A Letter From Michelle: The Imogene
A Letter From Michelle
The cardigan you own most of is the one you take off before you leave the house.
On the six things I look for before a knit goes on the rack, why the hem is the part nobody thinks about, and why the Imogene is $59.95.
Count the cardigans in your closet. Then count how many of them you have worn outside this month.
For most women those are two very different numbers, and the reason is not the cardigans. It is where they end.
A long cardigan hangs open past the hip with nothing holding it. It drapes, it swings, and it reads — to you and to everyone else — as something you put on indoors. So you wear it all morning at home, and the moment you pick up your keys you take it off and reach for a jacket instead.
Which means the layer you own the most of is the layer you are almost never seen in.
That is a strange thing to discover about your own closet, and once you see it you cannot unsee it.
There were six things I would not give up on.
Where a cardigan ends decides what it is
The Imogene stops at the hip — roughly 22 to 24 inches from the shoulder — and the ribbed hem holds it there instead of letting it fall away.
That one decision changes the category. At the hip it sits like a jacket, so it goes over jeans without hanging below your coat line and over a skirt without cutting you in an odd place. You stop taking it off at the door, which is the only test that matters.
“I wasn’t sure about the bomber shape because I usually wear longer cardigans. This one has been a nice change. I like where it ends with my straight-leg pants, and there’s room for a tee underneath. The knit has some texture, which I prefer to a completely smooth fabric. I wore it for our book group last week and felt comfortable sitting in it all evening.”
Jacqueline P., Cedar FallsThe ribbing is what keeps it there
Ribbing at the collar, the cuffs and the hem, all three matched. This is the part that gets cut first on a cheaper knit, and you only find out in February when the hem has gone wavy and the cuffs no longer stay where you push them.
It also does something quieter. A relaxed shape with no ribbing is just loose. The same shape with ribbing at both ends reads as deliberate, and that is the whole difference between comfortable and unmade.
“The ribbed cuffs and hem give this cardigan a neat finish. I like casual clothes, but I still want to feel put together when I head out. This works well with my usual jeans and flats.”
Laura M., BillingsRoom through the middle, without going shapeless
This is the balance I spend the longest on. Cut it close and nothing goes underneath. Cut it loose and it stops being a garment.
The Imogene is cut with room through the body — enough for a tee or a thin sweater — while the ribbed edges give the body something to sit against. The knit is gently textured and drapes rather than clings, which matters more at this length than it would on a longer piece.
“Just the kind of fit I like—room through the middle without clinging. Comfortable over my everyday tops.”
Norma B., Evansville“I prefer cardigans that zip, and the gold-tone zipper is a pretty touch on this one. I can leave it open without fussing with buttons. Very pleased with the relaxed shape, too.”
Ellen R., AmesWatercolor leaves on cream, which is why the colors behave
Blue, orange, green and gold leaves on fine branches, painted rather than drawn, across a cream ground.
The cream is doing the work. On a dark knit those four colors crowd together and the whole thing becomes one loud object. On a light one they stay separate, with space around them — so you register a cardigan first and the leaves second.
And because there are four colors in it, almost anything plain goes underneath. That is the opposite of how most printed knits behave, and it is why women who describe their own closets as plain are the ones who end up in this.
“I chose this for the mix of green, blue, and orange in the print. There are several tops in my closet that I can wear underneath it. My favorite so far is a cream shirt that lets the leaves stand out.”
Anne T., Concord“The watercolor-style leaves are lovely. I wear mine over a plain blue tee, and the colors work so nicely together.”
Louise K., StauntonIt earns its place in a suitcase
I did not design for this and our customers found it anyway. A hip-length knit that works over jeans in the daytime and over a skirt in the evening is one piece doing two jobs, and when you are packing small that is the whole calculation.
It also means the rest of what you pack can be plain, which is usually what people pack anyway.
“I bought the Imogene for a weekend away with friends. Most of what I packed was plain, so the leaf print added a little variety. I wore it with jeans during the day and a simple skirt for dinner. The hip length worked nicely with both. It earned its place in my small suitcase.”
Christine D., MedfordS through 3XL, and it washes at home
Six sizes, S through 3XL, all the same price. It is true to size with a relaxed fit, so take what you usually take.
Machine washable at a low temperature. No dry cleaner, nothing to be careful with — which matters more than it sounds, because the pieces you have to protect are the pieces that stay on the hanger.
The Imogene, against the cardigan you already own
| The long one you wear at home | The Imogene | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it ends | Past the hip, with nothing holding it | At the hip, held by a ribbed band |
| What it reads as | Something you put on indoors | Something you leave the house in |
| Under a coat | Hangs below the hem | Sits above it |
| The edges | Go wavy by February | Ribbed collar, cuffs and hem |
| Underneath | Has to carry the whole outfit | A plain tee is enough |
| Sizes | Stops at XL, if you are lucky | S through 3XL, one price |
Nobody ever decided that a cardigan was an indoor garment. It is just that the length most of them are cut to made the decision for us.
Why we are clearing it now
The Imogene was $299.95 on the rack, and that is what this kind of knit costs when nothing is cut short: a painted botanical worked across the body and down both sleeves, a full-length gold-tone zipper, matched ribbing at the collar, cuffs and hem, and a textured knit that drapes instead of clinging.
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 fifth of what it was.
And the plain reasoning too. A cardigan you will actually wear outside is worth more to you than three you only wear at home, however little those cost. If this becomes the one you keep on at the door, then $59.95 was never the point.
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- Watercolor botanical leaves across the body and both sleeves
- A full-length gold-tone zipper
- Matched ribbing at the collar, cuffs and hem
- A relaxed bomber fit with room for a layer underneath
- Hip length — about 22 to 24 inches from the shoulder
- A gently textured knit that drapes without clinging
- True to size, S through 3XL, every size the same price
- 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.
Women tell me they have plenty of cardigans. They always do, and they are always right.
But when I ask which one they had on the last time somebody saw them, it goes quiet. Not because they are embarrassed — because they have genuinely never thought about it that way, and neither had I until I started watching what came off at the door.
You do not need another cardigan. You might need one you keep on.
Try it over whatever you already have on.
With love and gratitude,
— Michelle · The Hayes Family Hamptons
SEE THE IMOGENE — $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.