A Letter From Vivian: The Sophia Jacket
A letter from the founder
Every jacket built to keep the weather off looks like it was made for somebody else’s hobby.
On the six things that made me choose the Sophia, how it compares to the jacket in your hall closet, 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.
Where I watch that fail is the practical jacket. Not the winter coat, and not the good one — the one she wants for a walk after breakfast, for errands, for a morning that looks like it might turn.
There are two on offer and you have tried both. There is the technical one, which does keep the weather off and is covered in logos and reflective tape and zips that lead nowhere, and it makes a woman of sixty look like she is training for something. And there is the pretty one, which is lovely in the store and gives up the moment the wind gets up, so she stops taking it anywhere she might actually need it.
What nobody makes is the one in between — a jacket that handles a gray morning and still looks like it belongs to her.
I never accepted that a woman had to choose.
The Sophia is my answer. It turns the wind, it handles a shower, and it does all that in green, orange, white, purple or black rather than in navy. There were six things I would not do without.
It turns the wind and a light rain — and I will tell you where it stops
The outer turns wind, and it turns the sort of rain that starts while you are already out. Now the part most people leave out: this is not a mountain shell, and I would not send you up a hillside in a downpour in it. What it is built for is the ordinary gray morning — the walk that gets drizzled on, the dash from the parking lot to the door, the afternoon that turned while you were inside. That is nearly every time a woman actually reaches for a jacket, and it is the job almost nobody builds for.
“Got caught in a little drizzle coming home from the park and was glad I had this on. The adjustable hood came in handy. Pretty color as well.”
Lucille D., OlympiaFive colors, and not one of them is navy
Green, orange, white, purple and black. I put that second on the list on purpose, because it is the thing the whole category gets wrong. A practical jacket is assumed to be navy, or black, or a gray that is nearly black, as though a woman who wants to stay dry has given up on being looked at. The zip is done in a contrasting color against the body, which is the one bit of decoration on the whole jacket and the reason it reads as a choice rather than as equipment.
“The teal is what made me order this one. Such a nice change from my usual navy jackets. I’ve been wearing it with jeans for my morning walks.”
Wanda K., EugeneThe hood adjusts, at the drawstrings
A hood you cannot tighten is a hood that fills with wind and comes straight back off your head, which is why so many women put one up once and never again. This one pulls in at the drawstrings, so it stays where you set it. And it lies flat at the collar when it is down, rather than bunching up behind your neck the way a bigger hood does when you are trying to sit back in a car seat.
“I wanted a jacket for a trip where we’d be doing quite a bit of walking. This was comfortable to move around in and didn’t feel bulky over my top. I mostly wore it open, but appreciated being able to zip it up and adjust the hood when the breeze picked up.”
Suzanne T., HarrisburgThe pockets zip closed
Several of them, and every one of them closes. That sounds like a detail and it is the whole difference between a jacket you carry a bag with and a jacket you do not. A phone and a house key stay where you put them when you bend down to the dog, or sit on a bench, or put the jacket over the back of a chair. An open pocket is somewhere to rest your hands. A zip pocket is somewhere to leave something.
“Zippered pockets! I like knowing my house key is secure when I’m out with the dog. Nice and light, too.”
Jeanette B., Columbus“My husband and I have started taking a walk after breakfast, and this is usually the jacket I grab. I can put my phone in a zip pocket and leave my purse at home. I don’t need much fuss for a neighborhood walk, but I do like looking reasonably put together.”
Rita S., KnoxvilleLight enough that you stop thinking about it
It zips the whole way up and it weighs almost nothing, so it goes on over a sweater without turning you into a parcel, and it comes off over an arm when the sun finds its way out. A jacket you have to plan around is a jacket that stays home. This is the one you put on without deciding to, which is the only real test there is.
“Nothing fancy, just a useful everyday jacket. Easy to throw on for the grocery store or a walk around the neighborhood. That’s exactly what I needed.”
Bonnie R., TulsaS through 3XL, and every size the same price
Six sizes, and the same price in every one of them and every color. One piece of advice I would give across the counter: if you want room for a sweater underneath, take one size up. It is cut comfortable rather than roomy, and a jacket that will not close over a cardigan in October is a jacket for about three weeks of the year.
“I followed the suggestion to go up a size because I wanted room for a sweater. Glad I did. I’ve worn it both ways now, with a sweater and with just a shirt, and I’m happy with the extra room.”
Anita M., AshevilleThe Sophia, against the jacket in your hall closet
| The usual practical jacket | The Sophia | |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | Soaks through, or it is a raincoat | Turns wind and a light rain |
| The look | Logos and reflective tape | Plain, in a color you chose |
| Hood | Fixed, or none at all | Adjustable at the drawstrings |
| Pockets | Open, so nothing stays in them | Zip closed |
| Weight | Bulky over a sweater | Light enough to forget |
| Sizing | Stops at XL, if you are lucky | S through 3XL, one price |
I refuse to sell a woman a jacket that keeps the rain off and makes her look like equipment. That is the whole reason the Sophia is in the store.
Why we’re clearing it now
The Sophia was $399.95 on the rail, which is what a jacket finished this way goes for: an outer that turns wind and rain, a hood that draws in and stays where you set it, and pockets that close rather than simply exist. I am not going to stand here and tell you that is a small amount of money for a jacket you will wear to the grocery store. 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 not the jacket you will own the longest. It is the one you will wear the most, because it is the one hanging where you actually leave the house. If it is the one you reach for on the gray mornings for the next several years, then $79.95 was never the point.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,524+ reviews
$399.95$79.95
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- Turns wind and a light rain — not a mountain shell, and I will not pretend otherwise
- An adjustable hood that draws in at the strings
- Zip pockets, so a phone and a key stay put
- A full-length zip — worn open or closed
- Light enough to go over a sweater without bulk
- Five colors · green, orange, white, purple and black
- S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL · every size and color the same price
- Take one size up if you want room to layer
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every size and color the same price · while sizes last
Twenty years behind this counter and the practical jacket is the one women apologize for. She holds it up and tells me it is only for walking the dog, only for errands, nothing special.
And then it is the one she is wearing every time I see her for the rest of the year. There is no such thing as only for errands. Errands are most of a life, and she may as well like what she has on while she does them.
Go and find your size.
— Vivian · Vivian & Pearl Newport
SEE THE SOPHIA — $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.