A Letter From Michelle — The Amara
A Letter From Michelle
You’re not trying to look twenty years younger. You just want to wear something that feels like you again.
On where the face sits and why that decides everything, what a loud jacket asks you to wear with it, the six things I would not compromise on, and why the Amara is $99.95.
Those two get confused constantly, and it is why so many good jackets go back on the rail.
A woman puts on something with real color in it and somebody decides she is chasing her thirties. All she has done is stop disappearing.
Look at where the face sits. It is on one panel, inside an oval border, and everything around it is bands of chevron and geometry running straight across. That gives your eye one place to land instead of a dozen, which is the difference between artwork and fancy dress.
Six things I would not give up on.
The face is on one panel, and nowhere else
Everything around it is ordered: chevron bands across the hem, geometry at the chest, a stepped border at the bottom. A print repeated all over gives the eye nothing to settle on. This one has a focal point, which is why people call it artistic rather than a lot.
“The face design is what caught my eye. I’ve always loved colorful, artistic clothing, and this is certainly different from anything else in my closet. Such a fun piece!”
Brenda M., AshevilleIt is cut long, and it is fitted nowhere
The body falls past the hip and keeps going, and nothing on it is shaped to your waist. Nothing pulls at the stomach, nothing catches across the shoulders. A jacket that stops at the waist announces where your waist is. This one declines to.
“I especially like the longer length. It covers my hips nicely, and I can throw it over jeans and a simple T-shirt without having to think too much about my outfit.”
Diane W., LancasterThe hood is lined in soft blue fleece
You can see it at the collar when the hood is down, and it is the one quiet thing on the whole jacket. It is also the part you actually feel, sitting against your neck on a cold morning.
“That blue fuzzy lining inside the hood is such a lovely contrast to the bright colors. I like having something cozy around my neck on chilly mornings.”
Patricia L., RoanokeIt asks you to buy nothing else
A plain top and the trousers you already own. That is the whole styling instruction. You are not building an outfit around it.
“Wore this to our Saturday art club meeting with black pants and a plain white top. Three ladies asked me about the jacket! The colors really do speak for themselves.”
Carolyn R., Santa FeThe colors are at full strength
Red, yellow, green, black and white, and not one is a dusty version of itself. If the last five things you bought were chosen so as not to be noticed, this is the opposite decision in one garment.
“I’m 70 and I refuse to dress in dull colors just because of my age! The red, green and yellow together make me smile every time I put it on. 😊”
Gloria T., SavannahEight sizes, and the one thing I would rather say here
XS through 4XL, every one the same price, and it washes at home on a low temperature. It is sold in four prints, and the one photographed here is the Tribal Ember, so check which you are choosing. And the honest word: this is not a quiet jacket. People will say something, and if you would rather they did not, it is not the one.
“My daughter is the artist in our family and she absolutely loved the geometric patterns. I wore it when we went out for coffee together, and she said it looked like wearable art. I think she’s right!”
Yvonne K., DurhamThe Amara, against what else $100 buys
| Most $100 print jackets | The Amara | |
|---|---|---|
| The print | One small motif repeated by the yard | Placed in panels, with a face framed inside an oval |
| The shape | Fitted, so it pulls across the stomach | Cut long and loose, past the hip, fitted nowhere |
| The hood | Unlined, and cold against the neck | Lined in a soft blue fleece you feel right away |
| Styling | Needs a new outfit built around it | A plain top and the trousers in your closet |
| Sizing | Stops at XL, if you are lucky | Eight sizes, XS to 4XL, every one the same price |
Why we are clearing them out now
The Amara was $299.95, and that number was for a print placed panel by panel rather than repeated by the yard, a face motif set inside its own oval border, chevron bands cut to line up across the body, a fleece-lined hood and a full-length zip. Placed prints are the expensive part. Every panel has to be cut to register with the one beside it, which is why most makers repeat a small pattern instead. But the store turns twenty this year, and my daughters Julie and Amy are both at the counter most days now, which is not something I let myself count on in 2006. We wanted to mark it by handing something back to the women who kept those doors open, so it is going out at a third of what it was.
And the honest reasoning. Nobody looks back and regrets the one bright thing they wore. They regret the twelve beige ones they bought instead. At $99.95 you can find out which this is.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,369+ reviews
$299.95$99.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 67%
- A face motif set inside its own oval panel
- Chevron and geometric bands cut to line up across the body
- A fleece-lined hood with drawcords, and a full-length zip
- Cut long and loose, falling past the hip
- Eight sizes · XS to 4XL, every one the same price
- Machine washable at a low temperature
- Four prints · the one shown here is the Tribal Ember
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every size the same price · while sizes last
One more thing, and then I will let you go.
Think of the last time you saw a woman your own age in real color and thought she looked marvelous.
You did not think she was dressing young. You thought she was dressing like herself.
Then put the Amara on over a white top and look before you decide. If it is not you, send it back within thirty days and we will refund you.
Go and find your size.
With love and gratitude,
— Michelle · The Hayes Family Hamptons
SEE THE AMARA — $99.95 →This is a personal letter from Michelle Hayes, co-founder of The Hayes Family Hamptons. Customer reviews are quoted as written. · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee.