A Letter From Michelle: The Dolores
A Letter From Michelle
One thing, over your head, and you are dressed.
On the denim at every edge, why a sweatshirt that reaches your thigh is not loungewear, the six things I would not give up on, and why the Dolores is $59.95.
Half the women who try this on say the same thing. I do not really wear dresses.
What they mean is that a dress is a decision. It is what you put on when the day has a shape to it, and most days do not have one.
This is not that. It is a sweatshirt that reaches your thigh, with a hood on the back and two pockets to put your hands in.
Which makes it the only thing in the closet that is already an outfit. You put one thing on and you are dressed.
Six things I would not give up on.
The denim is on every edge
Look at where the blue is. The hood, the yoke across the shoulders, both cuffs, the opening of each pocket, and a band around the hem. It is not scattered over the dress as decoration. It is on every seam and every edge, and that is the whole reason this reads as something made rather than something you slept in. Take it off and what you have is a long cream sweatshirt.
“I wanted something easy to put on that still felt like an outfit. The Dolores works nicely with my ankle boots, and the blue details give it a little personality. It has a relaxed look without feeling like something I should only wear around the house.”
Carolyn S., Fort Collins, COThe hood is doing more than keeping the wind off
It is a proper hood, set into the denim yoke rather than bunched up at the neck, and yes, it does the obvious job when you are out in the garden. But it is also the piece that tells anyone looking at you that the ease was on purpose. A dress this comfortable with no hood on it reads as something you have not changed out of yet. With one, it reads as what you picked.
“A hood and a handy front pocket—my kind of dress. I especially like the contrasting cuffs.”
Nancy H., Eugene, ORTwo pockets, set into the front
Not one patch pocket stitched onto the outside. Two, set into the front with a denim welt at each opening, and deep enough to put your hands in past the wrist. That is the detail that decides whether you stand outside talking to somebody for ten minutes in October, or fold your arms and start working out how to go in.
“What sold me was the combination of the hood and those contrasting panels. I tend to choose plain clothes, so this felt like a small step toward something more interesting. I wore it with white sneakers for a casual lunch, and the pocket was handy for keeping my hands tucked in while we chatted outside.”
Marilyn D., Salem, MAA cotton blend, cut straight
It is a cotton blend, and it is cut straight through the body rather than shaped to it, which is the difference between a dress you sit down in and a dress you arrange yourself in. It skims rather than clinging, and it leaves room through the middle. If what has put you off dresses is the half second of pulling at the fabric after you sit, that half second is what this cut is built around.
“The cotton blend feels comfortable, and the cut doesn’t cling when I sit down. I’m pleased with how simple it is to wear. The hood adds a nice casual touch.”
Janet W., Knoxville, TNFive colors, and every photograph here is the White
That is the one I had on the table, so it is the one you have been looking at all the way down this page. There are five: White, Beige, Black, Navy Blue and Green. The cut is the same on all five, and so are the hood, the pockets and the panels. What changes is the color they sit on, and how much the contrast shows against it.
“The blue trim against the light background is what caught my eye. Such a cheerful change from my usual solid-colored dresses.”
Elaine R., Madison, WISix sizes, and where the hem sits
S through 3XL, all at one price. And the thing women always want settled before they order a dress, so I will say it rather than make you count it off a photograph: it sits above the knee. The ones below wear it with sneakers or with ankle boots, and with bare legs or without, depending on the month.
“I don’t wear dresses very often, but this feels casual enough for an ordinary afternoon. The straight shape gives me room through the middle, and I like it with sneakers.”
Beverly M., Roanoke, VAThe Dolores, against what else $60 buys
| Most $60 dresses | The Dolores | |
|---|---|---|
| The edges | Nothing marks them, so it reads as loungewear | Denim at the hood, the yoke, the cuffs, the pockets and the hem |
| The hood | Bunched at the neck, if there is one at all | Set flat into a denim yoke that runs across the shoulders |
| The pockets | One patch pocket stitched on the outside | Two, set into the front with a denim welt at each opening |
| Getting dressed | A top, a bottom, and a decision between them | One thing, over your head, and you are done with it |
| The fabric | Thin jersey that clings when you sit down | A cotton blend cut straight, so it skims instead |
| Sizing | Stops at XL, if you are lucky | S through 3XL, every size the same price |
Why we are clearing them out now
The Dolores was $169.95, and that number was for denim set into the hood, the shoulder yoke, both cuffs, the opening of each pocket and a band around the hem, on a cotton blend cut straight through the body. I am not going to stand here and tell you that is a small amount of money for a sweatshirt dress. 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 little over a third of what it was.
I will give you the honest reasoning too. The clothes that earn their place are not the ones you wear to the good occasions. They are the ones you reach for on mornings when nothing is planned, and those mornings outnumber the other kind by a long way. If this becomes the thing you put on when the day has not told you what it is yet, then $59.95 was never the point.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,369+ reviews
$169.95$59.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 65%
- Denim at the hood, the yoke, the cuffs, the pockets and the hem
- A hood set flat into the shoulder yoke
- Two pockets set into the front, with a welt at each opening
- A cotton blend, cut straight through the body
- Pulls on over your head — nothing to fasten
- Five colors: White, Beige, Black, Navy Blue and Green
- Sizes S through 3XL, every size the same price
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every color and every size the same price · while sizes last
One more thing, and then I will let you go.
Think about last Tuesday. Not a Tuesday with anything in it — an ordinary one, home in the morning and out for an hour in the afternoon.
What you had on was almost certainly two things chosen separately, and a third off the hook at the door.
So do that Tuesday again in this, the day the box arrives. If one thing does not turn out to be enough, send it back within thirty days and we will refund you.
Go and pick your size.
With love and gratitude,
— Michelle · The Hayes Family Hamptons
SEE THE DOLORES — $59.95 →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.