A Letter From Michelle — The Fall Dresses
A Letter From Michelle
You are not tired of getting dressed. You are tired of the waistband.
On the two dresses you are usually offered and why both are wrong, the six things I would not compromise on, and why they are $64.95.
Think of the last time you sat down to lunch and shifted in your chair. Not because of the chair.
A dress ought to be the obvious answer, and for most women it is not, because the two you are offered are both wrong. One clings everywhere you would rather it did not. The other hangs off you like a bag — and by October the rack has gone brown and gray.
So look at where this one keeps its shape. All of it is at the top: a stand collar and three buttons. From the shoulder down it is left alone, and there is no waistband on it anywhere.
Six things I would not compromise on.
There is no waistband on it anywhere
No seam at the middle, nothing gathered, nothing to fasten. It falls straight from the shoulder, and the first thing to touch you is the ribbed band at the hem. Nothing digs in when you sit, nothing to pull up when you stand.
“I’m 68 and appreciate a dress that doesn’t cling to my stomach. This has a nice straight shape, and the length is just right for wearing with knee-high boots.”
Carol B., RoanokeThe collar is the only structure, and you set its height
A stand collar with three buttons. They decide how high it sits: buttoned to the top on a cold morning, one or two undone by the afternoon. It is also why a loose dress does not read as shapeless — the eye goes to the collar, level with your face.
“The three buttons at the neckline are what caught my attention. I like wearing the collar slightly open. Makes an ordinary sweater dress look a little more interesting.”
Diane W., LancasterThe sleeve gathers above a deep ribbed cuff
The cuff is a proper band, several inches of close rib, the sleeve blousing softly above it. So there is room through the arm without the excess ending up over your hands. Push them up and they stay.
“I especially like the ribbed cuffs and the way the sleeves gather a bit above them. The higher collar is nice for cooler mornings too. It’s a simple dress with some lovely details.”
Judith K., WenatcheeBelow the knee, and exactly where depends on you
It is cut as a midi, landing a few inches below the knee on the women photographed here, the back a little longer than the front. If you are tall it will sit nearer the knee, and I would rather say so.
“I wore the orange one with brown boots to lunch with my sister. Such a pretty fall color, especially with a little gold jewelry.”
Marjorie T., AshevilleTen colors, and you are not obliged to take the quiet one
Citron, Cranberry, Pumpkin, Mustard, Blush, Olive, Slate Blue, Camel, Oatmeal and Midnight. The Oatmeal and the Midnight are there for the days you want them. But most of the ten are not quiet, which is the part October refuses to sell you. Knit, collar, cuffs and pockets are identical on every one.
“That orange is gorgeous!! I usually stick to beige and navy, but my daughter convinced me to try something brighter. So glad I listened to her 😊”
Elaine M., GreenvilleSeven sizes, two pockets, and one outfit instead of three
XS through 3XL, every size the same price, cut loose, so take the size you usually take. Two pockets in the side seams, deep enough that your hands live in them. And it is one piece: no top to find, nothing to tuck.
“Bought this for our weekend trip to Vermont. Wore it sightseeing with flat boots and again to dinner with a scarf. Didn’t have to pack another outfit!”
Patricia L., Saratoga SpringsThese dresses, against what else $65 buys
| Most $65 sweater dresses | The fall dresses | |
|---|---|---|
| The waist | A seam or a tie you feel by dessert | Nothing — it falls straight from the shoulder |
| The neck | A plain round neck | A stand collar with three buttons |
| The cuffs | Tight ribbing, or no cuff at all | Deep ribs, the sleeve blousing above them |
| Pockets | Rarely, and never deep enough | Two in the side seams, deep enough to use |
| The color | Brown, gray or black, because October | Ten, among them Citron, Cranberry and Pumpkin |
| Sizing | Stops at XL, if you are lucky | XS through 3XL, every size the same price |
Why we are clearing them out now
Every one of these was $169.95, and that number was for a textured knit cut straight from the shoulder with no waist seam, a stand collar on a buttoned placket, deep ribbed cuffs, two pockets in the side seams and a ribbed hem sitting lower at the back. A good deal of finishing on a dress most makers send out plain. 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 they are going out at a little over a third of what they were.
And the honest reasoning. There is an age at which you stop being willing to be uncomfortable all day in order to look a particular way, and nobody warns you it is coming. This is the dress for the other side of that.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,369+ reviews
$169.95$64.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 62%
- No waist seam at all
- A stand collar with three buttons
- Deep ribbed cuffs
- Two pockets in the side seams
- A ribbed hem, lower at the back
- Midi — below the knee on most women
- Ten colors, Citron through to Midnight
- Sizes XS to 3XL, one price
- Shape retaining and easy care
- 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.
Put on the dress you own but never wear, and sit in a dining chair a minute.
If you adjusted something, it was the waistband. It was never you.
Do the same with whichever one you choose. If you adjust anything, send it back within thirty days for a refund.
Go and pick your color.
With love and gratitude,
— Michelle · The Hayes Family Hamptons
PICK YOUR COLOR — $64.95 →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.