A Letter From Vivian: The Marjorie
A letter from the founder
From November to March she is seen in one garment, and it is the one she thought about least.
On the six things that made me choose the Marjorie, how it compares to what you have been buying, and why it is $99.95 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 coat is the only thing she owns that other people see more of than she does. From November through March it is over everything, at every door, in every photograph anybody takes of her. And it is almost always the garment she gave the least thought to, because she bought it in a hurry in a cold week eight years ago.
There are two kinds and she has owned both. There is the one built for warmth, and it looks it — the shiny puffer that turns a woman into a piece of luggage and makes a noise when she puts her arms down. And there is the one that looks right, which is handsome wool, stops at the hip, lets the wind straight through the front, and cannot be worn in rain at all.
So she takes the warm one, and she stops looking in the hall mirror on the way out the door. For five months of the year.
I never accepted that a woman had to choose.
The Marjorie is my answer. There were six things I would not do without.
Weatherproof — and I asked, because the word gets used loosely
Water-resistant and weatherproof get used as if they mean the same thing, and they do not. Water-resistant is a coat that holds out for ten minutes and then wets through at the shoulders, which she discovers standing in a parking lot. This one is weatherproof: the twill sheds rain rather than drinking it, so a wet walk to the car is a wet walk to the car and not a coat drying over a radiator all evening. The hood is drawcorded and deep enough to stay up when the wind is against her, which is the only test of a hood that matters.
“This has become the coat hanging by my back door because I reach for it constantly. Warm, comfortable, easy to zip up, and the hood is great when the wind picks up.”
Diane C., LexingtonCotton twill outside, plush pile all the way in
The shell is cotton twill, which is why it hangs like a coat instead of rustling like a bag — twill has weight, it takes a crease and holds a line, and it does not make a sound every time she reaches for her seatbelt. Inside is plush pile, and it runs the whole way: into the hood, down both fronts, past the hip and out to the hem. Most coats line the body and give up somewhere around the waist, which is precisely where a woman gets cold sitting in a car. Cotton against the weather, pile against her.
“The lining is wonderfully cozy. I wore mine on a cold, drizzly morning and felt comfortable the entire time. I especially like that the hood has enough room without constantly falling forward.”
Susan T., PittsburghIt is long, and the length is the whole argument
Most coats stop at the hip, and the hip is not where a woman is cold. She is cold across the lower back and the tops of the legs, standing at a car door in a wind, and a jacket that ends at the waist leaves exactly that part of her out in it. The Marjorie is cut long — well past the seat — so there is no gap between where the coat finishes and where anything useful begins. It is also, and I say this plainly, a far more forgiving line than a short jacket over a heavy sweater.
“I wanted something warm that didn’t feel like a huge winter coat, and this is exactly what I was hoping for. The longer length keeps me covered and there’s plenty of room for a sweater underneath.”
Linda P., ColumbusPockets with flaps, set where hands actually go
There are two flapped pockets at the front, snapped, and they are set low and angled the way a hand naturally falls rather than up near the ribs where a designer likes them for the drawing. They take a phone, a set of keys and a pair of gloves, and she can put both hands in them and leave them there while she waits, which is the entire reason a coat has pockets and the thing most often ruined. The flap and the snap are there so the phone stays in when she bends down.
“Finally a coat with pockets I actually use. My phone and keys fit easily, and I can still put my hands in them when I’m outside. The length is perfect for me too.”
Janet W., Des MoinesWarm without the bulk — and cut for a sweater, S through 4XL
Warmth usually gets bought with volume: more filling, more coat, more woman. The Marjorie gets it from the pile lining instead, so the outside stays a clean shape while the inside does the work. And it is drafted with the sweater already accounted for — through the shoulder, the upper arm and the middle — so she is not choosing between a coat that fits and a coat she can wear a jumper under. It runs S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL and 4XL.
“I was worried the warm lining would make it feel bulky, but it doesn’t. It has a relaxed fit and I can wear a heavier sweater underneath without feeling squeezed through the arms or middle.”
Elaine R., Grand RapidsSix colors, and not one of them is black-because-nothing-else-was-left
Black, Gray, Khaki, Midnight Navy, Forest Green and Berry Red. I stock black because a woman asks for it and she is right to, but I will not build a coat range where black is the only real option and the rest are afterthoughts. The green and the red here are proper colors, made in the same cloth to the same standard, and they are the two that get remarked on at a school gate or a church door. A coat is five months of her year. It is allowed to be a color she likes.
“I ordered the green and love the color in person. It looks casual with jeans but still neat enough that I don’t feel sloppy running errands or meeting someone for lunch.”
Carol A., MinneapolisThe Marjorie, against what you have been buying
| The usual winter coat | The Marjorie | |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | Wets through at the shoulders | Weatherproof — rain runs off the twill |
| Lining | Slick nylon, cold to put on | Plush pile, hood to hem |
| Length | Stops at the hip | Long, well past the seat |
| Hood | Decorative, or blows straight back | Deep and drawcorded, it stays up |
| Sizing | Stops at XL, and no room for a sweater | S to 4XL, cut for layers |
I refuse to sell a woman a coat that makes her stop looking in the mirror on her way out of the house. That is the whole reason the Marjorie is in the shop.
Why we’re clearing it now
The Marjorie came in at $299.95, which is what a lined, weatherproofed cotton coat costs to make properly. But the boutique turns twenty this year, and my daughter Pearl works beside me now — which is not a thing I let myself expect when I started. We wanted to hand something back to the women who have kept our doors open since 2006, so it is going out at a third of what it was.
And a coat has a clock on it in a way nothing else in the shop does. Sold in September it is worn for five months; sold in February it hangs in a closet until next year. I would rather she had it now, in the weeks she actually starts reaching for something at the door. There are only so many of each size in each color, and when they go they are gone.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,524+ reviews
$299.95$99.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 67%
- Weatherproof cotton twill shell
- Plush pile lining, hood to hem
- Cut long, well past the seat
- A deep drawcorded hood, and flapped snap pockets
- Six colors · sizes S to 4XL, cut for layers
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every size the same price · while sizes last
A coat is not a purchase a woman makes often. She makes it once and then lives inside the decision for years, every time she opens the front door.
So the question is not really whether she needs one. She has one. The question is whether she wants to spend another five winters in the one she settled for.
She does not. Go and pick your color.
— Vivian · Vivian & Pearl Newport
SEE THE MARJORIE — $99.95 →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.