust it rides up onto the fullest part of the chest, so the skirt starts from the widest point of your body and spreads outward from there instead of falling straight down. Add a narrow skirt in a fine, soft fabric and static finishes the job: by mid-afternoon it is holding on to your tights and tracing the front of your thighs with every step.

Isadora is built around exactly those points. The bodice is made of two wide pleated bands that cross each other low, well below the point of the neckline, so the overlap is deep enough to stay closed when you move rather than sitting edge to edge. Those bands meet in a crossed seam directly under the bust, and the entire skirt is gathered into that seam — the widest part of the dress begins above your waist and hangs free from there, so nothing has to sit against your stomach. The skirt itself is cut generously full and A-line, with enough fabric to swing away from your legs instead of wrapping around them. Both side seams open into pockets set into the seam rather than patched on top, so putting your hands in doesn't add width at the hip.

Why it works

• Deep crossed bodice bands: the overlap continues well past the point of the V, so the neckline stays closed when you reach, bend or lean forward.
• Seam directly under the bust: the only fitted point sits above the ribcage, so the dress never has to close around your waist or stomach.
• Gathered, full A-line skirt: enough fabric in the sweep to fall away from hips and thighs instead of following them.
• Softly draped sleeve opening: the short sleeve ends in loose fabric rather than an elastic band or tight cuff at the widest part of the upper arm.
• In-seam side pockets: cut into the skirt seams, so they sit flat and don't add bulk across the hip.
• Full-length hem: one uninterrupted line to just above the ankle, with no cropped hem cutting across the calf.

Fit note

This dress is loose everywhere except the seam under the bust — that is the one place it is meant to hold. Take your usual size, and go one up if you are full in the bust, because that seam is where the fit is decided. The fabric is soft and matte with a fluid drape; it holds the pleating in the bodice rather than crushing it, and it moves and swings all day rather than sitting still. On a 170 cm frame the hem lands just above the ankle bone; if you are taller, expect it to sit a little higher. A slip underneath keeps fine, soft fabrics from clinging on dry days. All five colours are the same cut — green, black, gray, pink and blue differ only in colour, so choose on shade, not on fit. Sizes M to 4XL.