A Letter From Michelle: The Maribel
A Letter From Michelle
We didn’t stop loving beautiful prints and flowing dresses. We just started wondering if we could still wear them.
On the six things that made me take the Maribel, how it compares to the dress you settled for last fall, and why it is $69.95.
I am Michelle, and my husband and I opened this shop twenty years ago with one idea: that a woman should not have to choose between comfortable and beautiful.
Where I watch that choice get made is in front of a mirror, in October, over a dress. She still loves the prints. What changed is the second question she asks first — not do I like it, but am I still allowed to. The answer keeps coming back no, so she buys the plain one again.
The other half is the fit. The comfortable ones hang off her, the pretty ones pull across the middle. She is choosing between shapeless and self-conscious.
I never accepted that a woman had to choose.
The Maribel is my answer. There were six things I would not do without.
A botanical laid out in panels, not printed by the yard
This is what I looked at first. Across the bodice, open flowers in rust and deep teal. Under the waist seam the pattern changes entirely — a finer botanical in olive, gold and green. It is laid out in panels, the way a coverlet is, which is why it reads as made rather than printed.
“The little flowers across the bodice are what caught my attention. I love all the intricate details, especially how the pattern changes below the waist.”
Rosemary K., Santa FeButtons from the throat to the hem
They run the whole way down in a soft wooden tone, and that is not decoration. She decides each morning how much of it is open — closed to the collar on a cold one, opened a few at the neck when the afternoon turns.
“I’ve always liked a bit of a bohemian look, but nothing too flashy. The muted greens and browns make this easy to wear. Very pretty with a cream cardigan.”
Diane W., RoanokeThere is a hood on it
Nobody puts a hood on a dress like this, and I cannot tell you why not. It lies flat against the back when it is down, so you would look twice to notice it. And when the wind turns it goes up, which is the whole argument.
“Wore mine to our church’s fall luncheon with a long necklace and ankle boots. Two ladies asked me where I found it! 😊”
Carol B., FranklinIt skims the middle instead of gripping it
The placket opens into a soft V, there is a seam under the bust, and from there the skirt falls away. Nothing is drawn in at the waist. That is the difference between a dress that follows a woman and one that reports on her.
“I’m 67 and don’t like dresses that hug my stomach anymore. This has a lovely shape without being too fitted, and the longer skirt is just my style.”
Linda P., LancasterTwo real pockets, and a hem shorter at the front
The pockets are set into the side seams and deep enough to be useful rather than suggested. And the hem is cut high at the front and long at the back, so it clears a pair of boots instead of catching.
“The buttons down the front and the slightly uneven hem give this dress so much character. I especially like wearing it with the sleeves pushed up and a few simple bracelets.”
Patricia R., BendEight sizes, S through 5XL
Eight of them, every one the same price. It is cut easy through the body, so take your usual size rather than sizing up out of habit. And one thing plainly — it comes in this olive only.
“I wore this with my brown suede boots to lunch with a friend. The olive green and earthy pattern are just beautiful together. Such a lovely fall outfit.”
Janet M., AshevilleThe Maribel, against the dress you settled for
| Most $110 fall dresses | The Maribel | |
|---|---|---|
| The print | Plain, or hard to place | A botanical in panels, bodice and skirt |
| The fit | Shapeless, or pulling | Seamed under the bust, then let go |
| Coverage | Short sleeves, short hem | Long sleeves, maxi length, a hood |
| Pockets | None, or stitched shut | Two deep ones, in the seams |
| The hem | Straight, catching your boots | Short in front, long at the back |
| Sizing | Runs to XL, if lucky | S through 5XL, every size one price |
I refuse to sell a woman a dress that asks her to be plain in order to be comfortable.
Why we are clearing it now
The Maribel is $110 on the rail, which is a fair price for a dress patterned in panels and finished with a hood, pockets and a buttoned front. I am not going to pretend $110 is a fortune, and I am not going to pretend what follows is a fire sale either. But the shop turns twenty this year, and my daughters Julie and Amy are beside me 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 our door open, so it is going out at $69.95 — a little over a third off, while this run lasts.
I will give you the honest reasoning too. This is the weight of dress October is for, and October is short. A woman who buys her first patterned thing in a decade tends to come back inside the month for the second. That is the quiet bet I am placing at $69.95.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,369+ reviews
$110.00$69.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 36%
- A botanical in olive, gold, rust and teal
- Wooden-tone buttons, throat to hem
- A hood, flat when it is down
- Long sleeves, gathered at the cuff
- Two deep pockets, set into the side seams
- Maxi length, short in front, long at the back
- S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL · every size one price
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every size the same price
Twenty years behind this counter and the dresses are the ones I can call. A woman holds a patterned one against herself, looks a second too long, then picks up the navy.
She was not deciding whether it suited her. She could see that it did. She was deciding whether she is still the woman who wears it.
You are. Go and find your size.
— Michelle · The Hayes Family Hamptons
SEE THE MARIBEL — $69.95 →This is a personal letter from Michelle Hayes, co-founder of The Hayes Family Hamptons. Customer reviews are quoted as written. · US family brand since 2006 · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee.