A column dress in a linen–chanderi blend, cut close through the shoulder and released from the waist into a slow, unhurried fall. It is the piece we return to when nothing else feels right.
The cloth
Chanderi is woven in Madhya Pradesh on pit looms, and the blend we use carries a linen warp against a chanderi weft. The result is a fabric with the dry hand of linen and the faint transparency chanderi is known for — it holds a crease the way paper does, softening a little more with each wash.
Because the yarn is hand-spun before it is dyed, no two lengths take colour identically. Slight variation across a panel is characteristic of the cloth and not a fault in it.
The making
Each dress passes through four hands: the weaver, the dyer, the cutter, and a single tailor who assembles the garment start to finish rather than working a section on a line. A finished dress takes roughly nine hours of stitching.
- French seams throughout — no overlocking anywhere on the garment
- Hand-finished hem, blind-stitched, 4 cm deep
- Corozo buttons, cut from tagua nut, dyed to match
- Side-seam pockets, bar-tacked at both ends of the opening
Fit
Cut for a relaxed fit through the body with a defined shoulder. The model is 5'8" and wears a size S. If you are between sizes, take the smaller — the linen relaxes about half a size with wear.
Care
Hand wash cold, or machine wash on a wool cycle inside a mesh bag. Dry flat in shade; direct sun will fade the madder dye within a season. Press on the reverse while faintly damp. Do not tumble dry, and do not bleach.
Worn well, this dress should outlast the decade. When it finally goes, the cloth composts.
