A Letter From Vivian: The Bohemian Coats
A letter from the founder
You have never once seen the back of your own winter coat. It is the part of you that everybody else sees most.
On the six things I looked for before these came into the store, how they compare to the coat in your hall closet, and why every one of the twelve is $109.95 for our twentieth year.
I am Vivian, and I opened this boutique twenty years ago with one idea: that a woman should not have to choose between comfortable and beautiful.
A customer wrote to me this spring about something her granddaughter did. The child made her stand still in the hallway and turn all the way around, slowly, because the painting on her coat carried on around the back and she wanted to see the whole of it.
She had owned that coat for two months and had never seen that side of it.
Which is true of every coat any of us has ever owned. A woman chooses a coat in a mirror, from the front, and then spends five months being seen from every other angle — walking away down a hallway, third in line at the pharmacy, in the background of somebody else’s photograph at the school gate. The front is the part she buys. The back is the part the world actually gets.
And on most coats there is nothing back there at all, because the back is where a maker can save money and never hear about it. The woman wearing it will not look.
I never accepted that a woman had to choose.
These are twelve coats built on one refusal. Every one of them is lined in brushed fleece — collar to hem, and down through both sleeves — and every one of them was chosen because the picture on it is worth looking at from any side. There were six things I would not do without.
Each one is a picture, and it does not stop at the shoulder seam
This is the thing I was actually buying. Not a coat with some color on it — a coat with something on it worth looking at. One is quilt patchwork in coral and teal across a cream ground. One is a woven band of turquoise and marigold stripes with small figures running through them. One is an enormous cat, painted, with gold eyes you can see from across a parking lot. They are not twelve colorways of a single idea, which is what a rail like this usually turns out to be. They are twelve different pictures, and the drawing carries on around the back — which is how a woman ends up being asked to turn around in her own hallway.
“The turquoise and yellow in the Tallulah caught my eye immediately. I like all the little patterns running through the stripes. Wore it to the farmers market with jeans and a cream top, and a woman at the flower stand asked about it. That made my morning.”
Marianne L., Bend“Yes, I bought Tabitha because of the cat. Those golden eyes are wonderful! My granddaughter noticed that the design goes around the back, too, and made me turn around so she could inspect the whole thing.”
Nancy J., LancasterFleece all the way through, sleeves included
Open one up and this is the part I would want you to look at. The brushed fleece runs from the collar to the hem and then carries on down through both sleeves. Most makers line the body and stop at the shoulder, because the sleeves are where a lining costs real money and where nobody thinks to check. The reason it matters is plain arithmetic: a coat lined the whole way through is as warm as a heavy one at half the weight on the shoulders, and it is the shoulders that are tired by four in the afternoon.
“My Cassandra has the soft lining all the way down the sleeves, which I really appreciate. Comfortable through the middle when zipped, too. Very pleased with this one.”
Dianne F., PittsburghA hood that is lined, roomy, and pulls closed
Three separate decisions, and each one of them gets skipped somewhere. It is lined in the same fleece, so putting it up is warm rather than merely out of the wind. It is left roomy, so it goes over hair she has already done instead of flattening it. And there is a drawstring, so on the mornings that bite she pulls it close instead of holding it shut with one hand while the other hand is carrying everything else.
“I wanted something cheerful for my morning walks and chose Seraphina. The fleece inside the hood feels lovely around my neck, and I can pull it closer when there’s a breeze. I usually leave the coat open until I get to the end of our street, then zip it up. Nice to have that option.”
Bethany R., SpokaneTwo pockets deep enough to leave the purse at home
Set into the front at hip height, and deep enough to matter — a phone, a set of keys and a pair of gloves at the same time. That sounds like a small convenience and it is really a different sort of morning. Real pockets mean the short walk needs nothing else: no bag on the shoulder, no strap to move when the coat comes off, nothing left hanging on the back of a chair. I have never understood why so many makers treat a pocket as decoration.
“The deep reds and blues in Delilah are my colors. I also like that it comes below my hips. I’ve been keeping my gloves in one pocket and my keys in the other, so they’re ready when I leave.”
Carol E., MadisonIt falls past the hip, and it zips the whole way down
It comes down past the hip, which is where a coat stops being a jacket and starts actually covering her. It hangs straight down the front rather than being drawn in anywhere, so there is nothing gripping at the middle and nothing to arrange in a doorway. And the zipper runs top to hem, so she closes it when the wind gets up and leaves it open when it does not. That is a decision she gets to make on the morning, rather than one somebody made for her at the factory.
Twelve of them, cut generous, S through 4XL
They are true to size and cut generous on purpose — to fit the woman rather than asking the woman to fit them. One piece of advice I would give across the counter: if you like a thick sweater underneath, take one size up. A winter coat that will not close over a sweater is a spring coat wearing the wrong label. Seven sizes, S through 4XL, and all twelve at the same price — so the only question in front of you is which picture you want, and never what it costs.
“I ordered Seraphina first, then went back for Delilah. The turquoise and burnt orange on Seraphina go nicely with my brown boots, while I tend to wear Delilah with black pants. Two colorful coats might sound like a lot, but I’ve been wearing both.”
Leanne M., Fort Collins“Started with Cassandra because I liked the colorful shapes against the cream background. After wearing it for a while, I ordered Tallulah and Tabitha as well. Three altogether, all for me this time. Tallulah is probably getting the most outings lately, but the cat coat is coming with me when I visit my daughter. She’ll get a kick out of it.”
Sherrie B., KnoxvilleThese, against the coat in your hall closet
| The usual winter coat | These | |
|---|---|---|
| Warmth | Warm because it is thick | Fleece-lined collar to hem and through the sleeves |
| Weight | You can feel it by four o’clock | Half the weight on the shoulders |
| Hood | None, or thin and unlined | Roomy, fleece-lined, drawstring |
| Pockets | Shallow, so you carry a bag | Two deep, at the hip |
| The picture | Black, navy, or a darker black | Twelve of them, and they carry around the back |
| Sizing | Stops at XL, if you are lucky | S through 4XL, one price |
I refuse to sell a woman six more winters of a coat chosen for how little it says. That is the whole reason this rail is in the store.
Why we’re clearing them now
These are $549.95 on the rail, which is what a coat finished this way goes for — lined the whole way through, a hood lined to match, and artwork that somebody actually drew and then carried around the back. I am not going to stand here and tell you that is a small amount of money. But the store turns twenty this year, and my daughter Pearl is 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 the whole rail is going out at a fifth of what it was.
And I would rather they went now than in December. This is the coat you buy before the morning you need it, not after. There are only so many of each size in each picture, and when they are gone they are gone.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,524+ reviews
$549.95$109.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 80%
- Twelve pictures — quilt patchwork, woven stripes, folk art, a painted cat
- Brushed fleece lining, collar to hem and through the sleeves
- A roomy fleece-lined hood with a drawstring
- A full-length zipper, top to hem
- Two deep front pockets at the hip
- Falls past the hip, and never grips at the middle
- True to size · S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL · every coat, one price
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every coat the same price · while sizes last
That customer will never see the back of her coat. None of us ever see ourselves walking away, and no mirror in the world will fix it.
What she has instead is a granddaughter who wanted to look at the whole thing, and who will remember which coat her grandmother wore. That is the better end of the deal.
Go and see which one is yours. The half you will never look at is the half most people will.
— Vivian · Vivian & Pearl Newport
SEE THE BOHEMIAN COATS — $109.95 →This is a personal letter from the founder of Vivian & Pearl Newport. Customer reviews are quoted as written. · US family brand since 2006 · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee.