A Letter From Vivian: The Wrenna
A letter from the founder
Nobody makes a layer for the day that changes its mind three times. So a woman carries one around instead.
On the six things that made me choose the Wrenna, why every cardigan on that rail was chosen against the same six, and why they are $59.95 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 day that defeats it is the one that will not settle. Cold on the porch at seven. Warm by two. Cold again by the time you are walking out of dinner. One day, three temperatures, and nothing in the closet built for all three of them.
So you own two things and neither one works. There is the sweatshirt, which handles the morning and the evening perfectly well and which you would not wear to meet anybody. And there is the good jacket, which looks right and is far too warm by lunchtime — so it comes off, and you carry it, and you are still carrying it at four o’clock.
What is missing is the one layer you put on at seven and do not think about again until bedtime.
I never accepted that a woman had to choose.
The Wrenna is my answer, and it is the one I would put in your hands first. There were six things I would not do without — and every cardigan on that rail was chosen against the same six.
A zipper that runs the whole length
Not a half zip, and not buttons you fasten once in the morning and then live with. The gold zipper runs from the collar all the way to the hem, which means the cardigan is adjustable by the inch, all day, without you changing anything else you are wearing. Closed at seven. Open at eleven. Halfway by three. That is the entire answer to a day with three temperatures in it, and it costs a maker more to do than a pull-on ever would.
“I really like the full zipper because I can adjust it as the temperature changes instead of changing my whole outfit.”
Wendy B., AshevilleA ribbed stand collar, not an open neck
An open-necked cardigan leaves the throat bare, and the throat is where a woman feels a draught first. This one has a ribbed stand collar, so zipped up it closes around the neck and does the job a scarf would otherwise have to do. The same ribbing runs at the cuffs and the hem, which is what keeps a knit sitting where you put it instead of gradually riding up over the course of a morning.
“The stand collar keeps a little chill off my neck, and the lightweight knit is comfortable enough to leave on indoors.”
Sharon E., RichmondTwo side pockets
It sounds like nothing until you have gone out without them. A cardigan with pockets is a cardigan you can leave the house in carrying only yourself — keys, a phone, and no bag for the short walk. A cardigan without them sends you back inside for something to put things in. This is the detail most makers leave out because nobody photographs it, and it is the one that decides whether a woman reaches for a garment on a Tuesday.
“The side pockets are more useful than I expected. I can keep my phone and keys with me on a quick walk.”
Lorraine T., RaleighA relaxed bomber shape, true to size
Two claims there and both matter. Relaxed means it gives you room through the middle rather than following you about, so it looks neat zipped and easy open. True to size means you order the size you already know you are, and you do not have to sit and work out whether this particular shop runs small. I have watched women send back perfectly good clothing over that arithmetic alone. It runs S through 3XL.
“The relaxed shape gives me enough room through the middle while still looking neat when I zip it closed.”
Gail R., SavannahLight enough that you keep it on
This is the one everything else depends on. The knit is soft and lightweight with a gentle stretch, and the point of that is not luxury — it is that the cardigan stops being a decision. A heavy layer gets taken off the moment you walk into a warm room, and then it is over your arm for the rest of the day. A light one stays on your shoulders through the morning, the shop, the lunch and the drive home, and you forget you are wearing it.
“I wore this from a chilly morning into a warmer afternoon and never felt like I needed to take it off.”
Colleen M., CharlestonA print that is full, and still quiet
Here is the thing I look for and almost never find. Orange poppies and blue cornflowers grow up an oatmeal knit on long green stems, and then clusters of small berries and daisies fill in the gaps between them. That filling-in is the whole trick. A print with space left in it looks sparse and cheap; a print crammed with one big motif shouts. This one is dense and still calm, because it is built the way a meadow is — tall things, then small things underneath.
“The floral print is colorful without feeling busy. It looks especially pretty with jeans and a simple cream top.”
Darlene P., Newport“The orange poppies and blue flowers make this feel special without being too dressy. I’ve worn mine for errands and lunch.”
Phyllis C., GreenvilleThe Wrenna, against the layer you have been using
| The usual in-between layer | The Wrenna | |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | Pull-on, or fastened once | Full-length zipper, adjustable all day |
| Neck | Open — go and find a scarf | Ribbed stand collar |
| Pockets | None, so you carry a bag | Two at the side |
| Weight | Off by noon, carried till four | Light enough to keep on |
| Sizing | Runs small, so you guess | True to size, S through 3XL |
I refuse to sell a woman a layer she ends up carrying. That is the whole reason the Wrenna is in the shop.
Now the part that matters
I have written all of this about the Wrenna because it is the one I would hand you first, and because it sold out on us last fall before the season had properly started.
But everything above is true of every cardigan on that rail. There are seventeen of them. The same full-length zipper, the same ribbed stand collar and cuffs, the same two side pockets, the same relaxed shape, the same S through 3XL, and every single one the same $59.95. I did not choose seventeen different garments. I chose one, and then I chose seventeen prints for it.
So the only decision left to you is which one. There are roses climbing on ribbon, a thistle landscape, dandelions gone to seed, a peacock feather, tropical lilies, watercolor botanicals gone soft at the edges. I will be honest with you: a few of them are not flowers at all — there are stripes in there, and hearts, and a desert with horses in it — because a woman who wants this cardigan does not always want a garden on it.
Go and look at the rail, and find the one that is yours.
Why we’re clearing them now
The Wrenna came in at $182.95, and every cardigan on that rail was priced the same way. But the shop turns twenty this year, and my daughter Pearl is beside me at the counter most days now — which is not a thing I let myself count on when I opened the door in 2006. We wanted to mark it by handing something back to the women who kept us open.
Here is the honest reasoning, and you may as well hear it from me. A woman who buys one of these at $59.95 does not usually stop at one, because once she has worn it for a week she starts thinking about which print she would have in the spring. I would rather she found that out now than next October, when the sizes have gone.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,524+ reviews
$182.95$59.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 67%
- Gold zipper from collar to hem
- Ribbed stand collar, cuffs and hem
- Two side pockets
- Relaxed bomber shape, true to size
- Soft, lightweight knit with a gentle stretch
- Sizes S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL · seventeen prints · one price
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every print and size the same price · while sizes last
Twenty years of watching women at a rail has taught me exactly one reliable thing. She does not walk along it wondering whether she likes them. She walks along it working out which one is hers.
That is a different question, and it has a right answer, and she almost always already knows it by the time she has gone past three.
Go and find yours.
— Vivian · Vivian & Pearl Newport
SEE ALL SEVENTEEN CARDIGANS — $59.95 →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.