Designer Dresses in New York

New York is the one city where you can put a CLIPSE dress on before you buy it. Our boutique is at 419 Broome St in SoHo, open daily 11:30am–7:00pm. Everything else — evening, cocktail and corset styles — ships from our Calgary warehouse by tracked courier.

Nowhere else asks a dress to do so many different jobs in one week, and nowhere else makes you walk to all of them.

What New York does to a dress

You walk, so the hem is a decision

Between the subway, the avenue and the last block on foot, an evening here involves real distance on pavement — often in a heel, sometimes in weather. A floor-length hem cut for a four-inch heel drags the moment you drop to something you can actually walk in. A midi, or a maxi checked against the shoes you will genuinely wear, survives the trip; a maxi chosen in a fitting room without that test usually doesn't.

The dress code is written by the room, not the invitation

A gallery opening in Chelsea, a benefit at a museum, a restaurant with a stated policy and a downtown party can all describe themselves the same way and mean four different things. When the wording is vague, read the address. Uptown institutions run formal; downtown rooms reward a sharper, plainer silhouette over obvious embellishment. Black resolves most of the ambiguity, which is why it does so much work in this city.

Closet space decides what is worth buying

A New York wardrobe is edited by square footage. That pushes towards pieces that repeat — a corset dress that reads as evening with heels and as dinner with a jacket earns its hanger; a dress that works once does not. It is a better filter than price.

Summer humidity and coat-check winters

July and August are genuinely humid, and a lined, structured dress becomes an endurance test outdoors. From November the reverse: you arrive in a coat, hand it over, and whatever is underneath has to stand on its own from that second. Sleeves and heavier cloth — satin, crepe, velvet — do that better than a strapless bodice does.

What the year asks for

Autumn benefit season, September to December

The densest run of black tie in the American calendar — museum benefits, opera and ballet openings, charity dinners. This is evening dress territory in the strict sense: floor length, restrained hardware, and something you can sit down in for three hours.

Wedding season, May to October

Long, and split between city venues and the drive out to the Hudson Valley, Long Island or Connecticut. Colour etiquette and dress-code wording are covered in the guest guide; if the invitation says cocktail or black tie, the dress code guide explains what each actually requires.

Graduation, May and June

Columbia, NYU, Fordham and the CUNY schools all finish within a few weeks, mostly outdoors and often hot. A midi that behaves under a gown and still works for the dinner afterwards is the practical answer; our graduation guide covers the details.

New Year and the holiday run, December

Short, intense, and almost entirely indoors. Satin and anything with light in it belongs here.

Delivery to New York

• Ships from our Calgary warehouse by tracked courier, with signature on delivery.
• Typically 2–5 business days after dispatch. Timeframes are estimates, not guarantees — weather, customs and carrier schedules can move them.
• Shipping cost is calculated at checkout from your address, and shown in full before you pay.
• Any import duties or taxes are set by the destination authorities and are the recipient's responsibility. Full terms are on the shipping page.
• Orders are processed Monday to Friday, so an order placed on Friday evening leaves on Monday.
• Same terms across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, Jersey City and Hoboken.
• Returns within 14 days of delivery.

Getting the size right the first time

Ordering across a border makes a return slower and more expensive, so it is worth ten minutes with a tape measure before you choose.

1. Measure over bare skin or thin underwear, wearing the bra you plan to wear with the dress — a padded bra moves the bust measurement by several centimetres.
2. Take four numbers: bust, underbust, waist and hips. Keep the tape level all the way round; the most common mistake is letting it ride up at the back.
3. Match them to the size chart, which maps our sizes to US, UK and EU equivalents — our sizing is cut to European proportions, so do not assume your usual US number.
4. Between two sizes, size up on anything structured. A seam can be taken in; fabric cannot be added.

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. Our corset sizing guide covers it, and the measuring guide walks through each number.

Still unsure? Send your measurements and the dress you are considering to info@the-clipse.com — we answer with an honest recommendation, including when the answer is that neither size will work.

Returns, and what happens if it doesn't fit

Returns are accepted within 14 days of delivery. Items must be unworn, with tags attached and in original packaging. Email us with your order number and we reply with instructions — please don't send anything back before that, as unannounced returns can go astray.

Refunds go to the original payment method within 5–10 business days of the parcel reaching us. Return shipping is the customer's responsibility unless the item arrived faulty or incorrect, in which case we cover it. Because the parcel travels back across the border, allow longer than a domestic return — another reason to settle the size before you order.

Frequently asked