A letter from a reader Fiona
A sweater that looks like a watercolor and wears like a blanket
Soft roses and lace painted across the knit, a high collar for the cold, and a cut that skims instead of clinging.
I am 63, and somewhere along the way my winter clothes stopped being clothes and became insulation. Thick, dark, practical things I put on to stay warm and took off the moment I got home. Nothing I would have called pretty. Nothing anybody ever looked at twice, least of all me in the mirror.
I had started to feel a little invisible in my own clothes.
It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who said warm and pretty were not opposites and that I had simply stopped looking. Then she sent me a link one evening with three words: just read it.
The Clarke family runs a small boutique here in South Carolina, family-run since 1986 — three generations, mother to daughter. The sweater is called the Fiona, 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 print that looks painted, not printed
The Fiona began as a painting: soft pink roses, blue leaves and panels of antique lace, washed across the knit in watercolor so the colors bleed gently into one another. Nothing about it is sharp or mass-produced looking. Women write to us saying a friend asked whether it was hand-painted, and we take that as the compliment it is.
2Soft enough to wear all day
We knit the Fiona in a fine, brushed yarn with a slight halo to it, the kind that feels warm the moment it touches you. It is soft against the neck and the wrists, where women our age notice a scratch first, so you can wear it straight over a camisole and forget about it until the evening.
3A high collar that keeps the cold out
The collar is knit in a deep rib and stands tall on its own, high enough to cover the back of your neck without pressing against your throat. It is the part of you that feels the cold first and gets covered last. Wear it up in the car, turn it over on a milder day, and leave the scarf on its hook.
4Full sleeves that cover your arms
We cut the sleeves full and generous through the arm and gathered them into a ribbed cuff at the wrist. There is room to move without the fabric ever gripping your upper arm, and the cuff holds where you put it instead of riding up your forearm while you cook. Your arms stay covered from shoulder to hand.
5A relaxed cut that skims, never clings
We cut the Fiona easy through the body with a dropped shoulder, so it falls straight past the middle instead of gripping it, and the ribbed hem holds its shape without pulling in. A print this soft only works on a calm shape underneath. You can sit down in it and stand up again without a single adjustment.
6It fits the body you have
We make the Fiona from a size S all the way to 5XL, and every size is cut on the same relaxed lines — the larger ones are not simply stretched out, and the painting is scaled so the roses stay in proportion on every size. Order the size you usually wear; it is meant to sit easy on you, not to be sucked into.
The Fiona, against the sweaters you've been buying
| The usual winter sweater | The Fiona | |
|---|---|---|
| The look | Dark, plain, and purely practical | A watercolor of roses and lace |
| The feel | Scratchy enough to need a tee under | Soft brushed yarn, kind at the neck |
| The collar | A tight turtleneck you keep tugging | A tall rib that never squeezes |
| The sleeves | Tight on the arm, short at the wrist | Full through the arm, closed at the cuff |
| The sizes | S to XL, then good luck | S to 5XL, print scaled to every size |
- Dark, plain, and purely practical
- Scratchy enough to need a tee under
- A tight turtleneck you keep tugging
- Tight on the arm, short at the wrist
- S to XL, then good luck
- A watercolor of roses and lace
- Soft brushed yarn, kind at the neck
- A tall rib that never squeezes
- Full through the arm, closed at the cuff
- S to 5XL, print scaled to every size
Why they're clearing it now
They priced the Fiona at $209.95 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 sweater is going out at well under a third of that.
Mine came in a kraft box on a Tuesday, folded in white tissue. I put it on in the bedroom and did not take it off again that day.
The Fiona Knitted Turtleneck Sweater
- A watercolor print of roses and antique lace
- Soft brushed yarn, kind at the neck and wrists
- Tall ribbed collar that never squeezes
- Full sleeves gathered into a ribbed cuff
- Sizes S to 5XL · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
The Fiona · $59.95 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 spent too many winters dressing only to stay warm — and this one sweater quietly reminded me that the two things are not opposites. If that sounds like you, I hope you find your size before it clears.
— Sandra Thompson · Mount Pleasant, SC
See the Fiona — $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.