A Letter From Michelle: The Amaya
A Letter From Michelle
A floral jacket for a woman who does not wear florals.
On why the print starts at the hem instead of the shoulders, what that does to a closet that is already mostly navy, and why the Amaya is $79.95.
There is a thing that happens at the counter that I have watched for twenty years, and it is always the same woman.
She picks up something with flowers on it. She holds it at arm’s length, in front of her, and looks at it for a good while longer than you would expect. Then she puts it back and says some version of: lovely, but not on me.
For a long time I thought that was modesty, and I would try to talk her out of it. I have stopped doing that, because she is almost always right.
Most floral jackets put the biggest flowers across the chest and shoulders — which is to say, directly under the face of a woman who has not worn a print since the nineties.
She is not wrong about floral jackets. She has simply never been shown one where the print is somewhere else.
That is the Amaya. And it is the reason I kept this one when a dozen others went back.
The flowers start at the hem, not the shoulders
Look at where the color actually sits. The blooms come up out of the hem and climb about as far as the waist, with one sleeve carrying the rest of them. Everything above that — the collar, the shoulders, the whole upper third — is plain navy quilting.
That one decision is the difference between a jacket that wears you and a jacket you wear. The color is down where it is cheerful. The quiet part is up where people look when they talk to you.
“I usually avoid large floral prints, but I liked how these flowers sit mostly toward the bottom of the jacket. There’s still plenty of blue around the shoulders. That balance made it an easy choice for me.”
Darlene M., Hickory“The bright flowers against that deep blue are beautiful. I wear mine with jeans and a plain shirt, and it feels like a complete outfit.”
Helen G., MankatoThe navy is the base, not the accent
Open your closet and count the navy. For most women who write to us, it is most of it — navy, black, gray, cream, and a drawer of plain tops that go with all of them.
A patterned jacket on a cream or beige ground asks that closet to change. One built on navy does not. It sits down next to the pants you already own and behaves like the plain jacket you already reach for, right up until somebody notices the flowers.
“The Amaya caught my attention because I wear so much navy already. The pink, orange, and yellow flowers bring something different to clothes I’ve had for years. My favorite combination is a cream top and dark pants. I leave the snaps open when I want to show the shirt underneath. The quilted texture is lovely, too. I’m enjoying having a practical jacket with a little personality.”
Marcia R., WenatcheeWarm enough for October, light enough to keep on indoors
This is the gap in most closets and almost nobody shops for it on purpose. The heavy coat is too much from September to November. A cardigan is not enough once there is wind.
The Amaya is quilted and padded, so it holds warmth, but it is cut as a jacket rather than built as a coat. You can garden in it, drive in it and keep it on in a café without cooking.
“This is the kind of layer I wanted for cool mornings when I don’t need my heavier coat. I’ve been wearing it over a long-sleeve top for coffee and errands. Comfortable, and a cheerful change from my usual plain jackets.”
Gail T., Traverse CityThe details that stop it looking like a craft project
A print this bold will look homemade unless everything around it is quiet and properly finished. So: a stand collar rather than a flat one, gold-tone snaps down the front instead of a zip, slim welt pockets set into the seam, navy binding run around every edge, and a cream lining you only see at the collar.
None of that is decoration. It is the frame that lets the flowers be the only loud thing.
“Really pleased with the stand collar and gold-tone snaps. Those little details make it look nicely finished.”
Joan E., Salina“I’m happy this has pockets. I like having somewhere for my keys when I’m stepping out for a quick errand. The quilting gives it a cozy feel without making the jacket bulky.”
Margaret V., HarrisonburgOpen and snapped are two different jackets
Worn open, the navy runs down either side of you in two long panels and the flowers sit out at the edges — which is why it works over a dress as readily as over jeans.
Snapped up, the stand collar closes and it becomes a proper outdoor jacket for a cold morning. Same garment, two jobs, and you decide which on the way out of the door.
“I bought the Amaya to wear over a simple dress for a family lunch. The flowers added the color I wanted, so I kept everything else fairly plain. I liked the gently shaped fit worn open. Since then, I’ve worn it with jeans, too. It’s nice to have a jacket that works with both.”
Anita C., Corvallis2XS through 4XL, every size the same price
Nine sizes, one price across all of them. The fit is gently shaped rather than boxy, with enough room through the body for a sweater underneath — so take the size you usually take, and go up one if you plan to layer properly under it in December.
I would rather say that plainly than have you guess. A jacket you are unsure of the size of is a jacket that stays in the box.
The Amaya, against the floral jacket you put back
| Most floral jackets | The Amaya | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the print sits | Across the chest and shoulders | Up from the hem, one sleeve |
| Near your face | The loudest part of it | Plain navy quilting |
| Background color | Cream or beige | Deep navy |
| What it asks of your closet | Something new to go with it | A plain top you already own |
| Warmth | A shell, or a full coat | Quilted, without the bulk |
| Sizes | Prints stop at XL, often | 2XS to 4XL, one price |
The woman at my counter was never frightened of color. She was unwilling to wear it six inches under her chin, which is a different thing entirely, and a fair one.
Why we are clearing it now
It was $269.95 on the rack, and that is what a jacket like this costs when nothing is cut short: the print worked around the body and down the sleeve rather than stamped on a front panel, onion-quilting stitched across the whole of it, a lining carried right through, binding around every edge and a snap placket instead of a zip.
But the shop turns twenty this year. My daughters Julie and Amy are both at the counter most days now, which is not something I let myself count on when my husband and I opened the doors in 2006. We wanted to mark it by handing something back to the women who kept those doors open — so the Amaya goes out at a little under a third of what it was.
At $79.95 it costs less than the plain navy jacket you would have bought instead. That is the only argument I have, and I think it is enough.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,369+ reviews
$269.95$79.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 70%
- Painted florals that rise from the hem, not the shoulders
- A deep navy ground that sits with the clothes you own
- Quilted and padded — warmth without the bulk
- Stand collar with gold-tone snaps down the front
- Slim welt pockets set into the seam
- Cream lining carried right through
- A gently shaped fit, good open or snapped up
- True to size, 2XS to 4XL, every size the same price
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every size the same price · while they last
One last thing, and then I will let you go and look at it properly.
If you have spent fifteen years in navy and gray, I am not going to pretend that was a mistake. It was not. It is the reason getting dressed takes you four minutes instead of twenty.
The Amaya does not ask you to give any of that up. The navy is still doing the work. There are just flowers coming up out of the hem of it now, and they are somebody else’s problem to notice.
Hold it up in front of you, the way you always do. Then look at where the color actually is.
With love and gratitude,
— Michelle · The Hayes Family Hamptons
SEE THE AMAYA — $79.95 →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.