A letter from a reader Ivory
A satin outfit that does not look like I forgot to get dressed.
On the fine gold line running along every edge — the one detail between an evening outfit and a pair of pajamas.
I am 63 and I have quietly stopped wearing dresses to things. Not to weddings, where you have no choice, but to the lunches and the parties and the anniversaries where you are meant to look like you made an effort.
The problem is what replaces it. Wear pants and you are either in something that belongs at an office, or in a printed satin two-piece that looks — and I am being honest here — like you came downstairs in your nightclothes. I have seen it happen to a friend of mine and I have never forgotten it.
It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who told me the difference was smaller than I thought and to look at a set 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 set is called the Ivory, 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 fine gold line along every edge
This is the whole difference and hardly anyone bothers with it. A printed satin two-piece with plain cut edges is loungewear, whatever the label says. We bound every edge with a fine gold line — the hem of the top, the opening at the front, both cuffs and the hem of the pants. It costs a great deal more to finish a garment that way, and it is the reason nobody will ever ask if you are on your way to bed.
2The butterflies are drawn, not stamped
They are rendered in fine gold linework, large, and set well apart on an open ivory ground — you can see the satin between them. A dense repeating print covers you in pattern and reads as cheap the moment anyone comes close. This is the opposite: a few beautifully drawn things with room around them, so from across a room you register ivory and gold, and only up close do you see what they are.
3Pockets — in something this dressy
Real pockets, set into the top at the hip, deep enough for a hand. Nobody puts pockets in an outfit like this and every woman we have ever asked wants them. It is not about carrying anything. It is about having somewhere to put your hands at a party when you are standing and talking and holding nothing, which is the most uncomfortable ten seconds of any evening.
4Full sleeves, gathered into a gold cuff
The sleeve is cut full and soft the whole way down and gathers into a cuff at the wrist, finished with the same gold line. Your arms are covered without anything gripping them, and the fullness is what gives the top its shape from the shoulder rather than from your body. There is nothing tight anywhere on this outfit — that is the point of it.
5Wide to the floor, and it is not a suit
The pants are cut wide the whole way down and fall to the floor, so they read as an outfit rather than as anything from an office. With the long top over them the line runs unbroken from the shoulder to the ground. It is as dressed as a dress and you are in pants, which for a great many women is the entire reason to own it.
6One ivory, and a size for you — XS to 2XL
The Ivory set is made in one colorway only, which is the ivory and gold you see me wearing, because it is the one that works on everybody and does not date. Sizes run XS, S, M, L, XL and 2XL. Both pieces are cut loose, so nothing is fitted anywhere and the size chart is more forgiving than it looks. If you are between sizes, take the smaller one.
The Ivory set, against the satin two-pieces you've been avoiding
| The usual satin set | The Ivory set | |
|---|---|---|
| The edges | Plain, cut and hemmed | A fine gold line along every one |
| What it reads as | Nightwear, whatever the label says | An outfit you chose for the evening |
| The print | A dense repeat covering you | Drawn in gold, set well apart |
| Pockets | None, ever | Real ones, at the hip of the top |
| The pants | Narrow, or straight from an office | Wide the whole way to the floor |
- Plain edges, cut and hemmed
- Reads as nightwear
- A dense repeat covering you
- No pockets, ever
- Narrow, or straight from an office
- A fine gold line along every edge
- Reads as an outfit you chose
- Drawn in gold, set well apart
- Real pockets at the hip
- Wide the whole way to the floor
Why they're clearing it now
They priced the Ivory set at $169.95 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 set is going out at well below half of what it was.
Mine arrived a few days later in a box on the bed. I ran a finger along the gold edging on the hem before I tried a single thing on.
The Ivory Set
- A fine gold line bound along every edge — hem, front, cuffs and pants
- Butterflies drawn in gold linework, set well apart on open ivory
- Real pockets set into the top at the hip
- Full sleeves into a gold cuff · wide satin pants to the floor
- Both pieces included · sizes XS–2XL · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
The Ivory Set · $69.95 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 written off an entire way of dressing because of one thing that goes wrong with it, and it turns out that thing is a finished edge. If you have looked at a satin set and put it straight back for exactly that reason, I hope you find your size before it clears.
— Margaret Ellison · Mount Pleasant, SC
See the Ivory set — $69.95 →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.