A letter from a reader amanda S
Everything interesting about it happens at my wrists.
On the linen set that puts all of its decoration in two places — and leaves absolutely everything else plain.
I am 63 and I have a problem with decoration, which is that I would like some and I can almost never accept where it lands.
Beading across the bust. A ruffle at the hip. Embroidery all down the front of you. Every time, the interesting part of the garment is placed on the part of me I would least like anybody studying. So I go back to plain, because plain at least stays out of the way — and then plain gets dull, and I have a closet full of it.
It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who said the question was never how much decoration but where, 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 set is called the Amanda, 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.
1All of it is in two places, and nowhere else
A ring of fabric flowers encircles each cuff, worked in petals that stand up off the sleeve. And that is the whole of it. There is nothing at the neck, nothing across the chest, nothing anywhere on the pants. We put every bit of the interest into two spots the size of your hand and then deliberately stopped, which takes more discipline than covering a garment does.
2The wrist is where you want the eye
Think about where you are happy to be looked at. Not the waist. Not the hip. Your hands and your wrists — which are also, conveniently, exactly where people are already looking when you talk, when you pass something, when you reach for a cup. Decoration at the wrist goes with the conversation instead of sitting there being examined.
3The flowers are cut from the same cloth
Every petal is made from the same fabric as the rest of the set, in the same color. Nothing is bought by the yard and stitched on afterward, which is what makes most applied decoration look applied. Because it matches exactly, the flowers read as the sleeve doing something rather than as a trim somebody added, and there is no second color anywhere on you.
4Nothing to fasten at the waist
The pants gather onto a soft elastic waist. No button, no zip, no hook to line up behind your back. And the top comes down over it, so nobody sees the waistband at all — which means you get the comfort of an elastic waist without the outfit announcing that you chose one. It is the reason this set is as easy at the end of a long lunch as it is at the beginning.
5Everything else is plain on purpose
A round neck with nothing on it. A body with no seaming to speak of. Wide pants falling straight to the floor in one solid color, with real pockets in them. None of that is the maker running out of ideas — it is what gives the flowers somewhere quiet to sit. Put them on a busy garment and you would have two things fighting and nothing to look at.
6Seven colors, and a size for you — XS to 3XL
The Amanda comes in seven colors, which is more than we make anything else in, and the one you see me wearing is the dark blue. There is a blush, a black, an olive, a cream, a warm rust and a soft yellow besides. Sizes run XS, S, M, L, XL, 2XL and 3XL. Both pieces are cut loose, so if you are between sizes take the smaller one.
The Amanda, against the decorated things you put back
| The usual decorated piece | The Amanda | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the interest is | The bust, the hip, all down the front | Two spots the size of your hand |
| What it draws the eye to | Whatever it happens to sit on | Your hands and your wrists |
| The decoration itself | A trim in another material, stitched on | Cut from the same cloth, same color |
| The rest of the garment | Busy too, so nothing stands out | Deliberately, completely plain |
| The waist | A button or a zip to line up | Soft elastic, hidden under the top |
- Interest across the bust, the hip, the front
- Draws the eye wherever it happens to sit
- A trim in another material, stitched on
- Busy everywhere, so nothing stands out
- A button or a zip to line up behind you
- All of it in two spots at the cuffs
- Draws the eye to your hands
- Cut from the same cloth, same color
- Everything else deliberately plain
- Soft elastic waist, hidden under the top
Why they're clearing it now
They priced the Amanda at $169.95 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 set is going out at well below half of what it was.
Mine arrived a few days later in a box on the bed. I lifted one sleeve out first, to see whether the flowers were as good in my hands as they looked on a screen.
The Amanda Set
- A ring of fabric flowers around each cuff — and nowhere else
- Every petal cut from the same cloth, in the same color
- Everything else deliberately plain, so the cuffs have somewhere to sit
- A soft elastic waist, hidden under the top · real pockets in the pants
- Both pieces included · 7 colors · sizes XS–3XL · Free UPS shipping
The Amanda Set · $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 decided somewhere along the way that decoration and I were finished, when the real trouble was that nobody had ever put any of it somewhere I was happy to be looked at. If your closet has gone entirely plain for the same reason, I hope you find your size before it clears.
— Sandra Thompson · Mount Pleasant, SC
See the Amanda — $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.