In 1985 I lived in a denim jacket. At 64, I couldn't find one I could button. This is a letter about the cardigan that gave me the feeling back
Six things this long knit cardigan with denim trim gets right that every stiff, short, modern denim jacket got wrong, from a retired teacher who missed the one piece of clothing that always made her feel like herself.
Catherine Laurent · McKinney, Texas · 5 min readI am 64, and in the summer of 1985 I owned exactly one item of clothing I truly loved: a faded denim jacket I bought from a flea market in Dallas and wore over absolutely everything. Summer dresses, sweaters, my going-out top, my nightie once, on a camping trip I would rather not discuss. It went missing in a house move in about 1993, and I have been quietly looking for a replacement ever since. The trouble is, modern denim jackets are stiff, short, cut for a girl of twenty, and they do not button across a woman who has had two children and thirty-one years of teachers' lounge cookies. So this is not a review. It is a woman who finally found the feeling again, saying how.
The cardigan I am writing about is the Riley, a long-line knit cardigan from Novira Dallas, a small boutique that dresses women our age. Mine is the white, a soft cream ribbed knit with washed-blue denim at the collar, the front, the cuffs and the hem. My sister Jean, who never lets me get away with anything, saw it and said, "Nance, that's your old denim jacket, all grown up." She was right, as usual. When Novira later asked if they could share my letter, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
Here is what forty years taught me about the clothes we love. It is never really the garment you miss. It is the feeling. That easy, throw-it-on, I-could-go-anywhere feeling that a good denim jacket gives you. Somewhere after fifty, most of us lose that, because the clothes that gave it to us stop fitting, and the clothes that fit us now are so sensible they give you no feeling at all.
I did not miss the jacket. I missed the woman who wore it. It turns out she was still in there.
The Riley is the first thing I have worn in thirty years that gives me that old denim-jacket feeling, and having worn it for a month, to the shops, to lunch, round the garden and to the theater in Dallas, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
Soft ribbed knit, not stiff denim
This is the clever part. The body is a soft ribbed knit, so it has all the comfort of a cardigan, no stiffness, no dig at the armholes, nothing to break in. The denim is only on the trim. So you get the look of a denim jacket with the feel of your favorite sweater, which is exactly the combination I had been looking for without knowing it.
Wore it all day, from the garden center to the couch. Never once felt like I was wearing a jacket. Felt like a cuddle with a collar.
Washed-blue denim, just where you want it
The washed-blue denim frames everything: a proper denim collar, a denim band down the front, turned-back denim cuffs and a denim hem. It is the faded, softly worn blue of a jacket you have loved for years, and against the cream knit it looks fresh, smart and just a little bit fun.
Jean, at lunch: "That's very 1985 of you." I took it as the compliment it was meant to be.
A long-line length that covers
It is a proper long-line cardigan, falling well past the hips. That is the difference from every denim jacket I tried in the shops, which all stopped at exactly the widest part of me. The Riley covers what I would rather it covered and gives a long, lean line from shoulder to knee, which at my height is a small miracle.
Over leggings to the supermarket. Did not once wonder what was showing at the back. Bliss.
A loose, relaxed fit with a little stretch
The fit is loose and relaxed, with a little stretch in the knit, so it moves with you and layers easily over a T-shirt, a shirt or a fine sweater. Nothing pulls across the back when I reach for the top shelf, and nothing gapes at the front. It is the opposite of a modern denim jacket in every way that matters, and exactly the same in the one way I wanted.
Theater in Dallas. Over a navy dress, open at the front. Three compliments at intermission. Geoff was mildly put out.
Open or buttoned, it always looks right
There is a button placket down the front, so I can do it up on a sharp morning walking Biscuit and wear it open over a dress for lunch. With high-waisted jeans and a white T-shirt it is exactly the outfit I wore in 1985, only better cut and much more comfortable. With a dress, it turns a plain dress into something that looks considered.
Buttoned up for the dog walk at seven. Open for coffee with Jean at eleven. Same cardigan, two completely different looks, no change of clothes.
Five colors, sizes S to 3XL, and an honest word on fit
The Riley comes in white, beige, navy, khaki and black, in sizes S to 3XL. I chose the white because the cream against the faded denim reminded me most of my old jacket over a summer dress. Because the fit is loose, I ordered my usual size and it fit with room for a sweater underneath. I will be honest, because I promised I would: there is no measurement chart on the product page yet, so if you are between sizes, ask Novira's team before you order.
Jean has ordered the navy. She says she is "not copying." She absolutely is. She did the same with my denim jacket in 1985.
This cardigan, against the denim jackets in the shops
Most of us did not stop loving denim jackets. The denim jackets just stopped being made for us. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Stiff, heavy denim that needs breaking in
Cut short, stops at the widest part
Tight across the back and arms
Will not button across a grown woman
Made for a girl of twenty
Soft ribbed knit with denim trim
Long-line, falls well past the hips
Loose and relaxed, with a little stretch
Wear it open or buttoned
Made for the woman she grew into
About the price
The Riley is $69.95 at the moment. The website says that is down from $235.00. I will not pretend I know what a cardigan like this ought to cost, but I can tell you I paid more than that for a stiff denim jacket at a department store two years ago that I never once managed to button.
I will pass on what Novira told me, which is that they are a small shop selling directly, and the sale is on for the fall stock. Their words, not mine. They also take a bit more off if you buy more than one, up to 20%, which is how Jean's navy ended up in the same order as my white.
Shipping was free and tracked, and there is a thirty-day money-back guarantee if it is not right. After thirty years of looking, that is what got me to press the button.
long-line fit
guarantee
US delivery
If you also had one piece of clothing that always made you feel like yourself, and you have spent years quietly missing it, this is the one I would hand you myself, while your color and size are still there. She is still in there. Give her something to wear.
Nancy
Riley™ · Long-line Knit Cardigan
Fall sale · bundle and save up to 20%
- Soft ribbed knit with a cotton feel
- Washed-blue denim collar, front, cuffs and hem
- Long-line length that falls past the hips
- Loose, relaxed fit with a little stretch
- Button placket, wear it open or closed
- White, beige, navy, khaki and black · sizes S to 3XL
- FREE tracked US delivery & 30-day money-back guarantee
Sale on now, making room for the fall stock.
About the writer. Catherine Laurent is 64 and lives in McKinney, Texas with her husband Geoff and a spaniel called Biscuit. She taught second grade for thirty-one years and still cannot walk past a library.
This page is an advertisement for Novira Dallas. Individual experiences may vary. Novira Dallas · FREE tracked US delivery · 30-day money-back guarantee.