A Whole Outfit In One — Just Put It On

A soft drapey top and matching wide-leg trousers, made to go together — comfortable, covered and elegant, and pulled-together the moment you put both pieces on.

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 put on and simply look pulled-together and elegant, without a waistband cutting me in half or a single thing clinging. But the comfortable things looked like I'd given up, and the elegant 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 a set from a small family boutique here in South Carolina — a soft, elegant two-piece 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. The set is called the Kalliope, 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 put it on

We made the Kalliope as a soft, drapey top and matching wide-leg trousers, cut to go together perfectly — so you put the two pieces on and you're dressed, pulled-together and elegant, with no matching to puzzle over and no pile on the bed. One set, and the whole outfit is done before you've had your coffee.

2A drapey top that skims and softly covers

The soft, drapey top falls loosely away from the body, skimming right over the middle — and its wide, floaty sleeves cover the tops of the arms beautifully. So the two places most of us grow self-conscious about are softly covered and comfortable at once, and elegant with it — no cardigan needed, even in the warmth.

3An elastic waist that never digs in

The wide-leg trousers have a soft elastic waist — no hard button, no zip pressing in — so they sit gently at the middle and move with you, while the drapey top blouses softly over the top. It looks considered and elegant, but feels like your softest loungewear. You can sit through a whole lunch and forget you've a waistband at all.

4A wide, forgiving leg that flatters

The legs fall straight and loose from the waist, skimming right over the hips and the thighs instead of gripping them — so you look long and elegant, and nothing clings anywhere. Forgiving and flattering at once: you feel taller and slimmer, and completely comfortable with it.

5Dressed up or down, for any occasion

Bare and easy with sandals it's perfect for a lunch or the market; add a little gold jewellery and heels and it's elegant enough for a dinner or a party. One set that quietly does the work of several, so you're never caught out with nothing to wear, whatever the day holds.

6A size for you, from XS to 3XL

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

The Kalliope, against the outfits you've been assembling

	Assembling an outfit	The Kalliope
Getting dressed	Matching a top to trousers, then giving up	Two pieces on — a whole outfit, done
Your middle & arms	On show, or hidden under a cardigan	A drapey top that skims and softly covers
The waist	A hard band digging in	A soft elastic waist that never digs in
The fit	Clings to the hips and thighs	Wide legs that skim and flatter
The occasion	Right for one thing only	Dressed up or down, for anything

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Kalliope at $259.95 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 for under a quarter of that.

Mine arrived folded in tissue with a little handwritten note on top. I put both pieces on that same morning and was dressed, comfortable and elegant, without a single thing left on the bed.

I don't usually write things like this. But the Kalliope has taken the hardest decision of my morning clean off my hands — one set, and I'm dressed, comfortable, covered where I want to be, and looking like I made a real effort, without a thing 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 Kalliope — $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.