The Cozy Zip-Up That Lifts a Plain Outfit

A soft zip-up knit cardigan in a gorgeous colourful stripe — warm, characterful and easy to zip, it lifts your plainest things and keeps the draught off your neck.

My cool-weather wardrobe had quietly become a sea of grey and navy — sensible, warm, and utterly joyless. I'd throw a plain cardigan over a plain top and feel exactly as dull as I looked, and I'd stopped expecting anything different.

What I really wanted was one cozy layer with a bit of character — something soft and warm that turned my plain tee and jeans into an actual outfit, kept the draught off my neck, and was easy to fasten. But the warm cardigans were scratchy or plain, and the fiddly buttons defeated me. Nothing was all of it.

It was my daughter Sarah, up in Boston, who told me to stop hiding in beige and try one from a small family boutique here in South Carolina — a colourful zip-up knit she thought I'd love. 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 cardigan is called the Liora, 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.

1The cozy zip-up that lifts a plain outfit

We made the Liora as a soft zip-up knit cardigan in a gorgeous colourful stripe — the kind of cozy layer that turns the plain things you already own into an outfit. Zip it over a plain tee and jeans and suddenly you look considered and put-together, with a bit of warmth and character, and no effort at all. The easiest way we know to lift a whole outfit in one cozy layer.

2A colourful knit that gets you noticed

It's a beautiful colourful knit — warm teal, mustard, rust and cream stripes woven together in a soft zigzag — the kind of cardigan that looks handmade and gets noticed, without ever being loud or trying too hard. Cheerful and grown-up at once, never garish; the sort of thing people notice and ask about, that has you standing a little taller in it.

3Easy zip-up — no fiddly buttons

It fastens with one simple front zip — no fiddly little buttons to battle one by one, no missing the top one — just zip it up and you're done and cozy. Such a small thing, but it makes getting dressed on a cold morning so much easier, especially when your hands aren't as nimble as they used to be.

4A cozy stand collar to keep the draught off

It has a cozy ribbed stand collar that zips up snug around your neck, keeping the draught off the very place the cold gets in — no scarf to wind, no gap for the chill. Warm right up to the chin the moment you zip it up, for the draught round your neck that gets you the most.

5Soft, warm, and layers over everything

The knit is wonderfully soft against the skin — warm and cozy without a hint of scratch — and it layers beautifully over everything you already own: a plain tee, a blouse, a dress. Warm and soft, and it works with half your wardrobe, so you reach for it morning after cool morning.

6A size for you, from S to 3XL

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

The Liora, against the cardigans in your drawer

	The usual cardigan	The Liora
The look	Plain, grey, joyless	A colourful knit that lifts any outfit
The colour	Safe and forgettable	Warm stripes that get noticed
Fastening	Fiddly little buttons to battle	One simple, easy front zip
The neck	A draught, and a scarf to wind	A cozy stand collar, snug to the chin
The feel	Scratchy, or thin and useless	Soft and warm, layers over everything

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Liora at $154.95 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 cardigan is going out for a little over a third of that.

Mine arrived folded in tissue with a little handwritten note on top. I zipped it on over my plain tee that same cool morning, and it's barely left me since.

I don't usually write things like this. But the Liora has brought a bit of joy back to getting dressed — soft, warm, colourful, easy to zip, and it lifts my plainest things. It's barely left me since it arrived. If your cool-weather wardrobe has gone as grey and joyless as mine had, this is the one I'd tell you to try, while the sale is still on.

— Sandra Thompson · Mount Pleasant, SC

See the Liora — $54.95 →

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.