A letter from a reader Iris S
The layer I can drive in, cook in and carry things in.
On the puffer vest cut long enough to actually keep you warm — because a coat is too much indoors and a short vest was never enough.
I am 63, and my whole fall used to be a negotiation with sleeves. A coat is too warm the moment you step inside anywhere, and it pins your arms so you cannot reach into the back seat or carry two bags at once. But without one I was cold through the middle by ten in the morning.
I owned a short vest for exactly that problem. It covered my ribs and left the rest of me out in it.
It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who told me to stop settling and look at a longer one from 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 vest is called the Iris, 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.
1Long, where every other vest gives up
A standard vest stops at the waist, which warms your ribs and leaves your hips, your back and the tops of your legs out in the weather — the places that actually get cold when you are standing still. We cut the Iris to mid-thigh. It covers the seat and the top of the leg, and that is the difference between a vest that helps and one that is decoration.
2No sleeves, and that is the entire point
Sleeves are what make a coat difficult. They bind when you reach into the back of the car, they bunch under a seatbelt, and they are the reason you take a coat off the moment you walk into a shop. Leave them out and you keep the warmth where it matters and your arms free for everything you actually do with them.
3The hood earns its place on a vest
On a coat a hood is usually a lump behind the neck you never use. On a sleeveless vest it is doing real work, because the neck and shoulders are exactly where the cold gets in when there is nothing on your arms. Ours sits soft and flat when it is down, and it is there on the walk from the car when the wind turns.
4The zip runs the whole way down
On anything cut this long the zip has to go all the way to the hem, or you cannot sit down properly and it pulls when you walk. Ours does. Zipped to the top it closes right up under the chin, and open it hangs in two long panels down the front, which is a line that lengthens rather than widens. One zip, two entirely different looks.
5It goes over what you already own
Cut roomy through the body so a thick sweater fits underneath without straining anywhere across the back. That is how a vest becomes a whole system rather than another thing in the closet — a shirt underneath in October, a heavy knit in January, and the same vest over the top of both of them.
6Six colors, and a size for you — S to XXXL
The Iris comes in six colors and the one you see me wearing is the black, which is what I reach for when I want to stop thinking about it. There are deeper greens and a soft cream besides. Sizes run S, M, L, XL, XXL and XXXL, cut roomy on purpose to layer — so take your usual size rather than sizing up for the sweater.
The Iris, against the vest you've been wearing
| The usual puffer vest | The Iris | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it ends | At the waist, warming your ribs only | Mid-thigh, covering the seat and legs |
| Your arms | Free, but the rest of you is cold | Free, and the rest of you is warm |
| The hood | Missing, or a lump you never use | There for the walk from the car |
| The zip | Stops short, so it pulls when you sit | Runs the full length to the hem |
| Over a sweater | Tight across the back | Cut roomy enough to layer |
- Ends at the waist, warming your ribs only
- Arms free, but the rest of you cold
- No hood, or a lump you never use
- A zip that stops short and pulls
- Tight across the back over a sweater
- Mid-thigh, covering the seat and legs
- Arms free, and the rest of you warm
- A hood for the walk from the car
- A zip that runs the full length
- Cut roomy enough to layer
Why they're clearing it now
They priced the Iris 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 vest is going out at well below half of what it was.
Mine arrived a few days later in a box on the bed, folded into the tissue paper. It weighed almost nothing in my hands, which after a lifetime of heavy coats took a moment to get used to.
The Iris Vest
- Cut to mid-thigh — covers the seat and the tops of the legs
- No sleeves, so your arms are free to drive, cook and carry
- A hood that does real work on a sleeveless layer
- A zip that runs the full length to the hem
- 6 colors · sizes S–XXXL · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
The Iris Vest · $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 spent years choosing between being warm and being able to use my arms, and it turns out that was never the actual choice. If your fall is the same negotiation mine was, I hope you find your size before it clears.
— Sandra Thompson · Mount Pleasant, SC
See the Iris — $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.