A refreshing cotton dress that suits the summer sunshine—wear it and you'll want to head out the door.

When it comes to fashion items perfectly suited to the warm days of spring and summer, dresses are hard to beat. The breeze passing through the fabric feels wonderful, and simply putting one on lifts your spirits.

This time, ZUTTO created an original gathered dress in cotton fabric: the "Cotton Light Poplin Gathered Dress." We paid close attention to details that give it just the right presence, so you'll never feel like "a dress alone is a bit lacking." As a piece you can reach for anytime with ease, it's perfect for spring and summer outings.

Detail 1: The Gathers

The standout feature is undoubtedly the gathers at the waist seam. By intentionally designing the skirt side to overlap on top, a ruffle-like charm has been added. The fabric edges are also finished with a mellow (rolled) edge, resulting in a delicate, fluttering design.

Another nice thing about gathered dresses is that you can change the silhouette depending on how you tie the cords. This dress is designed to be adjusted by cinching the cords from both sides.

BLUE

Hat: PROVENCE 12

Bag: Pochette

Sandals: Open Toe Sandal SAN12 NERO

Here, the dress is worn relaxed and oversized, with the cords left almost unfastened. The silhouette falls straight down, giving off a relaxed atmosphere. Since there's no feeling of tightness, it's also great for outings that involve a lot of travel time.

BLACK

Pumps: Chunky Heel NERO

Bag: [Special Order] San Gabriel

Here, the cords are cinched firmly to mark the waist. In addition to flattering the figure, this styling also adds a neat, polished impression, making it a great option for work as well. Cinching the waist causes the skirt to flare out naturally and softly.

▽We asked the designer.

There are many ways to design a waist gather seam, but why did you choose a design with this particular point of emphasis this time?

Detail 2: The Stitching

Another key point is the contrast stitching. White stitching is used at the neckline, sleeves, waist, and hem on both colorways. Typically, garments are sewn with thread matching the fabric color, but for this dress we deliberately used white contrast stitching to tone down the sweetness characteristic of gathered dresses and add a touch of casual style.

▽We asked the designer.

Contrast stitching isn't something we've often seen in ZUTTO's original apparel—why did you decide to incorporate it into this dress?

What Is Cotton Poplin?

The name has a charming ring to it, but poplin refers to a tightly woven plain weave fabric with a fine crosswise rib. It's a material that is durable and long-lasting, yet has a soft, lustrous surface. Being thin and lightweight, it's truly ideal for spring and summer. The staff members who tried it on also liked how, despite its voluminous appearance, it felt light and comfortable to wear.

The fabric used this time was finished with great care by artisans who, drawing on years of experience, paid close attention to dyeing methods and texture. At the stage of kibata—the fabric before dyeing—the material is gradually worked and softened over time to relax the fibers before dyeing, resulting in the natural, soft texture unique to natural fibers. Furthermore, when drying the dyed fabric, it is finished gently without applying tension, which creates a washed, slightly wrinkled texture reminiscent of vintage fabric. The reason this gathered dress, which could easily look overly sweet, instead carries a more handsome impression lies partly in the choice of fabric.

We've prepared two colors: BLUE, which blends naturally with the skin for a cool impression, and BLACK, which offers a clean, refined feel. Please choose your favorite color while imagining where you'll wear it.
 

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We now offer ZUTTO's clothing alteration service.

Up until now, whenever a customer's beloved item broke, we've done our best to work with the maker to build a repair process. When it came to clothing, however, we hadn't yet reached the point of offering a ZUTTO-original solution. But now that we've set up an in-house atelier for making clothes, we're able to offer "clothing alterations and repairs," and have decided to launch this as a paid service for our customers.

"I'd like to shorten the hem of the skirt I bought by 3cm."

"There's a hole in my knit sweater—could you darn it for me?"

"I'd like to hem my denim pants while keeping the aging on the original hem intact."

We accept requests like these for mending and altering clothing. Of course we'll take items purchased at ZUTTO, but we'll also do our best to accommodate items purchased elsewhere.

Click here for details＞＞