Jewel Floral Jacquard Puff Sleeve Top

The boardroom version of this top showed up in a client's garden tea three months after she had first worn it to a Series A meeting. So we built her a second one, same jewel jacquard, looser at the waist, no peplum, no built in corset.

The garden version is for sitting. The bodice is straight cut from the bust to the hip, no shaping, so she could host an afternoon of small chops and champagne without monitoring her own silhouette. The puff sleeve is the same shape but cut from a lighter lining so it deflates a little after the second hour, which is the way puff sleeves should age. The jacquard floral catches afternoon light differently from morning light, which we did not plan for but she did, in her own garden, in her own way.

A friend asked her where she got it. She told her. By the next month, three of her friends were in fittings with me. The garden version is the entry point to the rest of the wardrobe. The boardroom version is what they buy six months later.