Helena: A Letter From Anne Whitaker
I had given up on knitted dresses more than once. Then I saw this one in the shop window.
I have given up on knitted dresses more than once. One clung in every place I did not want it to. Another lost its shape within a fortnight of ordinary wearing, and somewhere in between there was a jumper dress so unpleasant against the skin that I stopped wearing it by half term. I had more or less decided that a knitted dress and I were finished with each other.
Then I walked past the Abbey Lane shop window last week and saw this one on the rail inside. A proper fold collar, three large brown buttons instead of a zip or a plain round neck, nothing I recognised from the dresses that had let me down before. I went in to have a proper look, which with me usually means going looking for the catch before I go looking for my purse.
What does it look like on?
Back home, I tried it on properly, with dark tights and my ankle boots, the way I would actually wear it out of the house. The rib runs vertically and is noticeably chunky, catching the light rather than lying flat the way some of my older jumpers do. The cut itself is relaxed and straight, with no fitted seams or darts and nothing pulling at the waist.
Standing at the hall mirror with my coat half on, I was braced to see every lump, the way I always am with a knit. Instead I found myself looking at the rib texture and the collar, which is not usually where my attention goes first with a new dress.
"I wore it with tights and ankle boots. The vertical rib and the collar with three buttons made me feel elegant in the mirror."
The collar and the three buttons
The fold down collar sits in the same chunky rib, with an open front held by three large round brown buttons rather than a zip or a plain crew neck. It gives me somewhere to put a chain or a string of beads instead of nothing to work with at all. I wore the amber beads my sister brought me with it the first time, the kind of thing a plain round neckline simply swallows.
"The fold down collar and three big buttons are such a nice detail. They give you a proper neckline to show off your jewellery."
The sleeves and the cuffs
The sleeves run the full length to the wrist, finished with the same rib at the cuff rather than a plain hem. Whatever I have on underneath, my arms stay properly covered, and I am not forever pulling a sleeve back down once I reach for something on a high shelf. The cuffs sit close enough that I could still push a bracelet over them without a fight, which is more than I can say for some of the jumpers already in my wardrobe.
"The long sleeves with ribbed cuffs are exactly what I wanted. No more bare arms."
The length and the size range
The length is the detail I was most cautious about, because a midi can mean almost anything depending on who is wearing it and how tall they are. On me it sits at the knee, not above it, in the tights and boots I actually wear in October. It comes in sizes S to 3XL, UK 8 to 18, so whatever worked for me is at least worth trying against your own height and shape rather than taking my word for the exact spot it will land on you.
"It hits at my knee, which is perfect for me."
The Helena, against what was already in my wardrobe
| ย | What I already owned | The Helena |
|---|---|---|
| Length | A midi that meant something different every time I tried one on | Sits at the knee, the same length I tried on in the shop |
| Sleeves | Stopped short of the wrist, or had no cuff to speak of | Long sleeves, finished with a ribbed cuff |
| Neckline | A plain crew neck, nothing to put a chain against | A fold collar with three large round buttons |
| Colours | One or two, rarely the ones I actually wanted | Black, Red, Khaki and Yellow |
| Delivery | Delivery costs that turned up at the very end of checkout | Free UK Delivery |
Helena | Ribbed Midi Dress
ยฃ39.95
Black
Red
Khaki
Yellow
- Fold collar, open V with three large brown buttons
- Long sleeves with ribbed cuffs
- Knee length midi, relaxed straight cut
- Sizes S to 3XL, UK 8 to 18
I went back to the Abbey Lane shop myself, about a week after the first one, and came out with a second colour. I still have not entirely explained that to my husband, who notices almost nothing about what I wear and noticed this.
If you have also more or less given up on knitted dresses, I understand completely. I had too. This is simply what happened when I tried one more.
Anne Whitaker
See The Helena DressAbout the writer. Anne Whitaker is a customer from Harrogate, Yorkshire. This page is an advertisement for Abbey Lane. Free UK delivery, 30 day returns.