The cozy, one-of-a-kind art coat that keeps me warm and gets me stopped in the street.

On the fleece-lined hooded coats worn as wearable art — blanket-warm inside, bold and beautiful outside, and a hood and full sleeves against the cold. Why a small South Carolina family made them this way, and why they're clearing them now.

By Margaret Ellison · Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

Posted September 2026 · 6 min read

I am 63 years old, and I had made a quiet peace with winter coats being the dullest thing I owned. Warm meant a sensible, shapeless parka in black or gray — practical, and utterly invisible. The interesting coats were thin and freezing, cut for looks and not for a cold morning. So I spent every winter warm and dreary, or chilly and a little more myself. Never both.

What I wanted was one coat that refused that trade — something genuinely warm, cozy right against the skin, that covered my arms and had a hood for the wind, and that actually had some art and color to it. Warm, and joyful, at the same time.

Then a woman in my church group here in Mount Pleasant walked in wearing the most extraordinary coat — a wash of color and pattern like a painting — and told me it was as warm as her duvet. I asked her about it. She laughed and told me to 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 collection is called the Colorful Art Coats, 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.

1A piece of wearable art you can throw on

We made each of these coats around a bold, beautiful artwork — a wash of color and pattern you simply cannot buy on the high street. Throw one over a plain tee and jeans, and you are the most interesting-looking woman in the room, with no effort at all.

2Fleece-lined, and blanket-warm

We lined every one with a soft, plush sherpa fleece, so it is genuinely warm the moment you put it on — cozy right against the skin, like wrapping up in your favorite blanket. Bold to look at, and blanket-warm to wear.

3A hood and full sleeves against the cold

We gave each coat a soft-lined drawstring hood and full sleeves that cover the arms right to the wrist, so the wind and the chill stay out. Warm from your wrists to the top of your head, and ready for whatever the day does.

4A whole gallery of artworks to choose

We made a whole range — bright geometric colorblocks, warm tribal stripes, floral art, a sunrise over the mountains, painterly cats — so you can choose the one that feels most like you. A gallery of coats, each one a little work of art.

5A relaxed cut that layers and skims

We cut them relaxed and mid-length, to layer easily over a sweater and skim over the body rather than gripping it. Warm and roomy enough for a thick knit underneath, and long enough to keep the chill off your back.

6It fits the body you have

We make these in a full range of sizes and cut them relaxed and easy to layer. They are meant to fit the woman — not make the woman fit the coat.

A Colorful Art Coat, against the coats you've been buying

Why they're clearing them now

They priced these art coats well over $130 when they launched, and they 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 less than half of that.

I ordered mine that evening. It arrived a few days later in a kraft-paper parcel with a short handwritten note from the family. I have reached for it more than anything else in my closet since.

I do not usually write things like this. But I had spent every winter choosing between warm and dreary or pretty and freezing — and one bold, cozy, fleece-lined art coat ended that for good. If that sounds like you, I hope you find your artwork before they clear.

— 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.