As Easy as a Tee, But It Actually Looks Considered

A soft waffle-knit top with a pretty notch neckline and little wooden buttons — it goes on like a T-shirt, but it looks like you made an effort. Cozy, warm-light, and endlessly easy.

At 63, I practically live in plain tops. But a plain tee makes me look like I haven't tried, and most of the "nicer" tops need tucking, smoothing and fussing before I feel right. I just want one easy thing that's as simple as a T-shirt but doesn't look like I gave up.

What I really wanted was a soft, easy top that was as comfortable as a tee but far more put-together — something I could pull on and walk out the door in. Everything I owned was either effortless or presentable, never both.

It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who told me to stop settling and try one from a small family boutique here in South Carolina — a soft waffle-knit top she thought I'd never take off. 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 top is called the Anouk, 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.

1As easy as a tee — but it looks considered

We made the Anouk to go on as easily as a T-shirt, but to look like far more. Its soft waffle texture, the pretty split notch neckline, and the little wooden buttons give it a considered, put-together look — so you get all the ease of a plain tee, and none of the "did she just roll out of bed?" One soft top on, and you look like you made an effort.

2Soft and warm-light — never scratchy, never stuffy

It's a soft, waffle-textured knit — cozy and gentle against the skin without a single hint of scratch, yet light enough for a mild afternoon or a chilly, air-conditioned room. None of the itch of ordinary wool, none of the stuffy heat of a heavy jumper; just soft, textured comfort the moment it's on.

3A relaxed fit that skims right over the middle

It has a relaxed fit that skims right over the tummy and hips instead of gripping them. For those of us who've made peace with a softer middle but don't care to have it on display, this is a small mercy — forgiving and comfortable, and it still looks neat and considered. You feel covered, never squeezed.

4The little details that lift it above a plain tee

It's the small touches that make it. A soft split notch neckline that sits gracefully, and little wooden buttons that catch the eye — the kind of considered details that make it look thought-through and put-together, not like a plain top you threw on. You look like you dressed with care, even when you didn't.

5A colour that goes with everything you own

It layers beautifully over your jeans and your trousers, and it comes in a whole range of soft, wearable shades — so there's one that goes with everything already in your closet. A soft, easy top that always looks quietly put-together, the kind you reach for again and again because it simply goes with it all.

6Ten soft colours, and a size for you, from S to 2XL

It comes in around ten soft, wearable shades — from this lovely dusty blue to blush, red, grey, black, white, mustard, green, purple and camel — and it runs from S to 2XL, cut relaxed and easy to flatter a real range of bodies. A top made to fit the woman, not to make the woman fit the top.

The Anouk, against your usual top

	The usual top	The Anouk
The feel	Itchy, or thin and stuffy	Soft waffle knit — warm-light
The look	A plain tee	A notch neck and wooden buttons that lift it
The fit	Clings to the middle	A relaxed fit that skims it
Getting dressed	Fussing to look nice	As easy as a T-shirt
The colour	Goes with one thing	A shade for everything you own

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Anouk at $199.95 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 top is going out at $59.95, well under a third of what it was.

Mine arrived folded in tissue with a little handwritten note on top. I pulled it on over my jeans that same morning and felt put-together in seconds — it's barely left me since.

I don't usually write things like this. But the Anouk gave me exactly what I'd stopped hoping to find — one soft, easy top that goes on like a tee but looks considered, skims right over the parts I'd rather not show, and goes with everything I own. It's barely left me since it arrived. If you've been stuck between plain tees and fussy tops the way I had, this is the one I'd tell you to try, while the sale is still on.

— Sandra Thompson · Mount Pleasant, SC

See the Anouk — $59.95 →

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.