A Letter From Vivian: The Mia
A letter from the founder
A hood is the most useful thing a woman can own, and almost nobody cuts one for her.
On the six things that made me choose the Mia, how it compares to the sweatshirt you pull on now, and why it is $79.95 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 hood is a practical thing. It keeps the sun off, it keeps a light rain off, and it means you can leave the house with your hair however it happens to be. A woman past fifty has as much use for one as anybody. She just is not offered one she would want to be seen in.
There are two kinds and you have worn both. There is the fleece sweatshirt, which is warm and shapeless and stays in the house, and which everyone can tell is the thing you put on to not be looked at. And there is the denim jacket, which looks right in the mirror and weighs what a jacket weighs, and which you take off in the car and carry over your arm for the rest of the afternoon.
What I wanted was something with the look of denim and the weight of a t-shirt.
I never accepted that a woman had to choose.
The Mia is my answer. There were six things I would not do without.
It reads as denim and does not weigh anything like it
This is the whole idea of the garment. It has the washed, faded look of denim — the seams, the topstitching, the way the color sits light at the folds — and it goes on like a soft top. No stiffness at the shoulder, nothing holding your arms out from your sides, none of that weight across the back that makes you shrug a denim jacket off the moment you sit in a warm room.
"I like the denim look without the weight of a denim jacket. Wore it with white pants and sandals yesterday. Easy outfit."
Carrie M., CharlestonCut wide through the middle, with the shoulder seam dropped
The shoulder seam sits down the arm rather than on the point of the shoulder, which is the detail that makes a top hang instead of grip. Nothing is pulled into position across the back, and there is real room through the middle — so it skims rather than sits on you, and you are not rearranging it every time you get up from a chair.
"Plenty of room through the middle, which is what I wanted. The shoulders sit loosely instead of feeling pulled into place. Comfortable and casual."
Regina S., DaytonA proper hood, with cords, on something this light
A real lined hood with metal eyelets and two drawcords, on a top you could wear in June. That combination is the part nobody makes. It means the hood is there on the morning walk when the wind turns, and it is not dragging on your shoulders for the other three hours. Pull the cords in when you need it. Leave it down and it sits flat at the back of the neck.
"A short-sleeved hoodie sounded a little odd to me at first, but I keep reaching for this one. I like having the hood without wearing a heavy sweatshirt. It's been nice for mornings at home and then going out to pick up a few things."
Sherry L., TucsonSleeves to the elbow, cut wide at the arm
Short sleeves are where most tops let a woman down, because they are cut narrow and finish at exactly the part of the arm she would rather not think about. These come down near the elbow and are left wide the whole way, so nothing grips above the arm and nothing rides up. It is a small piece of pattern-cutting and it is the difference between a top worn once and one worn weekly.
"Soft and light, with sleeves that don't feel tight around my upper arms. Very pleased with mine."
Penny R., BoiseTwo blues, and both of them go with what you already own
Light blue or dark blue, and that is the whole range — because denim is the one color already in every closet in America. It goes over white, over black, over khaki, with jeans, with leggings. There is nothing to match and nothing to plan around, which is the reason a thing like this gets worn on a Tuesday instead of saved for something.
"The blue goes nicely with my khaki pants. Didn't have to buy anything else to make an outfit. That's always a plus."
Lois B., RichmondIt layers, so it is not finished in September
Because it is loose and the sleeves are short, a long-sleeved shirt goes underneath it without any fight. On its own in the summer, over a thin top in the fall, under a coat when it turns. Sizes run S through 3XL, and if you want it looser still, take the next size up.
"Took the Mia on a weekend trip and wore it for the drive home with my comfortable pants. I like that it's roomy without needing a bunch of adjusting when I sit down. I'll also try it over a thin long-sleeved shirt when the weather cools off."
Gretchen D., LancasterThe Mia, against the two things it replaces
| The sweatshirt, or the denim jacket | The Mia | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | Heavy enough that you carry it by noon | Goes on like a soft top |
| Shoulder | Seamed on the point, and it grips | Dropped down the arm, so it hangs |
| Hood | On the heavy one only, or not at all | Lined, with eyelets and two cords |
| Sleeves | Narrow, and tight at the upper arm | To the elbow, wide the whole way |
| Where it goes | Around the house, or out — never both | Out of the door as it is |
| Care | Cold wash, hang, hope | Machine wash gentle, air dry |
Wash it on a gentle cycle and keep it out of the dryer — hang it up or lay it flat and let it air dry. That is all it asks. A top you have to think about before washing is a top that ends up at the bottom of the basket.
I refuse to sell a woman something she has to take off before she answers the door. That is the whole reason the Mia is in the store.
Why we're clearing it now
The Mia hangs at $399.95 on the rail, which is what a top finished this way goes for: a washed, faded cloth that takes several passes to get right, a lined hood with metal eyelets and two cords set into it, and a dropped shoulder with a curved hem, which is more pattern-cutting than a straight sweatshirt needs. 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 Mia is going out at a fifth of that.
I will give you the honest reasoning as well. This is not a special-occasion purchase. It is the thing that ends up on the hook by the door, and the one you have on when somebody rings the bell. If that is how it goes for you, then $79.95 was never really the point.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,524+ reviews
$399.95$79.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 80%
- Washed denim look, without the weight of denim
- A lined hood with metal eyelets and two drawcords
- Dropped shoulder seam, so it hangs instead of gripping
- Elbow-length sleeves, cut wide at the upper arm
- Light blue or dark blue · S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL
- Machine wash gentle · air dry, never the dryer
- Size up if you want it more oversized still
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every size the same price · while sizes last
"I wanted something different from the plain T-shirts I wear every weekend. This still feels relaxed, but the hood and loose shape give it a little more personality. My daughter noticed it when we met for coffee and asked to see it on her next visit."
Miriam K., Ann ArborTwenty years behind this counter, and the thing I have learned about a casual top is that a woman keeps the one she can be seen in without deciding to be seen in it. Not the one she bought for a particular day. The one that is already on when the day turns into something.
The Mia is that one.
Go find your size.
— Vivian · Vivian & Pearl Newport
SEE THE MIA — $79.95 →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.