I had been seeing a variety of Hearts and Found creations on social media for the last few months, always admiring them but never quite getting the courage to order. Late last year I decided I was long overdue to place an order so took advantage of the Black Friday sales and ordered a couple of dresses in the Grace style. Owner Marjorie was then kind enough to let me choose another couple of styles to feature on the blog, the first of which is the Madeline Sundress.

For those of you who love to support small and ethical businesses, look no further! Marjorie Mabelle founded the store out of an obsession with 40s and 50s dresses and novelty prints as well as a love of photos from the era, the latter of which you can see on the Hearts and Found Instagram page. Hearts and Found is based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and supports and fosters long term partnerships with local tailors and textile manufacturers. Currently Hearts and Found creations are sewn by independent tailor Co Thanh (Auntie Thanh) and her three employees, and Marjorie ensures that fair wages are paid to everyone who is part of the store.

As we’re in the midst of summer here in New Zealand I couldn’t resist the Madeline Sundress for my first Hearts and Found collaboration piece. For me it’s the ideal warm-weather dress as it features a more modest bateau neckline at the front (so still work-friendly) and then a low back with – squee – bows! As the straps button into the back bodice this means they are adjustable, which is such a useful detail. The dress zips up at the back and has ultra deep pockets which will fit a large phone and wallet plus lipstick if you don’t want to carry a bag.

The Madeline Sundress is made of 100% cotton and is fully lined in a complimentary colour. If there isn’t already a listing for the dress in the fabric you want then Hearts and Found allows you to choose your favourite of their many fabric listings to create your perfect dress. I adore border prints and so was especially drawn to the ‘Scentimental Rose’ prints; it was difficult to choose a colourway (they’re all so pretty!) but I settled on the coral which has gorgeous white, yellow, and red flowers around the bottom of the skirt, all colours I use to accessorise regularly.

At Hearts and Found you can choose to order from the listing of standard sizes or place a custom order. I ordered an XS as my measurements (32″-24″) matched up exactly with the size chart, and I have found the fit to be very true to size and consistent between different Hearts and Found styles. I especially love that you can also select your preferred skirt length when you order, in both regular and tall options. I selected Knee Length (Tall) which measures 26″ – for reference I am about 5’4″ – and falls (just how I like it) a couple of inches below my knee.

The Madeline Sundress retails for around $90USD and is available for purchase through the Hearts and Found Etsy store, and as all clothing is made to order you can expect to pay the same for a listed size as you can for a custom order. Marjorie will always contact you to confirm your order and let you know a timeframe for your order to be shipped, though this will generally be about 2 to 5 business days depending on how many people are in the queue ahead of you. Hearts and Found ship worldwide for very reasonable prices (about $15USD to New Zealand), and until tomorrow (2nd February) you can get 20% your order with the code LUNERNY17 to celebrate Lunar New Year.

Full outfit details:

Madeline Sundress – c/o Hearts and Found

Necklace, belt & gloves – vintage

Heels – Miss L Fire

Thank you so much to the lovely Marjorie for this collaboration! Look out for more Hearts and Found styles coming to the blog soon. Thank you as well to @cmjsnz for braving the heat with me to get these photos in the Auckland Domain Wintergardens.

Miss Hero Holliday

xo