A Letter From Vivian: The Rhealyn
A letter from the founder
The jacket a woman wears most is almost always the one she thought about least.
On the six things that made me choose the Rhealyn, how it compares to the jacket hanging by your door, and why it is $64.95 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.
The place I watch that break down is not the good dress, and it is not the winter coat. It is the layer she actually puts on — the one that hangs by the door and goes out to the car forty times a week.
There are two of those and you own both. There is the zip-up fleece, which is warm and comfortable and looks like nothing at all, so she wears it to the grocery store and takes it off in the parking lot if she sees somebody she knows. And there is the good jacket, the one that cost something, which stays on its hanger waiting for an occasion that keeps not arriving.
So the thing a woman wears most is the thing she chose with the least thought. It is also the thing people picture when they picture her.
I never accepted that a woman had to choose.
The Rhealyn is my answer. It is a quilted zip jacket with a sunburst running the whole width of the front, in oranges, purples and greens, and it is soft enough for an ordinary Tuesday. There were six things I would not do without.
A picture across the front, not a label
This is the thing I was actually buying. A sun sits up on one shoulder and the rays run all the way down and across, so the pattern is a picture rather than a repeat, and it carries on over the sleeves instead of stopping at the side seam. It is made up of small panels in different prints, the way a quilt is put together, and that is what keeps it from looking like a bedsheet. A woman in a plain top and plain pants puts this on and the outfit is finished.
“I wasn’t sure about all that color, but with jeans and a plain white shirt it really works. Wore it to breakfast with my neighbor and she wanted to know where I found it.”
Carolyn P., Lexington“The orange and purple caught my eye immediately. Such a pretty combination. Most of my pants are plain, so this adds a little fun.”
Joan L., RichmondIt zips, so the decision is yours each morning
A full zip, top to bottom. Closed, it is a jacket and it keeps the wind off. Open, it is a layer over whatever you already had on, and the plain top underneath does the quiet work while this does the rest. That sounds like a small thing and it is the difference between a jacket you wear one way and a jacket you wear all year. A pullover makes that decision for you in the closet. This one leaves it with you at the door.
“Very happy with the zipper. I prefer something I can leave open, especially when I’m going in and out of stores. The pockets are handy, too.”
Janet F., OlympiaThe hood is lined
Lay the hood open and you can see it. Most makers put a hood on a jacket like this and leave it unlined, which means it is a shape at the back of the neck and nothing else. Lined, it is worth putting up — on a breezy morning, on a walk that started out calmer than it finished, and on the days you did not do much with your hair and would rather not discuss it.
“I bought the Rhealyn for a weekend visiting my daughter. Wore it open over a simple top most of the time and zipped it up when we went out for an early walk. Nice to have a hood when you haven’t bothered much with your hair!”
Marlene C., SalemTwo pockets, set into the side
Set into the side seams, where your hands already go. A phone, a set of keys, a pair of glasses. I have never understood why so many makers treat a pocket as decoration, or leave it off a jacket entirely and expect a woman to carry a bag to the mailbox. A jacket with real pockets is the one that gets taken on the short walk, and the short walk is most of what a jacket is for.
Cotton-modal, quilted through
Soft to the hand, with just enough body to hold its shape on the shoulder rather than collapsing like a sweatshirt. The quilting is stitched through the whole jacket, following the rays, which is what gives it that little structure and what makes it look considered rather than thrown together. It washes in the machine and it does not go to the dry cleaner, which for an everyday jacket is the only arrangement worth having.
“Soft fabric, comfortable sleeves, and a length I like with jeans. Nothing complicated about it. Just a nice jacket.”
Doreen M., Knoxville“I do a little quilting, so the sunburst pattern was what drew me to this one. I enjoy looking at all the different little patterns within it. My quilting group noticed it right away when I walked in last week. I kept the rest of my outfit simple and let the jacket have its moment.”
Frances W., LancasterXS through 5XL, and the same price in every size
Nine sizes, cut relaxed on purpose — to go over what you are already wearing rather than asking you to plan around it. It falls to the hip and the sleeves are long. One piece of advice I would give across the counter: it is meant to sit easy through the middle, so take your usual size unless you want it looser. Nine sizes, one price, which means the only thing to decide is whether you want it.
“This is the kind of jacket I reach for on an ordinary Tuesday. There’s room through the middle without my having to keep tugging at it, and it goes nicely over my everyday tops. I’ve worn it for errands, coffee, and sitting on the porch with my husband. Getting plenty of use already.”
Yvonne H., DaytonThe Rhealyn, against the jacket by your door
| The usual everyday jacket | The Rhealyn | |
|---|---|---|
| The front | Plain, so it disappears | A sunburst the whole width of it |
| When you wear it | Saved for an occasion | An ordinary Tuesday |
| Closure | Pullover, or nothing | A full zip — open or closed |
| Hood | None, or thin and unlined | Lined |
| Pockets | Shallow, so you carry a bag | Two, set into the side |
| Sizing | Stops at XL, if you are lucky | XS through 5XL, one price |
I refuse to sell a woman a jacket she has to save for a day that never comes. That is the whole reason the Rhealyn is in the store.
Why we’re clearing it now
The Rhealyn was $324.95 on the rail, which is what a jacket finished this way goes for: a sunburst carried the full width of the front and over both sleeves, quilting stitched through the whole body, and a hood lined rather than left bare. I am not going to stand here and tell you that is a small amount of money for a jacket. 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 it is going out at a fifth of what it was.
I will give you the honest reasoning too. This is the layer you will put on more often than anything else you own this fall, and the one people will picture you in. If it is the one you reach for on the ordinary mornings for the next several years, then $64.95 was never the point.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,524+ reviews
$324.95$64.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 80%
- A sunburst across the whole front, in oranges, purples and greens
- Quilting stitched through the body, following the rays
- A full zip, top to bottom — worn open or closed
- A lined hood
- Two pockets set into the side
- Soft cotton-modal · long sleeves · falls to the hip
- XS, S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL · every size the same price
- Machine wash · do not dry clean
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every size the same price · while sizes last
Twenty years behind this counter and the everyday jacket is the one I can predict. A woman holds it up, looks at all that color, and says she is not sure she could carry it off.
Then she puts it on over the plain top she walked in wearing, and she stops talking about whether she can carry it off, because she is already looking at herself wearing it.
Go and find your size.
— Vivian · Vivian & Pearl Newport
SEE THE RHEALYN — $64.95 →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.