A letter from a reader alva S
From October to April I wear pants, and I never actually decided to.
On the knit dress that is one garment and a whole outfit — as comfortable as the sweater you would have put on anyway.
I am 63, and somewhere around the first week of October I stop wearing dresses. Not deliberately. It simply happens, and then it is April before I notice.
It is because a dress in cold weather stops being one garment. It becomes a project — tights, then something over the top because your arms are bare, then working out whether the coat you own goes over any of it. Three decisions before breakfast. So I put on pants, the way I did yesterday, and that is the whole winter gone.
It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who said I did not need a warmer dress, I needed one that was already the whole outfit, and pointed me at a small family boutique here in South Carolina. Before I tell you what it did, I think you should read the Clarke family's letter first.
The Clarke family runs a small boutique here in South Carolina, family-run since 1986 — three generations, mother to daughter. The dress is called the Alva, and their letter walks through the handful of things they refused to compromise on. I am going to let their words carry it, because they say it better than I could.
1It is a sweater that happens to be a dress
Knitted in the same fine rib we use for a sweater, with the same long sleeves and the same ribbed cuffs — and then simply continued down to mid-calf. So there is nothing to layer, nothing to put over it and nothing underneath to decide about. One thing to pull on, and it is as comfortable as the sweater you were going to reach for anyway.
2Nothing shaped, anywhere
There is no waist seam, no belt and no shaping of any kind. It falls straight from the shoulder to the hem and touches you at no point in between. That is what lets a knit be worn as a dress at all — a knit that follows you is a very different garment, and not one most women want to spend a whole day in.
3The collar is soft, not stiff
It is knitted, not cut from woven cloth and pressed, so it folds over and lies down and moves when you move. That matters more than it sounds. A stiff shirt collar on a soft knit dress looks borrowed from something else and needs pressing every time it comes out of the wash. This one has never needed anything done to it.
4One place where it is not covering you
Long sleeves, mid-calf, no shape — left there, this would be a great deal of covering. So the opening at the neck starts well down the chest, with only three buttons below it. That single open V is what stops the whole thing reading as a tube, and it is the one place on the dress where there is a line rather than more knitting.
5Mid-calf, with a slit, so it works with boots
The hem lands at mid-calf, which is above a tall boot and below a short one, so it works with whatever you already own. And there is a slit at the front, because a straight knit skirt with a closed hem quietly shortens your stride and you spend the day taking smaller steps without knowing why.
6One color, and a size for you — XS to 2XL
The Alva is made in one colorway only, and it is the soft neutral you see me wearing — the shade that goes under a coat, over boots and with whatever is already in your closet. Sizes run XS, S, M, L, XL and 2XL. It is cut generously and meant to hang, so take your usual size rather than going up.
The Alva, against wearing a dress in winter
| A dress in cold weather | The Alva | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting dressed | Tights, a layer, then the coat question | One thing to pull on |
| The arms | Bare, so something goes over the top | Long sleeves, already there |
| How it fits | A knit that follows every line | Straight from the shoulder, touching nothing |
| The collar | Stiff, and it needs pressing | Knitted soft — it lies down by itself |
| Walking in it | A closed hem that shortens your stride | A slit at the front |
- Tights, a layer, then the coat question
- Bare arms, so something goes over the top
- A knit that follows every line
- A stiff collar that needs pressing
- A closed hem that shortens your stride
- One thing to pull on
- Long sleeves, already there
- Straight from the shoulder, touching nothing
- A soft knitted collar that lies down by itself
- A slit at the front, so you can walk
Why they're clearing it now
They priced the Alva at $219.95 when it launched, and it sold at that price all season. But for America's 250th, the Clarke family wanted to give something back to the women who have kept their doors open since 1986 — so every dress is going out at less than a third of that.
Mine arrived a few days later in a box on the bed. I put it on and went straight out in it, which I have never once done with a dress.
The Alva Dress
- A sweater knit, continued to mid-calf — one garment, whole outfit
- Straight from the shoulder — no waist, no belt, no shaping
- A soft knitted collar that lies down and never needs pressing
- An open neck with three buttons, so it never reads as a tube
- A front slit and a mid-calf hem that works with your boots · sizes XS–2XL
The Alva Dress · $69.95 while sizes last
Buy 2 get 10%, buy 3 get 15%, buy 4 get an extra 20% off. When it's gone, it's gone.
I do not usually write things like this. But I had given up half of every year on dresses without ever making the decision, and it turned out the whole obstacle was that a dress in winter is three garments pretending to be one. If your dresses go away in October too, I hope you find your size before it clears.
— Sandra Thompson · Mount Pleasant, SC
See the Alva — $69.95 →This is a personal account from a Clarke Family customer. Sandra was not paid to write it. · The Clarke Family · Family Fashion · South Carolina, since 1986 · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee.