The inspiration for this dress came from a 1940s pattern illustration that we saw posted on Instagram. From this we worked from scratch to develop our stunning evening dress The Ritz Gown. "Ritz" is an amazing dress for a special occasion but as soon as we made the full length version we saw that this design was going to make a fantastic everyday dress if we made it in a floaty fabric finishing just below the knee.
The Piccadilly Dress shares the same beautiful bodice detailing and stunning neckline, but is combined with an eminently wearable below the knee length skirt with a slightly more A-line kick to it. Of course, an everyday dress has to have pockets and these are concealed in the side seam.
Liberty of London are famous for their Tana Lawn cotton which is a great fabric for blouses but we wanted this particular dress to feel more floaty. We commissioned a special order for their Bell Flower design to be printed on a soft viscose which has a beautiful handle and drape just right for what we envisaged this vintage style everyday dress to be. The light and delicate material means the skirt billows beautifully as you walk and twirl. We also lined it for modesty.
Featuring green, yellow, pink and chestnut shades on a light background the Bell Flower Liberty floral is a breeze to accessorise! Throw on an Emmy cardigan for when it's cool to keep the timeless feel.
Owner of Revival Retro and designer Rowena Howie conceived this dress to feature a nipped in waist, shoulder yokes and gathering under the bust, all details that will flatter a fuller bust.
As always, the right underwear is crucial to the well dressed woman: Bravissimo had fitted Rowena in the Bravissimo Stella Bra in 30H, she wears the Piccadilly Dress in size 12 and knows other customers who wear a 34D cup and a 32J cup that also wear the UK 12 dress size.
The elegant capped sleeves balance out the bodice and truly compliment the feminine shape, while a handy side zip ensures you don't need any help getting in and out of the dress! We really hope that we have thought of everything to make this a truly enjoyable everyday dress (did we mention it's machine washable!).
Our womenswear boutique is in central London, we design in house and we make our garments locally. This dress was manufactured in east London and we have close contact with the factory. We take a considered approach to what and how we produce doing all we can to achieve our aim of creating good quality clothes that will last. We hope this dress will be one that you will pull out of your wardrobe again and again, providing years of enjoyment.
As a favourite style we anticipate releasing this dress in new and different colours so check back each season for new editions. The Autumn 2020 will be this navy rayon which our customer Lynne models for us here. Top tip: the solid colour rayon dress has the additional bonus of being cheaper than the Liberty print.
