I have a confession to make: I’ve been holding out on you.
I received the Clara Shirt Dress from wool& two years ago and haven’t written about here yet.
Well, I did, kind of. I wore it here, on my trip to Winston-Salem.
But I haven’t given this dress the time and review it deserves, and I’m here today to fix that.
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The Clara Shirt Dress is wool&’s only currently available woven dress in 100% merino wool. The others, including the ultra-popular Rowena Swing Dress and the Avery Dress (which I own but is no longer available), are all knitted from wool blend fabrics.
If you’ve been reading Wayward for a long time, you might recall that particular dress was the only outfit I had for the six days we were stranded in Raleigh (in summer, I might add).
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Thanks to that experience, I know firsthand the benefits of wearing wool. But if you’re new to the textile, here’s a quick summary of why it’s such a great fabric for clothing, straight from wool&:
The problem with cotton is that it readily absorbs moisture and releases that moisture very slowly, which in turn pulls precious warmth from your body. In contrast, wool insulates even when wet and doesn’t technically feel wet until it’s saturated with 60% of its own weight in moisture.
Here’s the surprising part of wool’s climate controlling properties: wool keeps you cool in warm climates too. Lightweight wool garments breathe and wick moisture away from the skin, keeping the wearer cool, even in humid climates.
You may notice that your cotton garments stink after just one or two wears and require washing. Wool garments, on the other hand, can go for weeks (or 100 days) at a time without showing signs of odor. How does wool accomplish this? It quickly absorbs sweat which prevents the growth of odor-causing bacteria and keeps your skin dry.
Since wool fights odor so well, wool-wearers go longer between laundry cycles and the earth is happier because of it. 25% of a garment’s carbon footprint comes from how often you wash it, which reinforces the fact that eliminating laundry when you can is one small thing you can do for the environment.
Even after six days of wearing the Avery Dress, it had little noticeable odor – and I felt much cooler than Michael, who was sweating it out in cotton tees.
But back to the dress you’re here for: the Clara Shirt Dress.
About the Clara Shirt Dress
The Clara Shirt Dress is a long-sleeve style designed to hit at or above the knee (this may vary depending on your height). It features a removable belt and includes four pockets: two at the side seams and two at the chest. The fabric is a woven merino wool, meaning it has zero stretch.
The dress comes in three colors: black, aubergine, and deep teal. The buttons on the split-neckline begin midway, thus it cannot be buttoned to the base of the neck. The hem of the sleeves includes a button to aid in rolling and cuffing.
Clara Shirt Dress Fit
The sides of the dress are cut fairly straight, with a slight ease at the hips, down to a curved bottom hem. The dress comes in sizes XS-XXL, and wool& helpfully provides a size chart dedicated to this dress:
For reference, I’m 5’4″, and my measurements are currently 37″-28″-41.5″. I’m wearing the Medium here, although my hips technically place me in a Large.
On my frame, the fit is quite generous in the shoulders and waist but skims my bust and hips without tugging. If I went up a size, it would be way, way too large in the shoulders and waist, and if I were to size down to a Small, the fabric would pull uncomfortably across my hips and chest. Because there is a little extra fabric at the waist, I will likely always wear a belt with the Clara Shirt Dress.
As the fabric is a non-stretch fabric, I recommend choosing your size according to your largest measurement. The size chart will also help you gauge where the bottom hem of the dress will land – on me, it’s ever-so-slightly above my knee. One last thing to note, because I’m on the shorter size, the sleeves are a tad long on me. I typically roll them once, but may eventually have them professionally shortened.
Styling the Clara Shirt Dress
On to the fun part – styling the Clara Shirt Dress!
While I don’t have any innovative styling hacks for this dress other than swapping out the belt (you can check out some fun styling ideas in this post, or this series for fresh ideas on how to style your current garments), I’m pleased to say it can comfortably be worn in three out of four seasons here in North Carolina.
Even though wool fabric can help keep you cool, the black dye retains heat and it’s just a bit too much to wear in the summer. But for the other seasons, I love styling this dress in different ways:
Autumn
Autumn practically begs for us to wear colors that match its changing and falling leaves. Black will always be the backbone of my wardrobe, but in the fall I like to warm things up a bit with gorgeous browns like cognac. Even though boots season starts in late September (and seemingly arrives earlier every year), it’s rarely tights-weather yet in Charlotte, so I usually choose to go barelegged during the day.
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Winter
Winter is the Clara Shirt Dress’ time to shine. With tights and cute boots, it easily goes from desk to drinks. I like to glam things up in the winter, and I’ll often grab a shimmery earring to pair with an understated outfit.
I’m not wearing a coat in these photos in order to highlight the dress, but I tend to reach for a wool coat that hits at the bottom hem, my leather moto jacket, or my cape (for a little extra drama!). On a really cold day, I would consider adding a thin wool turtleneck underneath.
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Spring
Once the weather starts to warm, I like to lighten up this LBD with some pale neutrals and fun textures. Light accessories play particularly well against the dark backdrop. If I start feeling a bit warm, I can roll my sleeves, as shown here, and undo a button. Easy peasy!
Clara Shirt Dress Fabric & Garment Care
As I previously mentioned, the Clara Shirt Dress is made from a tightly woven 100% merino wool. The fabric is quite substantial, but it drapes and moves beautifully (this is a trait I most frequently associate with natural fibers – I feel like the drape of synthetic fibers pales in comparison!).
It shouldn’t need laundering often, but when it’s time, the care instructions say to machine wash cold and line dry. I’ve only needed to wash it once or twice and I’ve followed these instructions, except I hang it to dry inside for colorfastness.
What about pilling? Scout’s honor, it hasn’t been an issue!
Final Thoughts on the Clara Shirt Dress
While the Clara Shirt Dress may not necessarily feel like the most exciting or trendy piece, I’m extremely happy it found its way to my wardrobe. As I reach for it often during three-fourths of the year, I think it’s fair to say it’s a closet workhorse.
I especially love this dress for travel, as it needs less laundering than other fabrics, is suitable for most activities, and it also has pockets. One thing to note is that it does attract a bit of lint (an issue exacerbated by our current washing machine). But otherwise, after two years of owning this dress, it still looks brand new – I’m glad I’ll be able to wear it for years to come.
*Many of the garments in my wardrobe are several seasons old and no longer available from the maker, and I've linked a similar, suitable product.
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