A soft, easy swing dress with a split V-neck, ruffle-trim placket and gathered tiers — the relaxed day-into-evening piece.
Free express delivery worldwide · import duties included
The Tertulla is a mini split v-neck ruffle-trim tiered swing dress from the Livia collection — a dress conceived in Rome for weddings, the opera and occasions that ask for more. The split v-neck ruffle-trim tiered swing is cut from structured crepe that holds a clean line, fully lined so it reads opaque in daylight and flash alike.
Like every Hugo Caesar Tassi piece, the Tertulla is finished by hand: a concealed closure, real linings, and seams sewn to last. It is offered in 2 colors from the imperial palette — Basalt, Avorio — and built to be worn for years, not a single season.
| Silhouette | Split V-neck with a vertical ruffle-trim placket, short flutter sleeves with ruffled cuffs, raised empire waist, gathered tiered swing skirt with a ruffled hem |
| Fabric | Soft drapey jersey-crepe knit |
| Length | Short, sitting above the knee |
| Occasion | Relaxed day and easy occasion wear |
| Care | Cool gentle machine wash, line dry, cool iron if needed |
Cut loose and swingy from a raised empire waist into soft gathered tiers; the ruffled hem sits above the knee.
Model is 178 cm and wears size S. Available S–XXL.
Relaxed and forgiving through the body — take your usual size, or size down for a closer top.
Complimentary express shipping worldwide; dispatched within 1–6 business days, import duties included. Most orders arrive in 3–6 business days.
30-day returns on unworn items with tags attached. Each piece arrives in a porphyry box with the HCT seal.
For occasion, pair the Tertulla in Basalt with fine-gold jewelry and a barely-there heel. Add the Faustina silk scarf at the neck or wrist to complete the look.
Keep reading & explore the edit
Tertulla™Select color · Select size
Hugo Caesar Tassi cut Tertulla for the Livia edit — soft, swingy and made to move.
A small split V-neck opens at a notched centre and is finished with a narrow vertical ruffle-trim placket; short flutter sleeves end in a ruffled cuff. From a raised empire seam the skirt falls in soft gathered tiers to a small ruffled hem above the knee.
It is the dress for warm, unhurried days — easy on, easy to wear, quietly pretty. We offer it in deep Basalt black and warm Avorio cream.
A drapey jersey-crepe knit that moves with you.
The cloth is soft and lightly fluid, gathering into the tiers without weight and swinging gently as you walk. The ruffle details stay small and tonal, so the dress reads relaxed rather than fussy.
Pair it with flat sandals by day or fine gold jewellery and a heel as the light turns — it goes either way.
What she said after wearing it
The little split at the V-neck is what sold me, and in person it sits exactly where you'd want — soft, not gaping. The crepe has a lovely weight that keeps the tiers swinging instead of sticking. Wore it to a christening lunch and felt put-together without trying.
I dithered between the two shades and chose Avorio, and outdoors it reads as a warm clotted-cream rather than a stark white. Photographs softly, never clinical.
It moves. Walking up the steps to the registry office the gathered tiers lifted and settled in this gentle way that made me feel about twelve again, in the best sense.
What I didn't expect was how forgiving the matte crepe is — no clinging anywhere, skims the middle, drapes off the tiers cleanly. After a long lunch and a fair bit of prosecco it still looked unbothered, and so did I.
Genuinely smitten — the swing of the tiers, the matte crepe, the Avorio shade are all lovely, and it's become my reliable occasion dress. If I'm being honest with only myself, I personally lean towards a slightly higher neckline, so I sometimes pop a little camisole underneath. That's purely my own taste, nothing wrong with the cut at all, and it doesn't dim how much I wear it.
The dress itself is a delight — the Basalt is a rich deep charcoal and the tiers swing exactly as I hoped. My only headache was on my end: we completed on a new flat right in the middle of the order, so I had to chase down where the parcel was heading and get it sent to the new place instead. Took some back-and-forth and a few anxious days wondering if it'd reach me. The dress was perfect once it landed, so the stars are only about the moving-house muddle.
Thank you for this, and congratulations on the new home — moving while waiting on a delivery is no small juggle, and we're sorry the redirect added stress to an already busy week. Rerouting a parcel mid-transit should feel effortless on your side, and we'd love to make that smoother next time; a quick note to contact@hctbeauty.com the moment plans change lets us step in directly with the courier. We're so pleased the Tertulla settled in well once it arrived — wear it to many happy evenings in the new flat. Warmly, the HCT Atelier.
Bought it as the dress I could keep on from an afternoon meeting straight through to drinks, and that's precisely how it earns its keep. Flats and a blazer by day, heels after.
That ruffled trim running down the front placket is such a quiet, clever detail — adds a bit of softness at the chest without any fuss. Whoever drew this knew restraint.
Caught between an L and an XL, I talked myself into the smaller one and got it wrong — across the bust the placket pulls a touch and the swing doesn't fall as freely as it should. None of that is the dress; the crepe is gorgeous and the split V is exactly as pretty as the photos suggested. I'm simply waiting to exchange for the size I should have trusted, and I expect to adore it then.
We appreciate your honesty here, and please don't be hard on yourself — sitting between two sizes is genuinely hard to call from a screen, and we want the Tertulla to fall the way it's meant to for you. We're more than happy to sort the exchange; drop us a line at contact@hctbeauty.com and we'll get the larger size moving and the current one collected with no fuss. Once it's skimming rather than pulling, those gathered tiers will swing just as they should. With care, the HCT Atelier.
I'll start with the good, because the dress deserves it — the Avorio is a soft cream, the crepe drapes beautifully and the ruffle placket is just lovely. The reason for one star is the journey, not the garment: I ordered ahead of a festive party and the whole courier system was clearly drowning under the holiday rush, so it crawled along and arrived well after I'd needed it. I wore something else that night, which was a real shame. The dress is lovely; the delivery experience was anything but.
Thank you for leading with such kindness about the dress despite a genuinely frustrating wait — missing the party you bought it for is exactly the disappointment we never want to cause. You're right that the seasonal crush slowed the carriers to a crawl, and while that congestion sat outside our four walls, the let-down was still ours to own. Please write to us at contact@hctbeauty.com so we can make this right for you properly. We hope the Tertulla earns a brilliant evening of its own very soon — it's far too pretty to stay in the wardrobe. Sincerely, the HCT Atelier.
Folded it into a carry-on for a wedding in Puglia half-expecting a creased disaster. One night on a hanger in a steamy bathroom and the crepe dropped flat again.
A proper deep charcoal-black rather than a flat dead black, which means it doesn't fight with navy shoes or warm gold jewellery. Endlessly easy.
I wore this from ten in the morning to nearly midnight at a long engagement party. Never once tugged at it, never thought about it. That's the highest compliment I give a dress.
The gathered tiers fall away from the waist instead of pulling across the hips, and the split neckline draws the eye up. I'm a 2XL and it's genuinely flattering, not just available in my size.
I've spent far more on occasion frocks that hung worse and felt thinner. For 245 dollars the hand of this crepe and the neatness of the seams genuinely surprised me.
Three baby showers and a garden engagement do this spring, all in the same dress, styled differently each time, and nobody clocked it as a repeat. The swing shape just reads fresh every time.
Nothing about it shouts, which is exactly why I keep reaching for it. The split V, the soft tiers, the muted Basalt — it's the kind of understated that older relatives and stylish friends both approve of.
Sent this to my sister for her fortieth in Avorio. She rang the second she opened it, then sent a photo wearing it that evening. Safe to say the choice was correct.
Hits at just the right point on the calf for me — long enough to feel like an occasion, short enough that I'm not tripping going up stairs. The tiered swing gives lovely movement at that length.
I always turn a new dress inside out, and the seams here are clean, the tier joins are even, no loose threads anywhere. Properly finished for the money.
Wore Avorio to my parents' vow renewal where I wanted to look soft and celebratory without upstaging Mum. The dress did exactly that — gentle, pretty, photographed like a dream in the garden light.
When I can't be bothered deciding, this is what goes on. Throws on like nothing, looks considered, done.
The way the crepe pours off the gathered tiers when I move is the whole reason I'll buy from here again. It has this fluid, unhurried fall that cheaper fabrics simply can't fake.
Loved the Basalt so much through autumn that when spring came I ordered the Avorio too. Same easy cut, completely different mood — and now I own the dress in both seasons.
Answered by the Hugo Caesar Tassi atelier
It's fully lined and completely opaque — no slip required. Only the lightest details are very slightly sheer, by design.
True to size through the waist and skirt. The bodice is tailored, so size up if you're fuller in the bust. See the size guide for exact measurements.
Very much so — it was designed for weddings, the opera and occasions that ask for more. Basalt and the deeper tones read beautifully after dark; the lighter colors suit daytime.
Pieces that share the Basalt palette and the house line
