A Letter From Michelle: The Teresa
A Letter From Michelle
Your coat is the first thing people see. So why is it so often the least beautiful part of your outfit?
On the six things that made me take the Teresa, how it compares to the coat by your door, and why it is $79.95.
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.
Here is where that falls down. In a hallway, in four seconds.
She has chosen the sweater carefully. The trousers go with it, the boots were worth the money. Then she picks up the coat by the door — the same one she has worn for six years, the one that was for the dog and the recycling — and puts it on over all of it. That is the version everybody sees.
I never accepted that a woman had to choose.
The Teresa is the coat I would put by that door instead. Six things I would not do without.
It is long, and the length is the whole argument
It runs well past the hip and keeps going, which covers what a cropped jacket leaves out in the wind. And it does something a short coat cannot: one unbroken line from shoulder to below the knee. It is the easiest way I know to look put together without having done anything.
“The long length is exactly what I was looking for. I’m 65 and prefer a coat that covers my hips and thighs, especially when wearing leggings or slimmer pants.”
Judith K., LancasterA wide collar, which is the part level with your face
The lapels are cut broad and notched, and sit open against the shoulders. The collar is the one piece of a coat at the height people look at, and a narrow one disappears. This one frames the neckline instead, which is why it still reads as something hanging open over a sweater.
“It’s the wide collar that makes this coat for me. I love how it frames the neckline, and the dark buttons look lovely against the warm brown.”
Carolyn R., WinchesterButton straps at the cuffs
Small straps with a button, set at each wrist. They do nothing a sleeve needs doing, and that is the point — they separate a designed coat from a manufactured one. The dark buttons run down the front in the same tone. Nothing shines, nothing is branded.
“I really like the little button straps at the cuffs. Such an understated detail, but they give the sleeves a more tailored look. The textured brown finish is beautiful too.”
Patricia W., RoanokeThe shape is in the seams, so there is no belt to tie
A long coat goes wrong in two directions: belted, it draws a line across the middle; unbelted, it hangs like a dressing gown. The Teresa is shaped with seams instead, gently in through the body and released below, so it keeps a line without anything gripping.
“I usually buy shorter jackets, but decided to try something different this fall. The longer silhouette looks wonderful with straight-leg jeans and ankle boots. Glad I went with this one.”
Elaine B., CharlottesvilleThe brown is a color, not a way of avoiding one
Most brown coats are the color of a thing nobody chose. This is a warm, reddish brown with a softly textured finish that shifts where the light catches it, so it reads as a decision. It goes with cream, denim, black and every boot you own.
“I wore this with a cream turtleneck and jeans for lunch with my sister. The brown is such a rich fall color, and it makes even a simple outfit look nicely put together.”
Marianne F., AshevilleThree colors, six sizes, and pockets you can use
Brown, dark blue and dark gray, with welt pockets at the hip deep enough for a phone and keys. S through 3XL at one price, cut to go over a sweater — but plainly, 3XL is where it stops and every photograph here is the brown.
“Wore my Teresa to our anniversary dinner with a sweater dress and tall boots. My husband said I looked very elegant. Haven’t heard that in a while! 😊”
Donna M., GreenvilleThe Teresa, against the coat by your door
| Most $300 fall coats | The Teresa | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | Cropped at the hip | Runs well past the hip, below the knee |
| The collar | Narrow, or a hood | Wide notched lapels, level with your face |
| The shape | Belted, or like a robe | Shaped with seams, nothing to tie |
| The cuffs | A plain sleeve hem | Small buttoned straps at each wrist |
| The color | Black, or a brown nobody chose | A warm reddish brown with a soft texture |
| Sizing | Runs to XL, if you are lucky | S through 3XL, every size one price |
I refuse to sell a woman a coat that undoes the outfit underneath.
Why we are clearing it now
The Teresa came in at $300, which is what a coat finished this way costs: cut long, shaped through the body with seams rather than a belt, broad notched lapels, buttoned straps at the cuffs, welt pockets and a full lining. I am not going to pretend $300 is a small amount for a coat. 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 $79.95 — a little over a quarter of what it was.
And the honest reasoning. A coat is the piece you wear over everything else, which makes it the one people see and the one you keep for years. If it is the one you reach for every morning for the next five autumns, then $79.95 was never the point.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,369+ reviews
$300.00$79.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 73%
- Longline, below the knee
- Wide notched lapels
- Shaped with seams, no belt to tie
- Buttoned straps at the cuffs
- Welt pockets at the hip
- A warm reddish brown, softly textured
- Brown, Dark Blue or Dark Gray · S–3XL, one price
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every color and size, one price
Go and look at the coat by your door, and ask what it is doing for the clothes underneath. For most of us the honest answer is nothing at all, and we stopped noticing years ago.
It is the only thing you wear that everybody sees. Go and pick your color.
— Michelle · The Hayes Family Hamptons
SEE THE TERESA — $79.95 →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.