A Letter From Michelle: The Hooded Knits
A Letter From Michelle
Nobody regrets the gray cardigan. Nobody notices it either.
On a knit hood that sits on a cardigan instead of a sweatshirt, the six things I would not give up on, and why every one of the twenty is $59.95.
A woman stood at my counter last week with a cardigan in each hand. One was a patchwork of colored blocks. The other was gray.
She put the bright one back and said what women always say, which is that the gray one goes with everything.
She is right. It does.
But a cardigan that goes with everything is a cardigan nobody has ever complimented you on, and you already own three of them.
So here are twenty hooded knits, and six things I would not give up on.
A knit hood, and it is not on a sweatshirt
Start at the hood, because it is the part women hesitate over. The one you already own came on a sweatshirt: it goes over your head and sits in a lump between your shoulder blades. This one is knit, attached to a cardigan that buttons, and soft rather than structured, so when it is down it folds flat and reads as a collar. It fastens with wooden buttons, so it goes on like a jacket instead of over your hair.
“I chose Mary because I wanted purple without a print. The wooden buttons look lovely against the knit. It’s an easy layer to leave open over my everyday tops.”
Diane F., EvansvilleThe cardigan is the colorful part
If the cardigan carries the color, everything underneath it can be plain — a white tee, a cream top, whatever is already folded in the drawer. That is also the answer to the real fear about a bright cardigan, which is that it hangs there because nothing in the closet agrees with it. Nothing has to agree with it. It goes over the plain things you already own, so there is nothing to buy to go with it.
“The Cordelia has such an interesting mix of colors. I wear it with a white tee and jeans so the pattern gets all the attention.”
Carolyn J., HelenaTen of the twenty are patterned
And they are not ten versions of the same thing: a patchwork of colored blocks, a mandala printed in pink and orange, florals on ivory and on beige. Underneath, every one of the twenty is the same relaxed cut with the same wooden button front and ribbing at the cuffs and hem, so the picture on the front is the only thing that changes.
“I ended up with Cordelia, Henrietta, and Adelaide, all for myself. Cordelia was my first choice because I liked the little blocks of color in the design. Henrietta gave me a plain pink option for days when I’m already wearing a pattern. Adelaide was the bold pick, especially with that orange and pink. I’ve been pairing them with clothes I already own. Nice to have a few knit layers that each bring something different to an outfit.”
Elaine K., Traverse CityThe other ten are a single color
Pink, orange, cream, white, mint green, camel. These are for the days you are already wearing a pattern, and for the woman who wants the hood and the wooden buttons and none of the noise. Worth knowing before you look: two of the twenty are purple and they are not the same cardigan — one is plain, one is patterned.
“I ordered Cordelia and Mary together. Cordelia was the patterned one I couldn’t stop looking at, while the solid purple Mary works with my printed shirts. Both give me some color, just in different ways.”
Janet H., SpokaneA bright one for a gray morning
There is a particular kind of November morning where the sky never really commits, and what you pull off the hook decides how the rest of the day feels. That is the entire argument for the orange one and for the mandala. Not that you will wear it every day, because you will not. Only that it is there on the mornings when gray would have made it worse.
“The Adelaide is my cheerful choice for a gray morning. Love the pink and orange mixed into that mandala design.”
Nancy V., StauntonS through 5XL, and the one thing I would rather tell you here
Eight sizes, one price across all of them, and they wash at home on a cool wash rather than going to a dry cleaner. The cut is relaxed rather than fitted, so take the size you normally take, and the larger one if you want a sleeve underneath in January. And I would rather say it here than let you find it at the dropdown: these start at S. There is no XS on any of the twenty.
“I bought the pink Henrietta for a weekend visiting friends. I wanted a casual knit layer that would work with the pants I was packing. It looked nice over a cream top with dark jeans. The relaxed fit suited me, and I appreciated having buttons rather than a pullover. I kept it nearby for mornings around their kitchen table.”
Marilyn D., AmesThese twenty, against what you have been buying
| Most $60 cardigans | These twenty | |
|---|---|---|
| The hood | Comes on a sweatshirt, and goes over your head | Knit, on a cardigan that buttons, and it folds flat |
| The buttons | Plastic, matched so the front vanishes | Wooden, and you can see them against the knit |
| Underneath | Solid, so the top underneath does the work | A plain white tee is all it needs underneath |
| The color | Gray, navy, oatmeal — you reach for the gray | Twenty designs, from a patchwork to a plain pink |
| Washing | Depends what you bought | At home, on a cool wash, no dry cleaner |
| Sizing | Stops at XL, if you are lucky | S through 5XL, every size the same price |
Why we are clearing them now
All twenty were $299.95, and that number was for a knit hood on a cardigan rather than on a sweatshirt, a wooden button front, long sleeves, and a relaxed cut that runs S to 5XL at one price. I am not going to stand here and tell you that is a small amount of money for a cardigan. 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 every one of the twenty is going out at a fifth of what it was.
I will give you the honest reasoning too. A hooded cardigan is the one you put on to carry the recycling out and then keep on all morning, which makes it the thing worn most and seen most. This is the one you buy before the gray week, not during it. If one of the twenty becomes the thing you reach for first, then $59.95 was never the point.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,369+ reviews
$299.95$59.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 80%
- A soft knit hood that folds flat — a drawstring on five of them
- A wooden button front on all twenty, so it opens like a jacket
- Long sleeves, relaxed through the body, ribbed cuffs and hem
- Twenty designs — ten patterned, ten in a single color
- Pink, orange, cream, white, mint green, camel, and more
- Washes at home on a cool wash — no dry cleaner
- Sizes S through 5XL — one price
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every design and every size the same price · while sizes last
One more thing, and then I will let you go.
Go and open the closet and count the cardigans you would describe to a friend by naming only their color. The gray one. The navy one. The oatmeal one.
Now count the ones you would describe some other way. For most of us that second number is zero, and it is the only number here that is about you.
So pick whichever of the twenty you would describe some other way. When the box arrives, put it on over the plainest top you own and look. If it does not do the work I have described, send it back within thirty days and we will refund you.
With love and gratitude,
— Michelle · The Hayes Family Hamptons
PICK YOUR DESIGN — $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.