Brighton Bohemian Silk Dress; Janey

A striking maxi dress with dropped waist, high neck, and generously cut sleeves gathered into buttoned cuffs. 

Supple fluid silk crepe printed in a beautiful palette of green, blue, red and white. Created from a carefully selected and cleaned vintage silk saree.

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Sizing As the fit of all these dresses is meant to be loose and fluid it provides a fair bit of flexibility on sizing.

For this particular dress, the size is a UK 14. However the purposely loose fit means that it could work very well for smaller sizes, depending on how loose you like it. I am a UK size 12 and it works well on me but the set sleeve and dropped waist I think restricts its suitability for anyone larger than a 14.

Shown on a size 10 mannequin and a size 12/14 person

I have given the actual garment measurements below so you can ascertain for yourself how it will work with your own measurements. Remember to double these figures to give maximum circumferences, and that these pieces are meant to be loose fitting, so allow a generous amount of room over your particular body measurements

Underarm to underarm, laid flat; 54cms/ 21"  (remember to double to get circumference)

Waist, laid flat; 51cms/ 20"

Hip, laid flat; 55cms/ 22"

Collar circumference; 41cms/16"

Nape to hem ; 142cms

Dress length options;    In order to accomodate people of varying heights I have created the pieces long. It is not a straightforward  shortening job to alter the length as we don't want to lose those beautiful hem borders....but I have used a tiered construction so that the dress can be shortened by taking out the excess length at the top tier. I am offering the option of doing this here at the studio free of charge, but please be aware that if you choose this option I cannot accept returns. If you would like me to do this then please let me know how much length you want me to take out in the notes area at checkout. It is not possible to try the dress on first and then return to the studio for length adjustment, but you could get the adjustment done by a competent local alterations tailor at a later date. 

 Construction The skirt has a lining of fine silk habutai for extra body. 

As with all of the Brighton Bohemian pieces, the quality of the finish is paramount, with French and bound seams throughout (no overlocking) to ensure both a comfortable wear and a long life.

Each of these pieces is created from a vintage 100% silk saree. The design is very considered, with the cut engineered to make the best use of the various areas of beautiful printed design on the saree.  I will spend some hours before cutting trying out different pattern layouts to ensure the most pleasing finished effect. 

Care; Whilst it is OK to dry-clean these dresses I would always urge a gentle hand wash instead. Much better for the environment and your pocket! Remember that this is how these sarees would largely have been cleaned in their previous life anyway.

Gently agitate your silk dress in a bowl of warm (not hot) water with liquid handwash detergent for delicates. I usually leave mine for 10 minutes or so before rinsing in warm water. Don't bother using a fabric softener, these just build up as a dulling residue on the silk fibres and are unnecessary. 

Gently press out excess water (don't wring) and then hang up on a padded hanger to drip dry...either outside or over the bath. They really don't take long to dry.

A press with a warm iron on the silk setting will bring your dress up beautifully...though I'll let you into a secret, I often don't bother pressing mine, if you hang it carefully to dry you can get away with it ;)

The ingredients Please be aware that these unique pieces are created from vintage textiles, which have had a previous life, so consequently there may be the odd very minor smudge or tiny catch to the surface of the fabric. These in no way impinge on their beauty, and you can be sure that they do not compromise the integrity of the material. Any little area of actual damage or thinning is repaired with a tiny embroidered patch and this is always clearly mentioned in the description.  

Giving Back For each piece sold, £20 is donated to the World Food Programme’s Afghanistan Appeal. 

Sustainability Every time a Brighton Bohemian piece is purchased a donation is made via Ecologi to both offset the carbon involved in production and shipping and make a positive net contribution to combatting climate change....that's 25 trees planted and an additional 0.5 tonnes carbon offset per dress. The trees are environmentally high value and part of gold standard schemes designed and managed by local communities.

Packaging Dresses are dispatched in acid free tissue paper and recyclable cardboard boxes sealed with kraft paper eco tape.