Ottilie™ | Elegant Summer Shirt

Petals drawn big enough that only a few fit across the front.

The default print for a larger size is a small one — a fine scattered repeat, because it is safe and because someone decided it was appropriate. It is also the print that fails: a repeat spaced for a narrow panel crowds over the fullest part of you and opens out at the sides, and every fold in the cloth slices a motif in half. The neckline compounds it. A V measured on a shallower chest opens deeper and wider on a fuller bust, so it sits lower than it looked, and a V finished with a narrow binding has no body of its own — it rolls outward and falls forward the moment you lean over a table.

Ottilie goes the other way on both counts. The petals are drawn large and overlapping, only a few across the width, with white line work through them — a motif that size keeps its shape however wide the panel gets, and the overlapping layers mean there is no regular grid to distort. The V is trimmed with a gathered, doubled ruffle running the full length of the neckline and placket, and a doubled edge has real stiffness, so the neckline keeps the shape it was cut in.

Why it works

• Large overlapping petals: only a few across the width, so the motif keeps its shape on a wider panel instead of crowding.
• No regular grid: the petals layer over each other rather than repeating on a set spacing, so nothing distorts visibly.
• Ruffled self-trim down the neckline and placket: the doubled edge holds the V's shape rather than rolling or falling forward.
• Buttons from mid-torso down: the front stays closed below the V without a fastening on the fullest part of the chest.
• Dropped shoulder seams: nothing has to land on your shoulder point, so sizing for the bust doesn't throw the sleeve out of place.
• Curved high-low hem: longer at the centre front and back, shorter at the sides.

Fit note

Boxy and generous — take your usual size. The lilac ground is a fine weave and lets light through, most visibly at the hem; a cami underneath if you'd rather it weren't see-through. The sleeves are meant to be turned back rather than worn down at the wrist. One colourway. Sizes M to 4XL.