A Letter From June · Co-Founder of Dorothy & June
Charleston, South Carolina · July 2026
A Letter From the Founder
I Have Dressed Women for 22 Summers. The Zamma Is the Easy Linen Top I Always Wanted for Myself, and Could Never Find.
On the six things I insisted on when we made our 100% linen Zamma top, how it compares to the tops you have been buying, and why it is clearing as we close the shop.
I am June, and my partner Dorothy and I started this little Charleston shop 22 years ago, a few streets back from the harbour. In all that time we have made a great many summer tops. The Zamma is the one I reach for on the days the heat will not quit.
It is the top I put on when I want to be comfortable and still look like myself, the one women stop each other about in the grocery car park. And of everything we are clearing as we close the shop and move online, it is the easy top I most wanted to write to you about.
For years I watched the same thing happen to women our age. The easy summer tops made for us came in two kinds. The first looked lovely and clung to you like cling film the moment the heat hit. The second was cool enough but left the tops of your arms out for the whole world and made you feel exposed. I never accepted that a woman had to choose. The Zamma is my answer, and I argued for six things when we made it, usually with a supplier who wanted me to do the cheaper thing instead.
1
Real 100% linen that breathes.
Not a blend, and not the slippery polyester they pass off as "summer fabric." Real linen, woven to let the heat move right through it, so it stays cool when the sun sits heavy and softens like a good sheet the more you wash it.
★★★★★
"The only top I can wear all day in July without feeling sticky by lunchtime."
Carol R., Mount Pleasant
2
An easy cut that skims, and never clings.
Loose where you want it loose, so the air moves underneath, instead of grabbing the one part of the middle you would rather it left alone.
★★★★★
"It skims straight over the middle I am self conscious about. The first top in years that does."
Linda K., Summerville
3
A V-neck that flatters without fussing.
Open enough to feel light at the collarbone and to lengthen the neck, but never so low that you find yourself tugging it up all day. Just right, and it stays put.
★★★★★
"The neckline sits perfectly. I never have to adjust it, which sounds small until you have worn tops that you do."
Diane M., James Island
4
Soft sleeves that cover the tops of your arms.
Without adding a single degree of warmth. It is the thing women my age thank me for most, a sleeve that lets you forget about your arms entirely.
★★★★★
"Finally, a sleeve that covers the tops of my arms and still keeps me cool."
Patricia L., Beaufort
5
A weight that softens and holds its shape.
Substantial enough that it never turns sheer in the sun or goes limp after a wash. It presses easily, hangs the way it should, and looks better in year three than most tops do in week one.
★★★★★
"It has been through the wash a dozen times and still looks like the day it arrived. It only gets softer."
Janet S., Charleston
6
Six soft colours that go with what you own.
White, beige, black, red, soft green and navy, each chosen to sit with the trousers and cardigans already in your wardrobe, so the Zamma earns its place from the first day. The white, the beige and the green are nearly gone.
★★★★★
"I started with the beige and went back for the navy. They go with everything I own."
Maureen T., Greenville
The Zamma, against the tops you have been buying
You can find an easy summer top for sixty dollars almost anywhere. I know, because before we made the Zamma I bought a great many of them. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Most $60 Summer Tops
A blend, or polyester sold as "breathable"
Clings the moment the heat hits
Bare arms, or sleeves that add warmth
Turns thin or sheer in the sun
Looks tired after one wash
The Zamma
Real 100% linen that actually breathes
Skims, and lets the air move underneath
Sleeves that cover the arms, no extra heat
A weight that stays opaque and hangs right
Softens and holds its shape wash after wash
I refuse to make an easy top that asks a woman to choose between being cool and feeling covered. That is the whole reason the Zamma exists.
Why the Zamma is clearing now
We are closing the Charleston shop after twenty-two years and moving Dorothy & June online, so the whole summer collection is clearing, the Zamma with it. It is now $59.95, from $199.83, and when you take more than one the discount stacks further, up to 30 percent on top.
I will be plain about it. At this price we are barely covering our costs on it. I am telling you because it is true, and because once we hand back the keys, this price goes with the shop. There is no plan to bring it back.
If twenty-two years of running this little shop has taught me anything, it is that a woman who tries the Zamma once usually comes back. That is the quiet bet I am placing in writing you this letter at $59.95.
$59.95
Clearing Price
22
Years in Charleston
4.8★
896 Reviews
30
Day Guarantee
“
★★★★★
I now own the beige and the green. Between the two of them I have barely reached for anything else since May. Cool, comfortable, and I always get a compliment.
Margaret H., Mount Pleasant
Folded and wrapped by hand, the way every order has left this shop for 22 years.
It is the easy top I am proudest of in 22 years. I would rather it go to women who will wear it than sit folded in a box.
The reviews say the same things I have, over and over. 4.8 stars across 896 women. If you have ever wanted an easy top that keeps you cool and covered without clinging, this is the one I would put in your hands myself, while the colours are still in stock.
— June
The Zamma Relaxed V-Neck Top
★★★★★ 4.8 / 5 from 896 reviews
$199.83$59.95
- 100% breathable linen, cool and never clinging
- Soft sleeves that cover the arms, no extra heat
- Free shipping & 30 day money back guarantee
Stack and save: buy 2 save 15%, buy more and save up to 30% extra.
See if your size & colour is still in stock