A LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER · FLORENCE & MAY

I have dressed Melbourne women for fourteen summers. Gwendolen is the dress I would want you to remember us by.

On the six things I look for in a summer dress, how Gwendolen compares with the dresses you have been buying, and why she and our other boho dresses are $69.95 while we fight to keep our doors open.

Florence · Founder of Florence & May

Melbourne · Spring 2026 · 5 min read

Gwendolen, in black and warm sand. The first thing people notice is the print.

Fourteen years ago, my daughter May and I opened Florence & May with one simple idea: a Melbourne boutique where every woman would feel beautiful, elegant and completely herself. I have chosen what goes on our rails ever since.

This year has been the hardest we have had, and something surprised me. The hardest part has not been the thought of closing our doors. It has been the thought of saying goodbye to the women who walked through them.

So we are not going quietly. We have called it our Revival, and it is exactly that. Every piece is chosen with the same care as always, at prices we have never offered before. The rail I am proudest of is our boho dresses, and there is one dress on it I wanted to write to you about myself.

Every spring for fourteen years, I have watched women come in looking for a summer dress and find the same two kinds. The first is the sensible kind: a plain shift in navy or beige, cool enough, but so forgettable you could be wearing anything. The second is made for a woman half your age, short, sleeveless and clinging, and it goes back in the bag after one wear.

Comfortable, or worth a second look. I have never believed you should have to pick one.

Gwendolen is the dress that proves you don’t, and these are the six reasons it earned its place on that rail.

1

A print that does all the talking.

Bold, curving waves in black and warm sand run the full length of the dress, from the shoulders to the hem. It is the only decoration on the whole dress, and it is enough. No necklace, no scarf, nothing to think about. And because the lines run lengthways, they draw the eye up and down rather than across, which is exactly what you want a print to do.

★★★★★

“Wore it to a friend’s 60th and three women asked where it was from before I’d even sat down. It looks far more expensive than it was.”

Lorraine M., Geelong

2

Sleeves that cover the tops of your arms.

Three-quarter sleeves that finish just below the elbow. Enough to let you forget about your arms entirely, light enough that you never feel wrapped up on a warm afternoon. And in a city that gives you four seasons in one day, they take the edge off a cool morning when the weather changes its mind.

★★★★★

“Finally, a summer dress with a proper sleeve. I haven’t given my arms a second thought all day.”

Leanne T., Ballarat

3

A V-neck that frames your face.

Not too low, not too high. The soft V opens up the neckline and draws the eye towards your face, which does more for you than any necklace. It is modest enough for lunch with the family, and open enough to let you breathe when a hot north wind blows in.

★★★★★

“The neckline is just right. Nothing on show, but it doesn’t feel buttoned up to my chin either.”

Deborah K., Mornington

4

A relaxed cut that skims, and never clings.

The body falls loose and straight, so the light, softly draping fabric moves over the tummy and hips instead of catching on them. The air moves underneath it on a hot day. It stays comfortable from the morning coffee to the evening walk along the bay.

Worn loose. It falls straight rather than clinging.

★★★★★

“It skims right over my middle instead of clinging to it. The first dress in years I haven’t spent all day tugging at.”

Sharon W., Bendigo

5

Real pockets, set into the side seams.

Proper side pockets for your phone, your keys and your sunnies. On the days I wear Gwendolen, the handbag stays on the hook by the door. It sounds like a small thing until you own a dress with real pockets, and then you won’t buy one without them.

Phone, keys and sunnies. The handbag stays home.

★★★★★

“Phone in one pocket, keys in the other, and off to the market. Such a small thing, and I love it.”

Gail P., Hobart

6

Black and sand, so it goes with what you already own.

Black and warm sand are the two colours already in most of our wardrobes, so Gwendolen earns its place from the first day. Wear it with flat sandals and a woven basket for a Saturday at the market, or leather mules and a light jacket when you are meeting friends in the city. The midi length works for both: long enough to feel covered, easy enough to walk in all day.

Flat sandals and a woven basket. That is the whole outfit.

★★★★★

“I’ve worn it to the market, to lunch in the city and to my granddaughter’s christening. It worked for every one of them.”

Christine B., Camberwell

Gwendolen hangs on our boho rail this spring beside florals, paisleys, stripes and patchwork prints, every one chosen with the same care and every one $69.95. If you would like to see her alongside the others, click here.

See Gwendolen and our boho dresses →

Every boho dress $69.95 · Free delivery with Australia Post · 30-day money-back guarantee

Gwendolen, against the dresses you have been buying

You can find a summer dress for seventy dollars in any shopping centre. I know, because I have spent fourteen years looking at them. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.

MOST SHOPPING-CENTRE DRESSES

✗ Plain prints that disappear in a crowd

✗ Sleeveless, or sleeves that add warmth

✗ Cut close, clinging to the middle

✗ Fake pockets, or none at all

✗ Sizes that stop at 14 or 16

GWENDOLEN

✓ A wave print people stop you to ask about

✓ Three-quarter sleeves that cover the tops of your arms

✓ A relaxed cut that skims and falls straight

✓ Real side pockets for your phone and keys

✓ Sizes 8 to 22 (S to 5XL)

“I will not put a dress on our rails that asks a woman to choose between being comfortable and looking like herself.”

Why Gwendolen is $69.95 now

Gwendolen was $189.90. For the Revival it is $69.95, and so is every other boho dress on the rail. The discount grows when you take more than one: 10% off two pieces, 15% off three, and 20% off four or more. It comes off automatically at checkout, and you can mix Gwendolen with any other boho dress, or anything else in the boutique.

I will be honest with you about why. We have never priced anything this way before. We are doing it because every order keeps our doors open another day, and it really is that simple for us this year.

What I cannot promise is how long it lasts. When a size is gone, it is gone. If you can still choose your size, it is still here.

$69.95

Every boho dress

14

Years in Melbourne

4.8★

17,000+ reviews

30

Day money-back guarantee

★★★★★

“I have been buying from Florence & May for years, and this is one of my favourite things I have ever had from them. Cool, comfortable, and the print gets a comment every single time I wear it. When I read they were fighting to stay open, I ordered a second one for my sister in Perth.”

Jennifer D., Adelaide

Of all the dresses I have chosen in fourteen summers, Gwendolen is the one I would want you to remember us by. I would much rather it went to women who will wear it than sat folded on a rail.

You showed up for us for fourteen years. I am asking you to show up one more time, and to look wonderful while you do it.

With love, and with thanks,

Florence

P.S. Gwendolen comes in sizes 8 to 22 (S to 5XL), and some sizes are already running low. And if the wave print isn’t quite you, the boho dresses beside her were chosen with exactly the same care. You can see them all here.

Gwendolen | Graphic-Wave Boho Midi Dress

★★★★★ Rated 4.8 · Excellent · 17,000+ reviews

$189.90 $69.95 · You save $119.95

✓ Bold wave print in black and warm sand, shoulder to hem

✓ Three-quarter sleeves and a soft V-neck

✓ Relaxed midi cut that skims rather than clings

✓ Real side pockets

✓ Sizes 8 to 22 (S to 5XL)

✓ Free delivery with Australia Post & 30-day money-back guarantee

Revival bundle: 10% off 2 · 15% off 3 · 20% off 4+

See Gwendolen and our boho dresses →

About the writer. Florence opened Florence & May in Melbourne with her daughter May in 2012. Fourteen years on, she still chooses every piece on the rails herself.

See Gwendolen & our boho dresses