The city has a code: understated by day, deliberate at night, and photographed either way. It rewards a considered silhouette over anything loud — which is most of what we make.
Real photos from our shoots, and every dress here is in stock right now. Tap a look to choose your size.
Every order for the United States is picked and packed by hand at our Calgary warehouse, usually the same day it comes in. The dress travels flat in tissue inside a rigid box — a bias-cut satin creases if it is folded any other way — and the tracking number reaches you by email the moment the parcel is handed to the courier.
An order placed on Friday evening leaves on Monday. The exact shipping amount for your address is shown at checkout before you pay.
Four things that hold true from Santa Monica to Silver Lake, whatever the invitation says.
A strong line in a quiet colour outperforms embellishment in almost every room here. Sequins read as costume; a clean shoulder and a defined waist read as intent — see black dresses.
It is also the version that survives being photographed from six feet away by someone you didn’t notice.
The default evening answer: bias-cut, minimal hardware, a hem that moves. It works at a dinner in Los Feliz and at a screening the same week without changing anything but the shoe — see satin dresses.
A boned bodice is a deliberate choice here rather than a default — worn when the event is formal enough to carry it, and left alone when it isn’t.
Underbust is the measurement that decides the size. Bust is not — the corset sizing guide explains why.
Especially near the coast, where it drops sharply once the sun goes. A sleeve, or a dress that takes a jacket cleanly over it, is a decision rather than a habit.
The alternative is spending the night holding a wrap in place.
There is no season here in the weather sense, so the calendar is built out of other people’s events: three months of awards, seven of weddings, and a rooftop year that never really stops.
Not just the ceremonies — the parties, dinners and viewings around them fill three months. Floor-length or a strong column, and something that photographs in flash without flattening.
Malibu, Ojai, downtown lofts, Palm Springs weekends. Seven months of them, and almost always outdoors for at least part of the evening.
The default social setting, and the one that catches people out. Warm at eight, cool by ten, and lit from below all night.
The word means something looser here than it does in New York. A midi is always correct; a well-cut mini frequently is; a floor-length dress can read as over-dressed at anything short of a formal benefit.
When the invitation says nothing at all, look at the venue and the hour. Eight o’clock in Beverly Hills and eight o’clock in Echo Park are two different dresses, and everyone in both rooms knows it. Our dress code guide goes through the wording in full.
Everything below is in the warehouse today and leaves on the next working day. Sizes shown on each card are the ones actually left.
Measurements do the work. It takes ten minutes and saves a return.
For corset and bustier styles the deciding measurement is underbust, not bust — a boned bodice has almost no give and has to sit correctly vertically as well.
Want to try before you buy? Our nearest boutique is in New York, where the full collection is on the rail. Otherwise send your measurements and the dress you are considering to info@the-clipse.com and we answer with an honest recommendation.
