A letter from Harper & Matilda – Stella
She has three spring occasions on the calendar and nothing she wants to wear.
Not because her wardrobe is empty. Because everything dressy is tight, sleeveless or cut for someone thirty years younger.
On the six things that made us choose the Stella, how it compares to what you have been wearing, and why it is A$79.95 in our Pre-Black Friday Sale.
We are Harper and Matilda, two sisters, and we opened our boutique in Melbourne in 2010 with one idea: that a woman should never have to choose between comfortable and beautiful.
The place that idea gets tested hardest is the season of occasions. A spring wedding, a christening, the long lunch for a friend's seventieth, the Melbourne Cup do at the bowls club. The days you want to walk in looking like you made an effort.
There are two kinds of dressy outfits waiting for you, and you know both. There is the comfortable one, and it looks it: the same black trousers and the same cardigan you wore last time. And there is the one that looks right on the hanger, fitted, sleeveless and short in the top, so you spend the whole afternoon tugging at it.
So every spring a woman does the sums and reaches for the safe one, because at least she knows she can sit down in it. And then she is comfortable, and covered, and a little invisible in the photos.
We never accepted that a woman had to choose.
The Stella is our answer. It is a two-piece set: a loose, layered top with an asymmetric hem and a delicate shoulder strap, and matching wide-leg trousers, in five colours and sizes S to 2XL. There were six things we would not do without.
1Soft layers that skim, because you shouldn't spend the day tugging at your top
Most dressy tops are cut close. They look lovely in the change room while you stand still, and then you sit down for lunch and spend the next three hours pulling the hem down and checking it hasn't crept up over your tummy.
The Stella top is made of two flowing, asymmetric layers that skim over the body instead of holding on to it. They move when you move and settle back when you sit. That's the trick. You stop checking yourself and start enjoying the lunch.
2Draped sleeves, because you shouldn't need a cardigan over your outfit in November
So many occasion tops are sleeveless, and nearly every woman we know ends up with a cardigan over the top, even on a warm spring afternoon. The outfit she chose so carefully disappears under something she grabbed at the door.
The Stella's top falls into wide, loose sleeves that drape over the upper arm to about the elbow. Your arms are covered, but nothing is tight, so the air still moves on a warm day. You will never need to cover it up.
3A hint of shoulder, because pretty shouldn't mean showing more than you'd like
When a top is dressy, it is usually because it shows a lot. Low at the front, bare at the back, or off both shoulders so you spend the evening hitching it up. When it covers you, it often has a high round neck that makes the whole outfit look like a Tuesday.
The Stella has a wide, straight neckline with a delicate strap over one shoulder. It shows just a little skin, enough to feel fresh and feminine, and nothing you need to keep an eye on. This was the one we thought hardest about.
4Matching wide-leg trousers, because a long, clean line does more than any heel
Finding a pretty top is hard enough. Then you have to find something to wear with it, and the trousers are never quite the same black, or the skirt is the wrong length, and the whole outfit starts to look put together from three different shops.
The Stella comes with matching trousers, cut wide and long in a clean line from the waist to the floor. One colour from top to toe makes you look taller without a single inch of heel, and the loose top sits in balance with them. It is a whole outfit, decided.
5S to 2XL, one price, because pretty shouldn't stop at a 14
There's a particular disappointment in finding an occasion outfit you love and discovering the size you need isn't there, or costs more. We have never understood a shop that does that and then wonders why so many women go to weddings in black.
The Stella comes in five sizes, S | AU 10 to 2XL | AU 18, every one at the same price, with a loose top that is forgiving through the middle. If the size isn't right, you can send it back within 30 days, so the only real decision is which colour.
6Five colours that dress up or down, because one good outfit should do a whole season
An occasion outfit usually comes out once. It needs the right shoes, the right bag and the right event, so it spends the rest of the year at the back of the wardrobe looking at you.
The Stella comes in White, Black, Blue, Navy and Burgundy. Wear it with metallic sandals and your good jewellery for a wedding, or with flat sandals and a straw bag for a long lunch by the water. It reads as a choice you made, not something you were saving for best.
The Stella, against what you have been wearing
| The usual occasion outfit | The Stella | |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Cut close, so you tug at it all day | Loose, layered top that skims |
| Arms | Sleeveless, so on goes the cardigan | Wide draped sleeves to about the elbow |
| Neckline | A plunge, or a high round neck | A wide neckline with one delicate strap |
| Bottoms | Bought separately, never quite matching | Matching wide-leg trousers |
| Sizing | Often stops at AU 14 | S | AU 10 to 2XL | AU 18, one price |
We refuse to sell a woman an occasion outfit that asks her to choose between feeling comfortable and feeling special. That is the whole reason the Stella is on our rails this season.
Why it's 80% off right now
The Stella is marked at A$399.95. For our Pre-Black Friday Sale, running until 26 November, we have taken 80% off everything in the boutique, so the Stella set is yours for A$79.95. Buy more than one and you save even more: an extra 15% when you buy 2, 20% when you buy 3 and 25% when you buy 4 or more.
This is the outfit for the season ahead: the weddings, the long lunches, the Christmas drinks with the neighbours. Our years behind the counter have taught us that once a woman finds something she feels both comfortable and special in, it becomes the first thing she reaches for. That is what we hope for every Stella.
★★★★★ 4.7 out of 5 · from 1,475+ women in our Melbourne boutique
- Soft, layered top that skims instead of clings
- Wide draped sleeves that cover your upper arms
- A wide neckline with one delicate shoulder strap
- Matching wide-leg trousers for a long, clean line
- White, Black, Blue, Navy or Burgundy · S | AU 10 to 2XL | AU 18
- Extra 15% off 2, 20% off 3, 25% off 4 or more
- Free shipping Australia-wide · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every size the same price
We have watched a great many women pick up a pretty outfit, hold it against themselves in the mirror and put it back on the rail. She likes it. That isn't the question.
What she is deciding is whether she will still feel comfortable in it at the end of a long afternoon, and whether it is really meant for a woman her age.
It is. Go and pick your size.
With love, Harper & Matilda · Wattle & Vale Melbourne
See the Stella · A$79.95 →A personal letter from the founders of Wattle & Vale Melbourne. Melbourne family boutique since 2010 · Free shipping Australia-wide · 30-day money-back guarantee, subject to our returns policy.