A Letter From Vivian: The Lena
A letter from the founder
By October, getting dressed in the morning has quietly become a three-part job. It used to be one.
On the six things that made me choose the Lena, how it compares to the way you have been dressing for fall, and why it is $69.95 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.
Fall is where that idea falls apart, and it falls apart by arithmetic. A dress. Then a sweater over the dress, because the dress is thin. Then something at the neck, because the sweater leaves it open. Then a bag, because there is nowhere to put anything. Four decisions before seven in the morning, and you make all four again at lunchtime when the building turns the heat on.
There are two ways out of that and I do not much like either. There is the soft, shapeless thing that is genuinely warm and comfortable and that you would not answer the front door in. And there is the dress that looks right, which is thin — which is the reason you built the whole assembly on top of it in the first place.
I never accepted that a woman had to choose.
The Lena is my answer. It is knitted heavy enough to be the only thing you put on, the collar is knitted into it so there is nothing to go and find, and it pulls on over your head. One decision. There were six things I would not do without.
The collar is part of the dress
The throat is where a woman feels the cold first, and it is the exact part a dress leaves open. Everybody solves that with a scarf — an object you have to own, find, tie, and then adjust for the rest of the day. Here the turtleneck is knitted straight into the dress, and knitted deep, so it folds over on itself and sits soft rather than gripping. There is nothing to lose and nothing to tie.
“I like having the turtleneck built right in. On cold mornings I can put on one thing and feel completely dressed.”
Marilyn C., NewportKnitted heavy enough to be the only layer
This is the one that makes the other five possible. Most knit dresses are knitted thin, and everything a woman puts on over the top of one is a correction for that. The Lena is knitted at a proper weight, so indoors it is the whole outfit, and when you go out a coat goes straight over it without the bulk of a sweater in between. You are dressing in one piece again, which is how you used to do it.
“I bought this because fall dressing had become too many layers. This gives me warmth, coverage, pockets, and a finished outfit in one piece.”
Barbara L., GreenvillePockets built to stay standing
Look closely at the pocket and you will see why I wanted this dress. It is not a slot cut into a seam, which sags the first time you put anything in it. It is a large patch pocket sewn onto the outside, and the ribbing is knitted in dense horizontal bands that stand proud of the flat knit of the body. That structure is the whole trick. It is what lets the pocket carry a phone, a pair of reading glasses and a set of keys at once and still look like part of the design.
“Those big front pockets are genuinely useful. My phone, glasses, and keys fit without pulling the dress out of shape.”
Kathleen M., SavannahNo band at the wrist
A cuff is where a sleeve stops being comfortable. It grips, it digs in over the course of an afternoon, and it leaves a mark you notice when you take it off. So these are knitted full and soft the whole way down and simply stop, with no elastic band at the end. It sounds like a small thing until you have worn a dress for eleven hours.
“The sleeves have enough room that nothing feels tight around my arms or wrists. That makes it much more comfortable for a full day.”
Janice T., RaleighA skirt that walks with you
A long knit dress can go wrong in one specific way: it follows the leg. It clings, it rides up when you sit, and you spend the evening pulling it back down. From the hip this one opens into a wide A-line that falls away from the body instead, all the way to the ankle, and there is a slit at the side so it moves when you walk rather than wrapping around you. Coverage and room are not the same thing. I wanted both.
“The skirt falls away from my hips instead of following every line. It moves beautifully when I walk and feels very forgiving.”
Donna R., Charleston“The ankle length gives me the coverage I want, but the wide skirt keeps it from feeling heavy or restrictive when I sit.”
Susan H., AshevilleFive colors, seven sizes, one price
There are five: Coffee, White — which is really a warm cream rather than a true white — Burgundy, Navy Blue and Green. Every one of them runs XS through 3XL, cut from the same generous pattern, and every one is the same price. I have never understood a boutique that offers a woman a beautiful thing and then quietly charges her more for it in her own size.
“I wore the Coffee with boots and needed almost nothing else. The heavier knit kept me comfortable without adding another sweater.”
Elaine B., RichmondThe Lena, against the way you have been doing it
| The usual fall dress | The Lena | |
|---|---|---|
| Neck | Open — go and find a scarf | A full turtleneck, knitted in |
| Layers | Needs a sweater over the top | Heavy enough on its own |
| Pockets | None, or a seam that sags | Two ribbed pockets that hold shape |
| Sleeves | A tight band at the wrist | Full and soft, no cuff |
| Skirt | Follows the leg, rides up | Wide A-line to the ankle |
| Sizing | Runs to L, if you are lucky | XS through 3XL, one price |
I refuse to sell a woman a dress that needs three other things bought to make it work. That is the whole reason the Lena is in the shop.
Why we’re clearing it now
The Lena came in at $189.95, which is what this weight of knit costs when it is made properly and not thinned out to hit a number. But this year the boutique turns twenty, and my daughter Pearl now works beside me — which is not something I let myself expect when I started. We wanted to give something back to the women who have kept our doors open since 2006, so it is going out at a little over a third of what it was.
If twenty years of running this little shop has taught me anything, it is that a woman who finds one thing she can put on without thinking wears it until it wears out, and then comes back for the same thing in another color. That is the quiet bet I am placing in writing to you at $69.95.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,524+ reviews
$189.95$69.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 63%
- A full turtleneck knitted into the dress
- Heavy enough to be the only layer indoors
- Two deep ribbed pockets that keep their shape
- Full, soft sleeves with no band at the wrist
- A wide A-line skirt to the ankle, with a side slit
- Five colors · sizes XS, S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every color and size the same price · while sizes last
There is a particular kind of morning this dress was chosen for. It is dark at seven, the house has not warmed up yet, and you have somewhere to be by nine.
On that morning you do not want options. You want one thing on a hanger that you can put on and be finished.
Go and pick your color.
— Vivian · Vivian & Pearl Newport
SEE THE LENA — $69.95 →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.