A Letter From Michelle: The Karina
A Letter From Michelle
A big cardigan either looks chosen or looks like you gave up. It comes down to the edges.
On what separates an oversized knit from loungewear, the six things I would not give up on, and why the Karina is $69.95.
A woman held a chunky cardigan against herself in the store last month and put it straight back down. She said it would make her look like she had given up.
She was not wrong about that one. It was a soft rectangle with a round neck and nothing finished anywhere on it.
Your favorite cardigan should not be the one you change out of before meeting a friend.
The size was never the problem. Oversized only goes wrong when there is no finished edge anywhere for the eye to land on.
The Karina is cut every bit as generously and reads nothing like it. The reason is the edges.
Six things I would not give up on.
It has a collar, and that changes everything above the shoulders
Start at the top. A proper pointed collar rather than a round neckline, doing what a collar does on a shirt: framing your face and giving the eye a line to follow. On a knit this heavy, that one detail is the difference between a cardigan you wear to lunch and one you wear to take the trash out.
“I like room through the body without everything looking shapeless. The collar and ribbed cuffs give this cardigan a neat finish. I’ve been wearing it with straight-leg jeans and loafers.”
Patricia E., OlympiaFive buttons you can see from across a room
Five of them, gold-tone, and large enough to be the first thing anyone notices. They run down an asymmetrical placket rather than straight down the middle, which is why the front reads as designed rather than fastened. They are also why you can leave your jewelry in the drawer.
“The big gold-tone buttons are my favorite part. They look beautiful against the navy.”
Maureen T., BloomingtonThe sleeves carry volume and then stop
Real width through the forearm, then it gathers into a narrow ribbed cuff. That is a lantern sleeve, and it is what moves when you do. It puts the volume above your wrist instead of over your hand, so you can hold a cup or rinse a bowl and they stay put.
“The sleeves were what made me choose this one. I like the fullness above the cuffs, and the dropped shoulders give it an easy feel. A nice change from my usual fitted cardigans.”
Darlene C., BoiseThe hem is not a straight line
It curves. Soft scallops across the front and around the back, finishing at the hip. A straight hem on a loose knit draws one flat line across you at the widest point. This one puts movement where that line would have been, which is quiet shaping on a garment with no waist seam at all.
“Such a pretty hemline. It looks especially nice buttoned up over my black pants.”
Gail R., LancasterTwelve colors, and they are not variations on a theme
Blue, Black, Brown, Gray, Khaki and Cream for the half of your closet that is quiet. Red, Wine, Pink, Green and Sky Blue for the half that is not. And then the Gold, covered in sequins — you will know inside two seconds whether it is yours.
“I bought the red Karina for a family dinner. I wanted something cheerful that I could wear with pants I already owned. The buttons added enough detail that I kept my jewelry simple. I liked having a cozy knit on instead of a jacket at the table. It felt dressed up enough for the evening.”
Kathleen M., Eau ClaireSix sizes, and the part women hesitate over
S through 3XL, every size the same price. And the honest part: the buttons are big, and they are meant to be. If you want a cardigan nobody remarks on, this is not the one. One gap as well: no care instruction is published anywhere, so I will not invent one.
“I wasn’t sure about the oversized buttons at first, but they’re what I enjoy most now. I chose navy because it works with both denim and my cream pants. The knit has that substantial feel I like for cooler days. I usually leave the neckline a little open over a plain tee. It’s become an easy choice for coffee or lunch out.”
Judith W., StauntonThe Karina, against what else $70 buys
| Most $70 cardigans | The Karina | |
|---|---|---|
| The neckline | A round neck, with nothing to frame your face | A pointed collar that gives the eye a line to follow |
| The buttons | Small, and matched to the knit so they disappear | Five oversized gold-tone ones on an asymmetrical placket |
| The sleeves | Straight to the wrist, with elastic at the end | Lantern sleeves with real width, gathered into ribbed cuffs |
| The hem | Straight across, at the widest part of you | Curved and scalloped, where that flat line would be |
| Choosing one | Three colors, and one of them is gray | Twelve, including a gold one covered in sequins |
| Sizing | Stops at XL, if you are lucky | S through 3XL, every size the same price |
Why we are clearing them out now
The Karina was $234.95, and that number was for the edges: a pointed collar on a chunky knit, five oversized gold-tone buttons on an asymmetrical placket, lantern sleeves in ribbed cuffs, and a scalloped hem at the hip. 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 under a third of what it was.
And the honest reasoning. A cardigan is the layer that stays on after the coat comes off, which makes it the thing people actually see you in. This is the one you buy before the afternoon you want it, not on the morning of it. If it becomes the one you reach for when you want to look like you thought about it, then $69.95 was never the point.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,369+ reviews
$234.95$69.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 70%
- A pointed collar on a chunky knit
- Five oversized gold-tone buttons on an asymmetrical placket
- Lantern sleeves gathered into ribbed cuffs
- A curved, scalloped hem at the hip
- A dropped shoulder — room without cling
- Twelve colors, one of them sequined
- 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
With love and gratitude,
— Michelle · The Hayes Family Hamptons
FIND YOUR COLOR — $69.95 →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.