Noelle | Ornate Print Tassel Tie Midi Dress

A busy surface on a crinkled weave, and ties long enough to knot where you want them.

Plain, smooth fabric is unforgiving in a specific way: wherever the cloth has to travel over the bust or the stomach, it pulls into short diagonal creases radiating out from the tightest point, and on a flat single-colour surface every one of those lines shows. The neckline has a separate problem. A V held closed by nothing but a short decorative tie gives you one position — knotted at the throat or hanging open — and on a fuller bust the split spreads sideways before it drops, so the opening sits wider than it was drafted and the short cord can't do anything about it. Then there's the tier. A gathered tier is placed a fixed distance up from the hem, and on a fuller or taller body the whole dress settles higher, so the tier ends up at mid-calf where it cuts straight across the leg.

Noelle is put together to sidestep all three. The scrollwork is dense and two-tone on a lightly crinkled weave, so the surface is already broken up — pull lines and creases have nothing flat to show against. The tassel cords are long, hanging well below the V, which means you can knot them high for a closed neckline or low for an open one rather than being stuck with a single position. And the gathered tier is set low and shallow, sitting near the bottom of the skirt instead of across the calf. The pattern runs continuously over the shoulders and down the sleeves, so there is no seam where a repeat has to be matched.

Why it works

• Dense two-tone scrollwork on a crinkled weave: a broken-up surface doesn't show the pull lines a smooth plain one does.
• Long tassel cords: knot them high to close the neckline or low to open it — you're not fixed to one depth.
• Low, shallow hem tier: the gathering sits near the bottom of the skirt rather than across the calf.
• Continuous print across shoulders and sleeves: no seam where the repeat has to line up.
• Softly gathered cuff past the elbow: gathered rather than banded tight, so it rests on the arm instead of gripping it.
• No waist seam: nothing has to find your natural waist, so sizing for the bust doesn't put a seam in the wrong place.

Fit note

Loose through the body with no fastenings — it pulls on over the head, so take your usual size. The weave is fine and lightly crinkled and the cream ground lets some light through in bright sun; a slip underneath if you would rather it didn't. The cords are meant to hang long, to below the bust — that's the length they're cut to. The fabric creases softly through the day, which is what this weave does rather than a fault. Sizes M to 4XL.