A Letter From Vivian: The Delilah
A letter from the founder
By four in the afternoon, a woman can tell you exactly how much her winter coat weighs.
On the six things that made me choose the Delilah, how it compares to the coat in your hall closet, and why it 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.
Winter is where I watch that promise break, every single year. A woman comes through the door in November, and the first thing she does, before she even says hello, is get her coat off her shoulders. Nobody does that with a sweater.
There are two kinds of winter coat on offer, and you have owned both. There is the warm one, which is warm because there is a great deal of it, and by the end of the day you can feel every ounce. It comes in black, navy, or a darker black. And there is the good-looking one, cut thin, so you put a sweater under it and a scarf over it and you are cold by the end of the block anyway.
What I wanted was a coat that is warm because of what is inside it rather than how much of it there is, and one a woman is glad to be seen in on a gray morning.
I never accepted that a woman had to choose.
The Delilah is my answer. There were six things I would not do without.
Jewel tones deep enough to wear on an ordinary Tuesday
Ruby, cobalt, turquoise, forest green, mustard and plum, set in blocks the way light falls through a stained-glass window. The colors are deep rather than bright, and that is the decision that matters most. A bright coat is a coat you save for an occasion. A deep one you put on to go to the post office. I have watched a great many women tell me they love color and then buy navy again, because they worry a print will be too much. This is the print I would hand to that woman.
“I spent a few days wondering if the pattern was too much for me. Finally ordered it, and I'm happy I did. The deeper colors make it easy to wear. My friend asked about it at lunch, and I ended up showing her the website while we waited for our food.”
Carol H., GreensboroFleece all the way through, the sleeves and the hood included
Open it up and look inside, because that is where the warmth is. Brushed fleece runs from the collar to the hem and carries on down through both sleeves, and the same fleece lines the hood. A coat lined the whole way through is warm without being thick, which means it is warm without being heavy, and shoulders are what get tired. The hood is left roomy, so it goes up over hair you have already done, and there is a drawstring to pull it close on the mornings that bite.
“So glad the fleece lining goes through the sleeves. That's the first thing I noticed when I tried it on. Soft and cozy without feeling weighed down.”
Rebecca J., RoanokeIt zips, down the full length of the front
This sounds like the least interesting thing on the page, and it is the one I would argue for hardest. A coat that only hangs open is a coat you end up holding shut with one hand while you carry everything else in the other. The Delilah has a front zipper that runs the length of the coat. Zip it when the wind comes up, leave it open once you are inside, and it hangs straight either way, with nothing gripping at the middle when it is closed.
“At 59, I haven't lost my liking for colorful clothes. Bought the Delilah for the pattern, but I appreciate how comfortable it is just as much. There's room through the middle without having to leave it hanging open. I've already worn it to the bookstore, out for breakfast, and on a very ordinary grocery run.”
Jeanette P., SpokaneTwo pockets deep enough to leave the purse at home
Set into the front at hip height, and deep enough for a phone, a set of keys and a pair of gloves at the same time. That sounds like a small convenience, and it is actually a different kind of morning. A coat with real pockets means the short walk needs nothing else: no strap over the shoulder, nothing to set down on a chair and forget. A phone should go all the way down into a pocket, not sit there with its top showing.
“Good pockets! My phone actually fits down inside instead of sticking out at the top. Pretty coat, and useful.”
Bonnie L., BoiseLong enough to cover, cut generous, S through 4XL
It falls past the hip, which is where a coat stops being a jacket and starts covering you. It is true to size and cut generous on purpose, to fit the woman rather than asking the woman to fit it. One piece of advice I would give you 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, every one of them the same price.
“I wanted something that covered my hips but wasn't tight when I sat down. This coat gives me that extra room. Wore it on a drive to visit my daughter and didn't feel the need to take it off halfway there. The colors are a nice change from my usual navy, too.”
Cathy R., DaytonIt asks nothing of the rest of your outfit
This is the one I think about most, because it decides whether a coat gets worn or gets left on the hook. All the color is in the coat, so nothing underneath has to try. Black pants and a plain top, or jeans and a cream tee, and you are dressed. A woman should not have to plan an outfit around the coat she puts on over it.
“The deep reds and blues are beautiful together. I wear mine with black pants and a plain top. Doesn't take much thought, which suits me fine.”
Darlene W., MilwaukeeThe Delilah, against the coat in your hall closet
| The usual winter coat | The Delilah | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 burden 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 |
| Color | Black, navy, or a darker black | Ruby, cobalt, turquoise, green, mustard and plum |
| Sizing | Stops at XL, if you are lucky | S through 4XL, one price |
I refuse to sell a woman warmth she has to carry around on her shoulders all day. That is the whole reason the Delilah is in the store.
Why we’re clearing it now
The Delilah hangs at $549.95 on the rail, which is what a coat finished this way goes for: brushed fleece from the collar to the hem and down both sleeves, the same fleece carried up into the hood, and a zipper that runs the full length of the front. 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 Delilah is going out at a fifth of that.
I will give you the honest reasoning too. A coat is the one thing a woman wears over everything else she owns, so it is the piece people actually see, and it is the piece she keeps for years. This is the coat you buy now, before the first morning you need it. If it is the one you reach for every day for the next five winters, then $109.95 was never the point.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,524+ reviews
$549.95$109.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 80%
- Jewel-toned blocks of ruby, cobalt, turquoise, forest green, mustard and plum
- Brushed fleece lining, collar to hem and through the sleeves
- A roomy fleece-lined hood with a drawstring
- A front zipper that runs the length of the coat
- 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
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every size the same price · while sizes last
Twenty years behind this counter, and I have learned that a woman decides about a coat on the doorstep, not in front of the mirror. She steps outside, the cold reaches her, and either she pulls the coat a little closer or she starts thinking about the other one at home.
The Delilah is the one she pulls closer.
Go find your size.
— Vivian · Vivian & Pearl Newport
SEE THE DELILAH — $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.