Finally, A Top That Covers The Tops Of My Arms

It covers the upper arms, skims the middle instead of clinging, and somehow goes with everything already in my drawer.

By Margaret Ellison · Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

Posted July 2026 · 6 min read

For a while, getting dressed had quietly turned from a small pleasure into a chore. My drawers were full of tops I'd bought hopefully and never wore — one clung where I didn't want it to, another left the tops of my arms bare, another was just plain dull — and I'd stand there most mornings not knowing what to reach for.

I'd more or less split my closet into two piles: the things that fit but I didn't like, and the things I liked but couldn't quite wear out of the house. There wasn't much in between — nothing plain and easy that just worked.

It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who finally set me straight. She'd found one top she reaches for without thinking, she said, and I ought to stop hunting and try it. It came from a small family boutique here in South Carolina — a soft, relaxed top that simply pulls on and looks put-together right away — and before I tell you what it did for me, 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 Clara, 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.

1Covers the tops of your arms

The sleeve is the first thing we got right. It's a true three-quarter length — it covers the top of the upper arm and stops partway down the forearm, the one part most women tell us they're always happy to keep covered. No bare upper arm to think about, and no full sleeve trapping heat in the warm months. It is the length women tell us they had quietly given up finding.

2Skims the middle instead of clinging to it

We cut it to fall softly through the middle instead of hugging it. The body has a relaxed, easy drape, and the hem dips a little longer at the sides so it sits past the waist and stays there when you move. Relaxed where you want it relaxed — without ever turning into a tent.

3Soft enough to forget you have it on

The fabric is soft and light, and it sits gently against the skin — because skin gets more particular with the years, and a stiff seam or a scratchy label becomes something you notice all day. The neckline sits flat, and the seams are ones you will not feel. You put it on in the morning and you do not think about it again.

4Washes and keeps its shape

It goes straight in the machine and comes out the same. The colour holds, the neckline keeps its shape, and it does not go baggy after a few washes — so it stays a top you actually reach for, not one that is quietly retired to around-the-house wear by August.

5From home to dinner, and right either way

We kept it plain and well-cut on purpose, with a flattering scoop neckline and a little chest pocket for casual charm. In the morning it's easy with jeans; add a necklace and wide-leg trousers and the very same top is perfectly right for dinner out. It is plain in the way that goes anywhere, so one top quietly covers a lot of your week — without ever looking like it is trying.

6Four quiet colours that go with everything

It comes in four quiet colours — beige, gray, green and khaki — each chosen to sit with the trousers and jeans you already own. Most women start with one and come back for two more. That is the whole idea: a plain top that finally earns its place in the drawer.

The Clara, against the tops you've been buying

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Clara at $109.95 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 less than half of that.

Mine arrived folded in tissue paper with a little handwritten note tucked on top, and I had it on before my coffee was cold. It has barely left my rotation since.

I don't usually write things like this. But I've reached for my Clara more in a month than tops I've owned for years, and getting dressed feels like a small pleasure again instead of a decision. If you've been standing at your drawer the way I was, this is the one I'd tell you to try — while the sale is still on.

— Margaret Ellison · Mount Pleasant, SC

This is a personal account from a Clarke Family customer. Margaret was not paid to write it. · The Clarke Family · Family Fashion · South Carolina, since 1986 · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee.