Sweatshirt Comfort, With a Smart, Put-Together Look

A soft, textured pullover with a smart collar, neat wooden buttons and a lovely worn denim look — as cozy as a sweatshirt, but it looks like you made an effort.

At 63, most mornings I just want to be comfortable — but a plain sweatshirt makes me look like I'm off to do the gardening, and I still want to look like I made a bit of an effort when I leave the house.

What I really wanted was one top as comfy as a sweatshirt that actually looked pulled-together — cozy, but smart. Everything I owned was either comfortable or presentable, never both.

It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who told me to stop settling and try one from a small family boutique here in South Carolina — a soft textured pullover she thought I'd never take off. 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 top is called the Livia, 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.

1Sweatshirt comfort — with a put-together look

We made the Livia to feel as soft and cozy as your favourite sweatshirt, but to look far smarter — thanks to its collar, neat wooden buttons, and lovely worn denim look. So you get all the comfort you want, and none of the "off to do the gardening." You throw it on over your jeans and look like you dressed with care, in one easy piece.

2A rich texture that looks far more expensive

It has a beautiful mix of cable and textured knit with a lovely worn denim look running all through it — the kind of rich detail that makes it look like a designer piece, not a plain sweatshirt. Where a flat, basic top reads as cheap, the Livia's texture makes it look costly and considered, and people simply assume it cost a great deal.

See the Livia — $59.95 →

3Soft and warm — never scratchy

It's a soft, warm knit — cozy and gentle against the skin without a single hint of scratch, none of that thin, cheap feeling. The kind of thing you sink into on a cool morning and don't want to take off. It feels like a hug you can wear, warm and comfortable from morning to night.

4The collar and wooden buttons that lift it

It's the smart touches that make it. A folded collar and a neat row of wooden buttons at the neck — the kind of considered details that make it look like a proper shirt and sweater in one, not a plain pullover you threw on. You look like you dressed with real care, even when you just reached for the comfiest thing you own.

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5It lifts your everyday jeans

Pull it over your jeans and the whole outfit suddenly looks considered — the collar, the texture and the denim look all pull it together in one easy piece. A plain pair of jeans goes from "errands" to "put-together," so it becomes the top you reach for whenever you want to look pulled-together with no effort at all.

6Three colours, and a size for you, from S to 3XL

It comes in three lovely shades — washed blue denim, soft grey-brown and warm rust — and it runs from S to 3XL, cut relaxed and easy to flatter a real range of bodies. A top made to fit the woman, not to make the woman fit the top.

The Livia, against your usual sweatshirt

	The usual sweatshirt	The Livia
The look	Plain, like gardening clothes	A smart collar and a considered look
The texture	Flat and basic	A rich mix of cable and textured knit
The feel	Thin, or scratchy	Soft, warm knit — no scratch
The details	A plain neck	A collar and neat wooden buttons
The effect	Just loungewear	Lifts your everyday jeans

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Livia at $159.95 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 top is going out at $59.95, well below half of what it was.

Mine arrived folded in tissue with a little handwritten note on top. I threw it on over my jeans that same morning and looked put-together in seconds — it's barely left me since.

I don't usually write things like this. But the Livia gave me exactly what I'd stopped hoping to find — one top that's as comfy as a sweatshirt but looks smart and put-together, with a rich texture that looks far more expensive than it was and a collar that lifts my everyday jeans. It's barely left me since it arrived. If you've been stuck between plain sweatshirts and fussy tops the way I had, this is the one I'd tell you to try, while the sale is still on.

— Sandra Thompson · Mount Pleasant, SC

See the Livia — $59.95 →

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.