A LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER · FLORENCE & MAY

I have chosen summer tops for Melbourne women for fourteen years. The Audrey is the one I am proudest of, and the one I reach for myself.

On the six things I look for in a summer top, how the Audrey compares with the tops you have been buying, and why it is $64.95 while we fight to keep our doors open.

Florence · Founder of Florence & May

Melbourne · Spring 2026 · 5 min read

The Audrey in white, worn loose over linen trousers on a warm afternoon.

Fourteen years ago, my daughter May and I opened Florence & May in Melbourne. In that time I have chosen a great many summer tops for our rails, and I have watched a great many of them let women down.

You know the moment. It is mid-morning, the day has warmed up, and the top that felt fine at breakfast is now clinging to your back. By lunchtime you are counting the hours until you can get home and change.

The tops made for women our age seem to come in two kinds. There is the pretty one that turns hot and sticky as soon as the temperature passes thirty, because underneath the word “linen” on the swing tag it is mostly polyester. And there is the sensible one, cool enough, but so plain you could be wearing anything.

Our summers are harder than the ones most of these tops were designed for. The Audrey is the top I reach for myself on the hottest days, the one women ask me about when I wear it, and of everything in our Revival it is the piece I most wanted to write to you about properly.

Staying cool, or looking like yourself. I have never believed you should have to pick one.

There were six things I would not give up on. Here they are, plainly.

1

Real linen that lets the heat out.

Not polyester dressed up to look like linen. Real linen, which lets the air through and carries the heat away from your skin instead of holding it there. It feels crisp the first time you put it on and grows softer with every wash, so the top you love in December is even nicer by February.

Real linen, up close. Light, slightly textured and cool against the skin.

★★★★★

“I wore it through a 36-degree day at the cricket and never once felt sticky.”

Wendy P., Brisbane

2

An open V-neck and one statement button.

The neckline sits open and soft, framing your face and collarbones without showing more than you want to. Then there is the single large button below it. It does nothing practical at all, and it is the detail people notice first. It is what makes a simple linen top look chosen rather than grabbed.

One button, and that is all the detail it needs.

★★★★★

“Three people asked me about the button at one lunch. Such a small thing, and it makes the whole top.”

Robyn T., Sunshine Coast

3

Sleeves that cover the tops of your arms.

They come down past the tops of your arms without adding any warmth, and they roll softly to the elbow when the afternoon heats up. I will say it plainly, because hardly anyone does: plenty of us gave up sleeveless tops years ago, and not one of us gave up wanting to be cool. The Audrey is made for exactly that woman.

Rolled to the elbow when the afternoon gets hot.

★★★★★

“My arms are covered and I am still cool. I bought a second one the following week.”

Lynette A., Wagga Wagga

4

A cut that skims, and never clings.

Loose through the body so the air can move underneath, and it falls past the tummy instead of catching on it. Nothing pulls across the shoulders when you reach for the top shelf, and nothing creeps up when you sit down.

★★★★★

“Nothing clings to my tummy. I stopped tugging at my top halfway through the morning, which I have done for years.”

Denise F., Mildura

5

A length made to be worn untucked.

It finishes over the hip, so it covers what you want covered and sits neatly over trousers, jeans or shorts without being tucked in. No fiddling in the mirror, and no checking the back of it in a shop window.

Worn loose over trousers. Nothing to tuck, nothing to fix.

★★★★★

“I wear it over my linen trousers and over jeans. It looks finished both ways, and I never have to tuck a thing.”

Cheryl B., Port Macquarie

6

Easy with everything you already own.

Linen trousers for a warm afternoon, your good jeans for lunch in the city, shorts and sandals for a weekend down the coast. The Audrey earns its place in the wardrobe from the first day, because you do not need to buy anything new to go with it.

★★★★★

“I have barely worn another top since I bought it. With jeans, with shorts, with my white linen pants. It just works.”

Margaret O., Glenelg

See if your size is still here →

Revival price $64.95 · Free delivery with Australia Post · 30-day money-back guarantee

The Audrey, against the tops you have been buying

You can find a summer top for sixty or 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 TOPS

✗ Polyester sold as “linen look”

✗ Clings the moment the heat comes up

✗ Bare arms, or sleeves that trap the heat

✗ Grabs at the middle

✗ Has to be tucked in to look right

✗ Needs something new bought to go with it

THE AUDREY

✓ Real linen that actually breathes

✓ Skims, and lets the air move underneath

✓ Sleeves that cover, with no extra heat

✓ Falls past the tummy instead of catching

✓ Made to be worn untucked

✓ Goes with what you already own

“If a top cannot keep you cool and let you look like yourself at the same time, it does not go on our rails.”

Why the Audrey is $64.95 now

The Audrey is $64.95 for the Revival, and 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, so a second one for the washing basket, or one for your sister, costs less than you would expect.

I will be honest with you about why. Every order this year keeps our doors open a little longer, and I would rather you tried the Audrey at a price that makes the decision easy than read my praise of it and wonder. Fourteen years of this have taught me that when a woman finds a top that truly works, she rarely stops at one. I am counting on that.

And there is the weather. Summer is only weeks away. Buy it now and it is in the wardrobe, washed and ready, the first morning the forecast says thirty-five. Leave it until January and you will be choosing from whatever is left. When a size sells out at this price, it is gone.

$64.95

Revival price

14

Years in Melbourne

4.8★

17,000+ reviews

30

Day money-back guarantee

★★★★★

“I bought the white first and went back for a second within a fortnight. Between the two I have hardly reached for another top all spring. Cool, easy, and somebody asks me about the button every time I wear it.”

Judith K., Albury

Folded and ready to go out to you.

Of every summer top I have chosen in fourteen years, the Audrey is the one I am proudest of, and the one I would most like to see out in the sunshine rather than sitting on a shelf.

If summer usually means choosing between comfortable and presentable, try this one. It is the top I would pick out for you myself.

With love, and with thanks,

Florence

P.S. The reviews say what I have said here, over and over. If you can still choose your size, it is still here, and I would have it washed and ready before the first scorcher.

The Audrey Linen Blouse

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

$64.95 · Revival price

✓ Real linen, breathable and never clinging

✓ Open V-neck with one statement button

✓ Sleeves that cover the arms and roll to the elbow

✓ Loose, classic length, made to be worn untucked

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

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

See if your size is still in stock →

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.

This is a personal letter from the founder of Florence & May. Prices and availability are accurate while stock lasts.

See Audrey, $64.95 while sizes last