The one coat I reach for without thinking.

On the chunky cable-knit cardigan coat that fits over a sweater, buttons with cold hands, covers the lower back, and comes with a hood that actually stays put.

I am 63 years old, and getting dressed for cool weather had quietly become a small defeat every morning. My good coats never fit right once I put a real sweater underneath — they pulled across the shoulders, bound at the arms, and made me feel bulky rather than warm. So I kept reaching for the same thin fleece and spending the whole errand run cold.

It wore on me more than I let on. I had started to feel a little invisible in my own clothes.

Then a woman in my church group here in Mount Pleasant kept turning up looking comfortable and quietly put-together at the same time. I finally asked her. She laughed and told me to read the Clarke family's letter first, so I am going to let their words carry it, because they say it better than I could.

1Room for a real sweater underneath.

We cut the Karinae with genuinely relaxed shoulders and a wider armhole, so the coat slides on without any lifting or twisting — even over a thick roll-neck. You do not have to size up, and you do not have to choose between warm and comfortable. Both come with the same coat.

2A weight that hangs, rather than drags.

This is a coat with real substance to it — and we chose that on purpose. A chunky cable knit that hangs neatly from the shoulders rather than pulling on them; the kind of weight that feels like being wrapped up, not weighed down. Put it on and your posture stays easy. It does not creep forward or feel heavy after an hour of errands.

3Buttons that close first time, every time.

We gave the Karinae large, flat shell buttons — easy to grip with cold fingers, easy to grip with gloves on. No zip to line up in a parking lot, no fiddling. You button it once at the top and once at the hem and you are done. It has been the detail women mention first, unprompted.

4A hood that fits over a hat — and stays put.

The hood is deep and generously cut — roomy enough to go right over a knit hat, and it stays where you put it rather than dropping over your eyes or blowing off in the first gust. When the rain comes in sideways on the way from the car to the door, this is the detail that matters. It closes the neck right up without a scarf.

5Long enough to cover your lower back — actually.

The Karinae falls to near the ankle — long enough that bending down, getting into the car, or leaning forward does not open a cold gap at the back. Thigh-length coats have their place, but they do not cover you when it matters. This one does, without getting in the way of a step or a stair.

6The color that goes with everything you own.

We chose this dusty steel blue because it is the color that works — with black trousers, with jeans, with a dark skirt, with whatever is underneath. Not a trend color. Not something that dates. The kind of blue that women keep wearing year after year because it quietly goes with everything and never looks wrong.

The Karinae, against the coats you've been buying.

	A typical winter coat	The Karinae
Fit	Binds when layered	✓ Relaxed over a sweater
Buttons	Small, hard to grip	✓ Large shell, easy with gloves
Hood	Drops over the eyes	✓ Deep, stays put over a hat
Length	Stops at the hip or thigh	✓ Covers the lower back fully
Color	Trendy, dates quickly	✓ Dusty blue, goes with everything

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Karinae at $200.00 when it launched, and it sold at that price all season. But for America's 250th, the Clarke family wanted to give something back — so every coat is going out at less than half of what it was.

I ordered mine the evening my friend showed me the page. It arrived a few days later in a kraft-paper parcel, the coat folded in cream tissue, with a short card from the family. I have reached for it more than anything else on my coat hook since.

I do not usually write things like this. But I spent too many cold mornings in a coat that pulled at the shoulders the moment I put a sweater on underneath — and feeling a little invisible for it. The Karinae is the first coat in years that I put on and simply feel like myself. If that sounds familiar, I hope you find your size before it clears.

— Sandra Thompson · Mount Pleasant, SC

See the Karinae — $89.95 →

This is a personal account from a Clarke Family customer. Sandra was not paid to write it. · The Clarke Family · Family Fashion · 24/7 Customer Service · Free UPS shipping · Easy 30-Day Returns.