A letter from a reader Button Henley
It covers me standing up, and it still covers me sitting down.
On the tunic with buttoned slits at both sides — so it opens when you sit instead of pulling across you.
I am 63 and I buy long tops for one reason, which I suspect is the same reason you do. I want to be covered over the back and the hip, and I would like to stop thinking about it after that.
The trouble is that they only work standing in front of a mirror. Sit down in one and the whole thing pulls tight across the back of you, rides up an inch or two, and the coverage you actually bought disappears at exactly the moment you wanted it. Then you spend the meal reaching behind you to tug it back down.
It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who told me the problem was the side seams 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 tunic is called the Neva, 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 opens at the sides when you sit
A long top sewn closed down both sides has only two options when you sit: be wide enough to hang loose, or pull tight across you. Most of them pull. We cut a slit into each side seam at the hem, so the fabric simply opens and lets your hips through. Nothing is stretched, nothing rides up, and the length you bought is still where you left it when you stand back up.
2The hem is cut in a curve, not straight across
A straight hem gives you the same length at the front, where you do not especially need it, as at the sides and the back, where you do. Ours drops in a curve so the coverage sits where women actually ask for it and the front stays lighter and shorter over the leg. It is the difference between a long top and a top that is simply too long.
3Buttons alongside the slits, so they read as design
An open side seam on its own looks like an open side seam. So we ran a row of buttons down beside each one, in the same brown as the ones at the neck. Now the eye reads it as something that was drawn rather than something that gave way, and the two ends of the garment are tied together. Function first, and then it has to look intentional.
4Four buttons at the neck, and you pick how many
A band collar with a short placket of four buttons, and none of them decides anything for you. Do them all up on a cold morning and it sits close at the throat. Undo two and it opens into a soft V. It is one garment with four different necklines in it, which is not something you get from a piece cut with a fixed neck.
5A ribbed knit gives, so it skims
The whole cloth is worked in a fine rib, which means it has real give in it. A woven top has one measurement and you either match it or you do not; a rib accommodates instead. It also gives a plain color something to look at up close, so an entirely undecorated top does not read as flat. It moves with you and then goes back.
6Six colors, and a size for you — S to 3XL
The Neva comes in six colors and the one you see me wearing is the sky blue. There is a soft pink, a deep wine, a navy, a cream and a black besides, so there is one for whatever you already wear underneath and over the top. Sizes run S, M, L, XL, 2XL and 3XL. The rib has give in it, so if you are between sizes take the smaller one.
The Neva, against the long tops you already own
| The usual long top | The Neva | |
|---|---|---|
| When you sit down | Pulls tight and rides up | Opens at the slits and stays put |
| The hem | Straight across, the same all round | Curved — lower at the sides and back |
| The side seams | Sewn shut, or split and unfinished | Slit, with a row of buttons beside it |
| The neckline | Fixed, and decided for you | Four buttons, so you choose |
| The fabric | Woven — one measurement, take it or leave it | A fine rib with real give in it |
- Pulls tight and rides up when you sit
- A straight hem, the same all the way round
- Side seams sewn shut
- A fixed neckline, decided for you
- Woven — one measurement, take it or leave it
- Opens at the slits and stays put
- Curved hem, lower at the sides and back
- Slits with a row of buttons beside them
- Four buttons at the neck, so you choose
- A fine rib with real give in it
Why they're clearing it now
They priced the Neva at $149.95 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 one is going out at well below half of what it was.
Mine arrived a few days later in a box on the bed. I put it on and then sat straight down on the edge of the bed, which is not usually how you try something on.
The Neva Tunic
- Slits at both sides, so it opens when you sit instead of pulling
- A curved hem — lower at the sides and back, lighter at the front
- A row of buttons beside each slit, matching the ones at the neck
- A four-button henley placket, so you set the neckline
- Fine ribbed knit with give · 6 colors · sizes S–3XL · Free UPS shipping
The Neva Tunic · $64.95 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 a drawer of long tops that all did the same thing to me, and I had assumed that was simply what happened when you sat down in one. It was two seams somebody had not thought to open. If you have ever reached behind you to tug a top back into place at the table, I hope you find your size before it clears.
— Sandra Thompson · Mount Pleasant, SC
See the Neva — $64.95 →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.