FRANCES | Painted daisy shirt with a point collar

I wanted flowers that did not look like curtain fabric. These are drawn, not printed on.

Floral at our age is a narrow path. On one side is the dense allover print that belongs on furniture, on the other is a print so timid it may as well be plain, and most of what is on the rack sits squarely in one camp or the other. Frances is the scattered kind, where the flowers have room around them.

The daisies and anemones are hand painted in pink, violet, blue and yellow, spaced across a cream ground rather than repeating edge to edge, which is what keeps them from crowding the body. The cut is boxy through the shoulder with a curved hem, so it hangs away rather than following you, and the light matte weave drapes instead of holding its own shape. A point collar and a full tonal button front keep the whole thing looking like a shirt rather than a novelty. There are two hip pockets.

Why women our age keep coming back to it

• The flowers have space around them. Scattered rather than repeating, so the pattern reads as drawn by hand instead of printed by the yard.
• Boxy through the shoulder. The cut hangs off the body, which is what lets you wear it open over a plain white or black top without it looking like two layers fighting.
• Tonal buttons and a point collar. The finishing is quiet, so the print is the only thing asking for attention.
• Two hip pockets. Somewhere to put your hands, which is more than most blouses at this price offer.

Buy more, save more

• Buy 2 and save 10 percent
• Buy 3 and save 15 percent
• Buy 4 and save 20 percent

The discount is applied automatically at checkout.

How it fits

Frances runs on the small side, so it is one to size up on rather than order straight. It comes in 8 through 22, and these are UK sizes rather than US ones, so go by the measurements rather than the number you usually buy. The size chart gives bust, waist and hips as body measurements in inches, not garment measurements, so measure over a light top with the tape level. If you are between two sizes, or you want room through the shoulder, or you plan to layer underneath, take the larger one.

30 days to change your mind

Send it back within 30 days for a full refund. There is no restocking fee and no questions about why.

A few recent reviews

Sized up as advised and it was right. Would have been tight otherwise.
Bettina R., Mesa

The cream is a real cream. It does not go yellow under the kitchen light.
Arleta M., 68

I wear it open over a black tank with white jeans all summer. The pockets get used.
Nella C., Tucson