ELIZABETH

A LETTER FROM CHARLOTTE

At 54, I finally found a dress that doesn’t make me FEEL FRUMPY

Charlotte Mitchell

Sydney · 29 September 2026

I’m not someone who writes reviews, and I nearly didn’t write this. But enough friends have asked me about this dress that it seemed easier to put it all down once.

Somewhere in my fifties, my wardrobe went grey. Not literally, but close. Navy, black, beige, anything that wouldn’t draw attention. The dresses I did own either clung in the wrong places or made me look like I was wearing a sack. So every summer I’d end up back in the same linen trousers.

You don’t stop wanting colour at our age. You just stop finding a dress that wears it well.

And a Sydney summer doesn’t let you hide. Long lunches, the beach, a drink on someone’s balcony as the sun goes down. Every weekend is somewhere to be.

Ready by the window for a warm Sydney weekend.

THEN I FOUND THE ELIZABETH

It didn’t look like any of the dresses I owned. It’s a loose, airy cut with a soft, relaxed drape, so it moves when you walk instead of clinging, and it falls just to the knee. And the colour. A bright, zesty lime yellow I would never have dared to pick for myself.

It’s the Elizabeth, from a small boutique called Willow Stitch, and it’s part of a whole collection of beach dresses. That white floral print is what stopped me scrolling. I ordered it that evening, before I could talk myself out of it.

The morning it arrived. Even brighter in person.

See The Elizabeth Dress →

WHAT MY FRIENDS SAID

I wore it for the first time to a friend’s birthday lunch by the water in Manly.

Before we’d even ordered, two of the girls asked where it was from. One of them, who has known me for twenty years, said she hadn’t seen me in colour since our kids were small. I’ve decided to take that as a compliment.

It’s barely been in the wardrobe since. Brunch, the beach, a walk along the water on a warm evening. It goes with sandals, sneakers or a straw bag, and it never makes me look older than I am.

When I went back to the Willow Stitch website, I realised the Elizabeth is just one of a whole collection of bright beach dresses. I’ve already got my eye on the next one.

THREE THINGS I’VE LEARNED SINCE

One. Loose doesn’t mean shapeless. The relaxed drape follows the body without gripping it anywhere. It’s the most comfortable thing I own, and somehow the most flattering.

Two. The sleeves are just right. They stop at the elbow with a soft little ruffle, so my arms feel covered without me ever feeling hot. I don’t need a cardigan on top.

Three. Colour changes how you feel. I didn’t realise how much I’d missed it. People smile at you when you wear something this bright.

A few of the bright beach dresses in the collection.

ABOUT THE PRICE

I’ll be honest, the price made me more suspicious than anything. The Elizabeth is $59.95, and my first thought was that there had to be a catch. A dress this well made usually costs a great deal more.

There’s no catch that I’ve found. Willow Stitch is a small boutique that sells directly, without a shop or a middleman in between, and they’re running a closing sale.

I read the reviews before I ordered, the way you probably are now. Willow Stitch has more than 8,600 of them, sitting at 4.7 stars, and the same things kept coming up: the fit, the comfort, the quality. That’s what decided it for me.

See The Full Collection →

WHAT I’D TELL YOU OVER A CUPPA

If you and I were sitting down for a cuppa and you asked me, this is what I’d say. If your wardrobe has gone quiet, all navy and beige and “safe”, it’s worth ten minutes of an evening to have a look at the Elizabeth.

Not because a dress changes your life. It doesn’t. But catching sight of yourself in a shop window and actually liking what you see is a small thing I’d stopped expecting. I’d rather you didn’t stop expecting it too.

Treat yourself to a bit of colour. I haven’t reached for my old linen trousers since.

Charlotte Mitchell

Elizabeth | Floral Print Casual Dress

★★★★★ 4.7 from 8,600+ Willow Stitch reviews

$̶2̶0̶0̶.̶0̶0̶

$59.95

✓ Loose, airy cut that moves with you
✓ Lime yellow with a white embroidered-look floral print
✓ Split V-neck with wooden buttons
✓ Elbow-length flutter sleeves
✓ Knee-length: brunch, beach or summer evenings
✓ Sizes AU 8 to 18
✓ Free shipping · 30-day returns

See The Elizabeth Dress →

Closing sale on now. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Charlotte is 54 and lives in Sydney. She’s a Willow Stitch customer, not a fashion writer, and kindly let us share her story.

Willow Stitch · Free shipping across Australia · 30-day returns.

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