A Whole Outfit In One — Just Step In

A soft, wide-leg denim jumpsuit you simply step into and button up — comfortable, effortless and pulled-together, with big pockets and adjustable straps.

Getting dressed had quietly become the hardest part of my day. I'd stand at the closet trying to make a top and a pair of trousers agree with each other, building a pile on the bed, and half the time I'd give up and default to the same tired thing, feeling thrown-together all day.

What I really wanted was to stop assembling outfits altogether — one thing I could step into and simply look pulled-together and comfortable, without a waistband cutting me in half or a single thing clinging. But the easy things were shapeless and the stylish things were fussy and tight. Nothing was both.

It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who told me to stop struggling every morning and try one from a small family boutique here in South Carolina — a soft denim jumpsuit she thought would take the whole decision off my hands. 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. It's called the Freya, 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 whole outfit in one — just step in

We made the Freya as a soft denim jumpsuit you simply step into and button up — no matching a top to trousers, no pile on the bed, no puzzling over what goes with what. One piece, and you're dressed, comfortable and pulled-together, looking like you thought about it when really the decision was made for you. Getting dressed, done in one step.

2A relaxed, wide-leg fit that skims everything

Its wide legs fall loose and flowing from the waist, skimming right over the hips and the legs instead of gripping them — roomy, relaxed and completely comfortable, with nothing pulling or digging in anywhere. And yet it still looks effortlessly stylish, not shapeless: all the ease of your softest loungewear, in something you're proud to be seen out in.

3At last, big pockets you'll actually use

It has two big front pockets — deep and roomy, just right for your phone, your reading glasses, keys, or a hand or two — sewn right into the front, along with handy pockets on the bodice. Not the useless little slits so many clothes pretend are pockets, but proper, generous ones. Such a simple thing, and it's where your hands live all day.

4Soft, worn-in denim that goes with everything

Its denim is soft and worn-in from the moment it arrives — none of the stiff, cardboard feel of most new denim — so it's comfortable straight away, like something you've had for years. And it's that timeless denim blue that goes with everything and never dates, so it works with the shoes and jewellery you already own.

5Adjustable straps — wear it your way

Its straps buckle and adjust, so you can wear it just as it is, or pop a soft tee underneath and it's covered and cozy — dressed exactly how you feel comfortable. Bare and easy on a warm day, layered on a cool one; one piece you can wear your own way, however you feel about your shoulders and arms.

6A size for you, from S to 3XL

It's cut relaxed and generous, and it runs from S to 3XL, so it fits and flatters a real range of bodies — not one narrow idea of a figure. A piece made to fit the woman, not to make the woman fit it.

The Freya, against getting dressed the usual way

	The usual way	The Freya
Getting dressed	Matching a top to trousers, giving up	Step in, do it up — one whole outfit
The fit	Waistbands and seams digging in	Wide legs that skim, never cling
Pockets	None, or useless little slits	Big front pockets you actually use
The denim	Stiff as cardboard	Soft and worn-in from day one
How you wear it	One way only, too bare	Adjustable straps — bare or over a tee

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Freya at $164.95 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 for a little over a third of that.

Mine arrived folded in tissue with a little handwritten note on top. I stepped into it that same morning, slipped my hands in the big pockets, and was dressed and out the door without a thing left on the bed.

I don't usually write things like this. But the Freya has taken the hardest decision of my morning clean off my hands — one piece, and I'm dressed, comfortable and pulled-together, with my hands in the big pockets and nothing left on the bed. If getting dressed has become a struggle the way it had for me, this is the one I'd tell you to try, while the sale is still on.

— Margaret Ellison · Mount Pleasant, SC

See the Freya — $59.95 →

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.