Story

The Leonor — a dramatic, romantic, feminine maxi dress — is the piece I designed our entire FW17 collection around. With long sleeves, a voluminous paneled skirt that splits right at the knees, and eleven loop buttons dotting the front, the Leonor is the first maxi dress I've ever designed and perhaps the fanciest dress I've designed, too.

I named this dress after Leonor Fini, a Paris-based surrealist artist and one of my favorite female painters of the 20th century. Her bohemian spirit and resilience in the face of a male-dominated art world inspired in part the dress's dramatic lines and feminine silhouette. I designed the length to be worn with flats (I love pairing it with a flat, rugged lace-up boot), although heels work great too as long as you're willing to show a little ankle. The waist tie can be worn in the front or back or removed so that you can style it with your own belt.

Design Details

• Main: 50% khadi / 50% cotton handloom fabric from India
• Lining: 100% Tencel from India
• Designed, cut, and sewn in Arkansas, USA
• Maxi dress with fitted bodice and waist
• Paneled, voluminous A-line skirt
• Full button front closure
• Removable waist tie that can be tied in the front or back
• Hidden in-seam side pockets
• Fully lined (the lining stops on the skirt where the buttons do)
• Measures 52" long from shoulder
• Hand wash cold, line dry, warm iron as needed (learn more about garment care here)

Materials

This dress is made of a blend of khadi (hand-twisted) cotton and regular cotton, crafted in India by skilled artisans on a handloom. It is very slightly sheer and unbelievably soft with a nice lightweight drape, and it is adorned with a box pattern that is part of the weave of the fabric. The neutral mocha hue of this fabric pairs with almost everything under the sun, but I like to think it goes especially well with our Eggplant Denim fabric.

The dress is lined with a plain-weave 100% Tencel fabric from in a fair-labor mill in India. It was dyed in-studio with eco-friendly fiber-reactive dyes to be a bright saffron yellow (the same color as our Saffron Dot fabric). In the light, you can see a glimmer of the yellow through the fabric (especially through the bits of the woven pattern that are sheer), which I like to think gives the dress a bit of extra panache.

In addition to the fabric, this dress uses cotton thread, 13 vintage mother-of-pearl buttons, and organic cotton labels.

Fit

Take a look at our Size Guide to find your size.

The Leonor is fitted in the bust and waist, so use both of those measurements when determining your size. The style runs true to size, but if either measurement falls in between sizes, I recommend sizing up to avoid any gaping in the front.

Sophie is wearing a size 4 and is 5'8" with a 36" bust, 28" waist, and 38" hip.