A Letter From Michelle: The Plaid Cardigans
A Letter From Michelle
The collar is the whole difference between cozy and tidy.
On the inch of knitting that stops a cardigan reading as loungewear, why there are eighteen of these and only one cut, and why they are all $59.95.
A woman stood at my counter last fall holding a cardigan in each hand, and she said something I have thought about ever since.
She said: I have eleven cardigans and I cannot wear one of them to anything.
She was not exaggerating, and I knew exactly what she meant. A V-neck cardigan over a tee is a lovely thing to be in at home. Put it on to meet somebody for lunch and you look like you have come out in what you were wearing in the kitchen. Nothing about it is wrong. It just reads as indoors.
The thing that changes it is a collar. Not a different knit, not a smarter color — a collar, which is about an inch of knitting at the top and does the job a shirt would do.
Every one of these eighteen has one. That is not a styling detail, it is the entire reason they get worn out of the house.
There were six things I would not give up on.
A collar does the work of a shirt
Look at where your eye goes on a person. It goes to the face, and then to the few inches directly under it. A round neck or a V leaves that space to whatever is underneath — usually a plain tee, which is why the whole outfit reads as casual no matter what else you have on.
A collar fills it. It gives the neckline structure and a defined edge, and it sits over the top you already have on without needing that top to be anything in particular. So a cardigan, a plain tee and jeans stops being three casual things and becomes an outfit.
That is the one decision this whole rack is built on, and it is why I bought eighteen rather than two.
“The collar on the Agnes makes it feel a little more finished. Just what I wanted for casual days when I still like to look tidy.”
Jeanette W., SpokaneEighteen of them, and underneath one cardigan
Every one is the same garment: a relaxed, hip-length collared cardigan that buttons all the way up, with ribbed cuffs and a deep ribbed hem, in a soft brushed knit. Six sizes, S through 3XL.
Which means the fitting happens once. After that you are not shopping for a cardigan any more — you are choosing which one you want to look at, and that is a two-minute decision instead of a twenty-minute one.
“I ordered Edith and the pink Katrina together. Edith has the plaid I wanted for fall, while Katrina works with some patterned blouses I already own. I’m getting use out of both without having to buy anything else to go with them.”
Betty N., OlympiaThe ombre is what stops a plaid looking like a blanket
This is the part I would have missed if I had only seen them on a screen. Several of these — the Edith, the Agnes, the Marlene — are not a flat repeating check. The color shifts gradually down the garment.
The Edith starts gray at the collar and shoulders, warms through tan into rust across the body, and goes back to gray at the cuffs and hem. The Agnes does the same thing in grays. So the strongest color lands across the middle of you, with something quiet framing it at the top and the bottom.
A plaid printed evenly from collar to hem is a blanket with buttons. This is not that, and the difference is obvious the moment one is on.
“The gray and rust tones in the Edith are such a nice combination. Easy to wear with jeans and my brown boots.”
Lynn A., Eau Claire“Started with Agnes because gray goes with so much of my closet. After wearing it, I decided to add Megan for a brighter option. The orange plaid is a lovely change for weekends. I still reach for Agnes when I’m wearing darker pants and want to keep things simple.”
Sheila P., Sioux CityThere is a plain one on the rack on purpose
Not everybody wants a check, and I was not going to pretend otherwise. So the Katrina sits on the same rack with the same collar, the same buttons and the same cut — but no pattern at all. Just a textured knit, in pink, wine red, dark blue or blue.
It is there for the mornings when you want the tidiness a collar gives you without a plaid in the room, and for the blouses in your closet that already have a pattern of their own and will not share.
“I chose the pink Katrina because I wanted a plain cardigan with a little texture. The relaxed shape is comfortable over a tee. I’ve been wearing it to work with gray pants.”
Rita F., Frederick“I ended up choosing Edith, Megan, and Katrina in pink. Edith was the first one I noticed—I really liked the mix of gray, cream, and rust. Megan was my choice for a stronger splash of color. Then I added Katrina because sometimes I want texture without a plaid pattern. All three are for me, and each works with different things I already wear. I’ve enjoyed having a few options instead of putting on the same cardigan every morning.”
Veronica D., RoanokeButtoned and open are two different garments
Worn open, the color runs down either side of you in two panels and whatever you have on underneath shows — which is the version for indoors, and over a blouse.
Buttoned, the collar closes and it stops behaving like a cardigan altogether. It becomes the light jacket you put on to sit outside with a coffee in October. Same garment, decided on the way out of the door.
“I bought the Megan for a few days away in the fall. The orange plaid caught my eye because most of my sweaters are neutral. I wore it open over a cream shirt for an afternoon browsing shops. Later, I buttoned it up when we sat outside for coffee. It was nice to have something cheerful that worked with the jeans I’d packed.”
Wendy C., Bowling GreenS through 3XL, every one of them $59.95
Six sizes across all eighteen, and the same price whichever size you take. The shape is relaxed rather than fitted, so take what you usually take; go up one if you want a sweater rather than a tee underneath it in December.
I will be straight with you about one thing, because you will see it if you look. These did not all carry the same ticket. Depending on which one, they ran from $157.95 to $195 — different mills, different weights of yarn, bought in at different times. They are all $59.95 now, which means the saving is larger on some than on others. I would rather tell you that than quietly print one number across the lot.
These eighteen, against the cardigans already in your closet
| The ones you own | These eighteen | |
|---|---|---|
| Neckline | V-neck or round | A proper collar |
| Where you wear it | Indoors, mostly | Out, and still tidy |
| What goes underneath | Has to carry the look | A plain tee is enough |
| Buttoned up | Rarely does anything | Becomes a light jacket |
| The pattern | Flat check, collar to hem | Ombre, color through the middle |
| Sizing | A guess, every time | One cut, S to 3XL, one price |
Eleven cardigans and nothing to wear to anything. That is not a closet problem. It is eleven versions of the same neckline.
Why we are clearing them now
They were $157.95 to $195 on the rack, and that is roughly what a collared knit costs when nothing is cut short: a knitted collar that holds its shape rather than a strip of jersey sewn on, buttons down the full front, ribbing deep enough at the cuff and hem to keep the shape, and in the ombre ones a color that is worked through the knit instead of printed over the top of it.
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 the whole rack is going out at $59.95.
At that price the quiet one and the bright one together cost less than one of them did in September. If you were ever going to end up with two, this is the month it costs the least.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,369+ reviews
$157.95–$195$59.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save up to 69%
- A knitted collar on every one of the eighteen
- Buttons the full length of the front
- Ombre plaids with the color worked through the knit
- One plain textured option, in four colors
- A relaxed, hip-length shape with room for a layer
- Ribbed cuffs and a deep ribbed hem
- One cut across all eighteen — work out your size once
- True to size, S through 3XL, every size the same price
- 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.
If you have a drawer of cardigans you like and never wear out, I would not buy another V-neck to fix it. You already know how that ends, because you have done it eleven times.
Try the one with the collar. It is the same comfort — the same soft knit, the same relaxed shape, the same thing you put on at four in the afternoon because the house has gone cold. It simply also works at the door.
That is the whole of it. One inch of knitting, and it stops being indoor clothing.
With love and gratitude,
— Michelle · The Hayes Family Hamptons
SEE ALL EIGHTEEN — $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.