A Letter From Michelle: The Cassandra
A Letter From Michelle
Think about the last coat you bought. Not what it looked like — how you decided.
On the six things I won’t do without before a coat goes on the rack, why the cream ground is the reason women who “don’t do pattern” end up in this one, and why the Cassandra is $109.95.
I would guess it went something like this. It was warm. It was the right length. It was on sale, or near enough. It went with everything, which mostly meant it went against nothing.
And you bought it, and it has done the job for six years, and you have never once looked forward to putting it on.
One of our customers wrote something to us last month that I have not been able to put down. She said this coat felt like something I chose for myself, rather than another practical coat I bought out of habit.
That last part is the whole thing. Most women have not chosen a coat in twenty years. They have approved one. There is a difference, and you can feel it every October when you take the navy one off the hook again.
It is not that she wants something loud. It is that nobody has offered her anything that is both warm and worth looking at, so she keeps making the sensible call, and she is right to — every single time, on its own, she is right.
This is the coat I built for the other decision.
There were six things I would not give up on.
It is a choice, not an approval
Everything below this is practical, so let me say the unpractical part first and then leave it alone.
You are allowed to own one thing you are glad to see. It does not have to be justified by warmth or by how many outfits it works with, although this one is and does. A coat is the garment you wear over everything else you own and the one people actually see, so of all the things to be indifferent about, it is a strange one to have picked.
“My closet has plenty of gray and black, so I decided to try something with a little more color. I chose the Cassandra because I liked the geometric design on the cream background. There’s enough going on that I keep the rest of my outfit simple. Usually that means dark pants and a plain top. I especially like it left open so you can see the whole outfit. It feels like something I chose for myself, rather than another practical coat I bought out of habit.”
Kathleen H., Cedar RapidsThe cream ground is why you can actually wear it
This is the part I would underline. Most colorful coats are built on navy or black, and on a dark ground the colors crowd together and read as one loud block. There is nowhere for your eye to rest, and that is what women mean when they say a coat is too much. It is not the color. It is the density.
These shapes are set on cream, with space between them. Heavier across the shoulders and the sleeves, scattered and quiet by the hem. You see a coat first, and the color second — which is the order in which a woman who does not think of herself as a pattern person ends up taking one home.
“I wasn’t sure about the print at first because most of my coats are pretty plain. The cream background makes the brighter colors feel easier to wear than I expected. I’ve been reaching for this one when I go out for lunch.”
Janet B., Roanoke“The colors are what won me over. I wear mine with jeans and a plain top, and that’s the outfit sorted.”
Deborah K., MadisonPieced, not printed — and lined to the wrist
Two things, and they are the two that cost money to do properly.
The artwork is pieced rather than printed, so the shapes have edges and the surface has some life to it instead of lying flat the way a machine print does. And the brushed fleece runs collar to hem and down through both sleeves — which is the part makers skip, because lining a sleeve is fiddly and nobody checks. Your arms are where you get cold. Standing at a curb, carrying bags, waiting outside somewhere; it is never your back that goes first.
That is also why it is warm without being heavy: the warmth comes from the lining instead of from thickness you carry around all day.
“The zipper is what sold me on the Cassandra. I prefer a coat I can leave open when I’m running errands and close up for the walk back to the car. The fleece lining feels cozy, too.”
Carolyn S., SpokaneA zipper, so you decide outside
Open or closed should not be a decision you make in the hallway at seven in the morning, before you know what the day is doing.
Zip it and it is a winter coat. Leave it open and it is a layer, and the whole outfit underneath still shows — which, judging by what women tell us, is how most of them wear it. The hood is lined in the same fleece and cut roomy, with a drawstring for the mornings that bite.
“I bought this for a weekend away and ended up wearing it more than the other jacket I packed. The length was the first thing I noticed—I like having coverage past my hips. I wore it open over a simple sweater during the day. Later, I zipped it up and used the hood while we sat outside for a bit. It’s a cheerful change from my usual navy coat.”
Patricia W., LancasterTwo pockets deep enough to leave the purse at home
Set into the front at hip height, and deep enough for your phone, your keys and a pair of gloves at the same time.
Which sounds like a small thing until you are the woman who walks out for twenty minutes without a bag because everything she needs is already on her.
“Very pleased with the front pockets. Having somewhere handy for my keys makes this coat an easy choice for everyday outings.”
Elaine T., WichitaPast the hip, easy at the middle, S through 4XL
It falls past the hip rather than stopping on top of it, and it is cut generous through the body on purpose — so it never grips at the middle, and you are not tugging at it every time you sit down.
Seven sizes, S through 4XL, all the same price. It runs true to size, so take what you usually take; if you like a thick sweater underneath, go one up.
And it washes at home — machine washable at a low temperature.
“I’m particular about how a coat sits around my middle. This one has the relaxed shape I was looking for, and I don’t feel the need to keep adjusting it when I sit down. The colorful pattern is a nice bonus.”
Sharon D., EugeneThe Cassandra, against the coat on your hook
| The coat you approved | The Cassandra | |
|---|---|---|
| How you chose it | It went against nothing | You wanted to look at it |
| The ground | Navy, so the color has nowhere to go | Cream, so the shapes have room |
| The artwork | A flat machine print, if any | Pieced, with edges you can see |
| The sleeves | Lined to the shoulder, then shell | Brushed fleece through to the wrist |
| Open or closed | Decided when you bought it | Decided on the sidewalk |
| At the middle | Grips, so you keep adjusting it | Cut generous, falls past the hip |
Nobody decided that a warm coat had to be a dull one. It is just that the two have been sold together for so long that we stopped asking.
Why we’re clearing it now
The Cassandra was $299.95 on the rack, and that is what a coat finished this way costs: artwork that is pieced rather than printed, brushed fleece run collar to hem and down through both sleeves, and a hood lined in that same fleece. I am not going to stand here and tell you that is a small amount of money for a coat.
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 it is going out at a little over a third of what it was.
I will give you the honest reasoning too. A coat is the one thing a woman wears over everything else she owns, so it is the piece people actually see, and it is the piece she keeps for years. This is the coat you buy now, before the morning you need it. If it is the one you reach for every day for the next five winters, then $109.95 was never the point.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,369+ reviews
$299.95$109.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 63%
- Pieced patchwork in coral, teal, magenta and gold on cream
- Brushed fleece lining collar to hem and down through both sleeves
- A roomy fleece-lined hood with a drawstring
- A full-length front zipper — wear it open or closed
- Two deep front pockets at hip height
- Falls past the hip and never grips at the middle
- True to size, S through 4XL — size up for a thick sweater
- Machine washable at a low temperature
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every size the same price · while they last
One more thing, and then I will let you look.
I have stopped trying to talk women out of the navy coat. It is a perfectly good coat and they are not wrong about it.
What I do instead is hand them this one and go quiet for a second. And almost every time, the first thing they say is some version of: it is less than I thought it would be.
They mean the pattern. There is simply room left between the shapes, and that turns out to matter more than any color in it.
Try it on over whatever you already have on this morning.
With love and gratitude,
— Michelle · The Hayes Family Hamptons
SEE THE CASSANDRA — $109.95 →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.