A Letter From Michelle — The Sophia
A Letter From Michelle
When did finding a dress you actually feel good in become so difficult?
On dresses that cling in all the wrong places, loose styles that leave you feeling shapeless, and the frustration of choosing between looking too young or too old. Plus, the six things I wouldn’t compromise on, and why Sophia is $99.95.
It is a fair question, and I hear some version of it most weeks.
Anything fitted clings where you would rather it did not. Anything loose leaves you feeling shapeless. And the few in between seem cut either for a woman of thirty or for a woman who has given up.
Those first two have one cause, and it is the hem. A straight hem runs across the widest part of you, and a loose dress with a line drawn across it is a rectangle with a head on top.
So look at the Sophia and try to find a straight line. There is not one. The hem travels, the neck is a V, and your eye follows a diagonal instead of stopping at a flat edge.
Six things I would not compromise on.
The hem travels instead of cutting across
It is cut in points, rising high at the sides and dropping long front and back. That is the whole trick: a diagonal gives the eye somewhere to go, and a straight line stops it dead. The long points fall around mid-calf and the high sides sit above the knee, which is also why this wants a boot rather than a flat.
“The uneven hemline is what caught my eye. I have plenty of ordinary sweater dresses, but nothing quite like this one. Very different!”
Elaine R., BendThere is nothing straight at the top either
The neckline is a deep V, so the line at your shoulders runs downward instead of across. There is no waist seam, nothing gathered or belted, so it falls from the shoulder and never touches you at the middle. A diagonal at each end is the difference between hanging and sagging.
“I’m 64 and don’t particularly care for anything tight around my middle anymore. I like how this hangs loosely without looking like I’m wearing a sack.”
Marilyn T., LancasterThe shaggy edge is meant to be there
Look closely at the hem and the hood opening: loops of yarn stand out from the edge. That is not the knit coming undone; it is finished that way on purpose, and it is what keeps an uneven hem from reading as a mistake. A clean cut on a diagonal looks like an accident. A soft one looks like it was always going to be that shape.
“Got the cream one. The fuzzy edges and those big sleeves give it such a pretty, relaxed look. I wore mine with beige boots and a long necklace.”
Carolyn B., FranklinA hood on a dress, which sounds wrong until you see it
It is the detail women hesitate over, and the one that settles who the dress is for. A knit dress with a plain round neck has to be dressed up or it looks unfinished — and dressed up is where a dress starts to look older than you intended. The hood pulls the other way, lying soft across the back with two knotted ties down the front, so it lands in between and never asks you to be anywhere in particular.
“I wasn’t sure about the hood on a dress, but I rather like it. Makes it feel a little less dressy, which suits me just fine. The little ties are a cute touch too.”
Judith P., StauntonThree colors, and every one of them is a boot color
Cream White, Army Green and Brown. Not one is a color you have to build an outfit around — they are the shades your boots are already in, which is why every woman who writes to us about this dress mentions what she put on her feet. The knit is open and fuzzy, so the color sits soft rather than flat.
“I ordered the olive green and wore it with my brown knee-high boots to lunch with my sister. The color is even prettier with boots than I expected.”
Deborah M., AshevilleSix sizes, what goes under it, and how it is washed
S through 3XL, all at one price, cut generously — so take your usual size rather than sizing up. Most women wear it over leggings or a slim pant, which is what the high sides are for. And it washes at home: gently, at a low temperature, no harsh detergent and no heat, then reshape it damp and dry it flat.
“Wore this to my granddaughter’s birthday gathering last weekend. My daughter actually asked where I found it! I had the taupe one on with leggings and boots. 😊”
Nancy K., AppletonThe Sophia, against what else $65 buys
| Most $65 knit dresses | The Sophia | |
|---|---|---|
| The hem | Straight across, at your widest point | Cut in points, high at the sides and long front and back |
| The edge | Ribbed and tight, or turned and stitched | Left shaggy on purpose, so the diagonal reads as design |
| The neck | A round neck, drawing a second line across you | A deep V, with a soft hood lying behind it |
| The middle | A seam or a tie, so you have to think about it | Nothing at all — it falls from the shoulder and stops there |
| Washing | Dry clean, which means twice a season | Gently at home, reshaped damp and dried flat |
| Sizing | Stops at XL, if you are lucky | S through 3XL, every size the same price |
Why we are clearing them out now
The Sophia was $299.95, and that number was for a hem cut in points and left shaggy at every edge, a deep V under a soft hood with knotted ties, full sleeves gathered into ribbed cuffs, and a fuzzy open knit with no seam at the waist. I am not going to pretend that is a small amount for a knit dress. 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 dress you can put on without holding your stomach in is not a small thing, and most of them cost you something in how you look. This is the one you buy before the lunch, not on the morning of it. If it becomes what you reach for when you want to be comfortable and seen at once, $99.95 was never the point.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,369+ reviews
$299.95$99.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 67%
- An uneven hem, high at the sides and long front and back
- A shaggy fringed edge, finished that way on purpose
- A deep V neckline with a soft hood behind it
- Two knotted ties down the front
- Full sleeves gathered into ribbed cuffs
- No waist seam — it falls from the shoulder
- Cream White, Army Green and Brown
- Sizes S through 3XL, every size the same price
- Washes gently at home · reshape damp, dry naturally
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every color and every size the same price · while sizes last
One more thing, and then I will let you go.
Go and find the loosest thing you own, stand in front of the mirror, and look only at the bottom edge.
If it runs straight across you, you have just found out why you stopped wearing it, and it was never the size.
So do the same with the Sophia the day the box arrives. If the hem is not doing the work I described, send it back within thirty days and we will refund you.
Go and pick your size.
With love and gratitude,
— Michelle · The Hayes Family Hamptons
SEE THE SOPHIA — $99.95 →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.