The Dottie Dress

There is something about Dottie that just makes you want to twirl. And perhaps most importantly for a dress meant for real life… she has TWO pockets.

Our Dottie Dress takes the easy, adjustable silhouette of our Corin Dress and lengthens it into a sweeping, full-length version. It’s feminine and romantic without feeling precious, the kind of dress you can actually live in.

The Dottie Print Fabric: 

Dottie begins with a beautiful deep, old-world green scattered with white dots—playful enough to give her personality, but timeless enough that she doesn’t belong to any particular season.

And those little dots aren’t printed by a machine.
This fabric is hand block printed.

Rather than sending the fabric through a modern screen-printing process designed to create thousands of perfectly identical yards, the pattern is created slowly by hand.
Small blocks are repeatedly placed onto the cotton, one impression after another, gradually creating the pattern across the fabric.

It’s an incredibly labor-intensive way to make something in a world accustomed to making things fast.

And you can see the human hand in it.

Look closely and you may find a dot that’s a little lighter than the one beside it, an impression that isn’t perfectly aligned, a small smudge, a space where the block didn’t completely transfer, or another tiny irregularity in the pattern.

Those aren’t defects to us. They’re the reason we chose it.

No two cuts of this fabric will ever be perfectly identical. When this particular run of hand-blocked fabric is gone, we cannot promise we’ll ever be able to source the exact same one again.

It’s perfectly imperfect—something made slowly enough to still carry evidence of the hands that created it. 🤍

Wear her loose and flowing, add a belt when you’d like a little more shape, throw a cardigan over her when the weather cools, or dress her up with boots or heels.

The Fit:
Dottie was designed to adjust to you.

A functional tie runs around the neckline, allowing you to completely customize how it falls. Cinch it higher for more coverage, loosen it for a softer neckline, wear it slightly off the shoulder, or allow the back to fall lower for a more romantic look.

The softly gathered short sleeves are finished with comfortable elastic that we’ve intentionally kept generous through the arm.

The entire dress is lined in lightweight cotton voile, giving you beautiful coverage while keeping the softness and breathability we love about natural fibers.

Our Dottie sizing is intentionally flexible.

XS fits approximately XS–M, Bust is fitted at 36.5”
M fits approximately M–XL, Bust is fitted at 40”
Dress length is 51”

*We are happy to order other sizes upon request. 

The bust is the most important measurement to check, as it is the least flexible portion of this silhouette. Please reference our measurements when choosing your size.

Corin and Camielle are pictured in our XS, while Granny Becky is pictured in our M and typically wears a Large.

We intentionally photographed our pieces on the women in our own family, different ages, heights and body types—because we want you to be able to see how these dresses actually live on real women.

The Dottie Dress is currently offered in our full-length silhouette, but because these pieces are custom made for Dear Daughter, additional lengths, sizing and matching little-daughter pieces may be available by special order.

If you need a shorter hem, a different size, or dream of having a matching one made for your little girl, reach out to us. We’ll be happy to see what we can create.

100% organic cotton, organically made with NO synthetics or harmful chemicals.. Fully cotton-voile lined. Two pockets. Hand block printed. Designed in Festus, Mo. Made slowly, intentionally, in India and meant to be lived in.

Care: wash on cold delicate separately, hang to dry.