Everything about the fit is decided above the bust — below that, nothing touches you.

A gathered empire dress is one of the easiest shapes to get wrong on a fuller body. The seam is usually placed by scaling a small pattern up, so it lands on the fullest part of the bust instead of underneath it — the skirt then starts at your widest point and the whole dress drops straight from the shoulders in one line. Cut-on sleeves cause the second problem: the sleeve is part of the bodice, so when the armhole is cut shallow, the sleeve hem sits across the widest part of the upper arm and digs in, and lifting your arm drags the entire bodice up with it. Then there is the hem. A loose midi has to travel over the bust and the stomach before it starts falling, so it runs out of length at the front and hangs an inch or two higher there than at the back — which is why it reads as crooked by the middle of the day.

The Valiria keeps those three things apart. Its gathered seam sits clearly below the bust line rather than on it, so the skirt is released from the narrowest part of the torso and falls from there instead of draping over the bust. The dolman sleeve is cut deep and wide and finished with a turned-back cuff instead of an elastic hem, so the opening ends at mid upper arm with nothing banded around it, and the dropped shoulder leaves enough fabric across the top that raising your arm moves the sleeve and not the dress. The skirt is gathered very full — a lot of fabric released at one seam — so the extra length the front needs is already in circulation and the hem stays level the whole way round.

Why it works

• Gathered seam placed below the bust: the skirt hangs from the narrowest part of your torso rather than the fullest, so it falls rather than tents.
• Deep cut-on dolman sleeve with a turned-back cuff: no elastic band across the upper arm, and the opening stays loose at exactly the point where sleeves usually grip.
• Dropped shoulder line: extra fabric across the shoulder means the bodice stays where it is when you reach or lift.
• Very full gathered skirt: enough length in the front for it to clear the stomach and still finish level with the back hem.
• Round neckline on a bound edge: finished flat and close to the base of the neck, so it holds its shape and doesn't fall open when you lean forward.
• Side-seam pockets set into the skirt: they sit in the loose part of the dress, so your hands go in without dragging the shape sideways.

Fit note

Valiria runs relaxed. There is no waist seam and no closure, so nothing has to fit at your waist — go by bust and upper arm and take your usual size. If you are between sizes, or your upper arms are usually the part that decides, size up: the sleeve is the one place this dress is finite. The fabric is a matte woven cloth with a soft crinkle, so it creases as you wear it and settles rather than holding a pressed line, and it is fully opaque in all three colours. With flat sandals the hem sits at mid-calf; with a heel it clears the ankle. Sizes M to 4XL.