A Letter From a Reader
The one dress I throw on and instantly feel put together
On the button-down mini with sculptural rose-knot cuffs, a textured weave that skims instead of clinging, sleeves that cover the arms, and ten colors to choose from.
Jaclyn™ | Pleated Maxi Dress With Floral Shoulder Detail, a button-down mini and the dress I now reach for without thinking.
I am 61 years old, and for a long time I have dressed so as not to be noticed. Shapeless tunics, a navy cardigan, the same tired slacks. Safe, sensible, invisible. Somewhere along the way I decided that pretty dresses were for younger women, and I quietly stopped buying them.
But on a warm Savannah morning, a baggy top does nothing to lift the day. What I secretly wanted was a dress with a little romance in it, something that made me feel put together, without clinging to me the second the humidity found me. The pretty dresses were tight or fussy. The comfortable ones were shapeless and dull. Nothing was both.
Then a woman in my walking group turned up in the most beautiful little dress, soft rose-knots at the cuffs, a different color every week, and I could not take my eyes off it. She told me to read the Brooks family's letter first.
The Brooks Family runs a small boutique here in Savannah, Georgia, family-run since 1976, three generations, mother to daughter. The dress is called Jaclyn™ | Pleated Maxi Dress With Floral Shoulder Detail, and their letter walks through the handful of things they refused to compromise on. I am going to let their words carry it, because they say it better than I could.
1Rose-knot cuffs that hold their shape
The cuffs are the whole dress. We made them soft and sculptural, tied into a rose at the wrist and large enough to be seen from across a room. Three times the factory sent them back flat, and three times we sent them back again. They are the reason someone at brunch will stop you mid-sentence and ask where your dress is from.
★★★★★
"Three people asked about the sleeves the first day I wore it. Three."
Carol R., Pooler GA2A textured weave, chosen over linen
We tried linen first and turned it down. Pure linen looks lovely for about two hours, then it creases into a paper bag and the cuffs go limp by lunchtime. So we chose a textured weave with a linen look instead, light and breathable, with a fine grain that catches the light and enough body to keep those rose-knots standing until evening.
★★★★★
"I wore it on a four hour drive and walked into dinner with no creases."
Diane M., Richmond Hill GA3Sleeves that cover the tops of the arms
We gave Jaclyn™ | Pleated Maxi Dress With Floral Shoulder Detail voluminous three-quarter sleeves, so nothing is pressed against you and nothing is on display that you would rather keep to yourself. It takes more fabric, which is exactly why most dresses at this price will not do it, and it is the thing women thank us for most.
★★★★★
"Finally, sleeves. I have it in two colors and I am going back for a third."
Patricia L., Rincon GA4A shift that skims, and never clings
We cut it as a relaxed shift with a subtle A-line that falls just above the knee, loose where it should be loose so the air can move underneath. We let the waist out twice before we signed it off. It skims, it never grabs.
★★★★★
"It skims straight over my middle instead of hugging it. The first dress in years that does."
Linda K., Tybee Island GA5Floral buttons, all the way down
A full row of soft floral-shaped buttons runs down the front, not the three decorative ones at the collar that most makers get away with. Open the collar on a hot afternoon, close it again for supper. It is a small thing that does a lot of work.
★★★★★
"The little flower buttons are what sold me. Such a small thing, and it makes it."
Janet S., Guyton GA6Ten colors that go with what you own
From crisp white to deep Green, with Blue, mushroom taupe, mocha, olive, sage, navy, pink and black in between. We chose every one of them to sit beside the shoes and cardigans already in your closet, so the dress earns its place from the very first day.
★★★★★
"I started with the beige and went back for the Green and the Blue."
Maureen T., Statesboro GAJaclyn™ | Pleated Maxi Dress With Floral Shoulder Detail, against the dresses you have been buying
| The usual summer dress | Jaclyn™ | Pleated Maxi Dress With Floral Shoulder Detail | |
|---|---|---|
| The cuffs | Flat, stitched-down | Sculptural rose-knots that hold |
| The fabric | Creases by noon, or clings | Textured weave, crisp and breathable |
| The sleeves | Bare arms, or they pinch | Three-quarter, room to move |
| The fit | Tight or boxy | A relaxed shift that skims |
| Colors | Two or three safe ones | Ten, chosen for your closet |
The usual summer dress
- Flat, stitched-down cuffs
- Creases by noon, or clings
- Bare arms, or they pinch
- Tight or boxy
- Two or three safe colors
Jaclyn™ | Pleated Maxi Dress With Floral Shoulder Detail
- Sculptural rose-knots that hold
- Textured weave, crisp and breathable
- Three-quarter sleeves, room to move
- A relaxed shift that skims
- Ten colors, chosen for your closet
Why they're clearing it now
They priced Jaclyn™ | Pleated Maxi Dress With Floral Shoulder Detail at $235.00 when it launched, and it sold at that price all season. But for America's 250th, the Brooks family wanted to give something back to the women who have kept their doors open since 1976, so every dress is going out at a fraction of that.
I ordered mine that evening. It arrived a few days later in a kraft-paper parcel with a short handwritten note from the family. It has been the first thing I reach for on every warm morning since.
Jaclyn™ | Pleated Maxi Dress With Floral Shoulder Detail Button-Down Mini Dress
$235.00.00$69.95
Season Sale · Save 70%
- Sculptural rose-knot cuffs and floral buttons
- A textured weave that breathes and never clings
- A relaxed shift that skims, just above the knee
- Ten colors, from crisp white to deep Blue
- Sizes XS to 2XL · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Jaclyn™ | Pleated Maxi Dress With Floral Shoulder Detail Button-Down Mini Dress · $69.95 while sizes last
Buy 2 get 10%, buy 3 get 15%, buy 4 get an extra 20% off. When it's gone, it's gone.
I do not usually write things like this. But I had dressed to disappear for so long, and this one pretty, easy dress quietly gave me back the pleasure of getting dressed in the morning. If that sounds like you, I hope you get yours before it clears.
— Deborah Willson · Savannah, GA
This is a personal account from a Brooks Family customer. Deborah was not paid to write it. · The Brooks Family · Family Fashion · Savannah, Georgia, since 1976 · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee.