At 62, I had lovely cardigans and nothing nice to wear under them
At 62, I had lovely cardigans and nothing nice to wear under them
Six things the Kelly gets right that my tired old tops got wrong, from a woman who is not a fashion writer.
Caroline Richards · Customer · Nottinghamshire · 5 min read Let me be plain about who is talking. I am Caroline, I am 62, I live in Nottinghamshire, and I have never once sat down to write about something I wear. I am a cardigan woman. I have a good camel one, a soft oatmeal one, a navy one I love. But I had a habit I only noticed this autumn: I was keeping them all buttoned up to the neck, even when I was too warm. Because underneath was a tired old T-shirt, gone baggy at the neck and faded in the wash, and I did not want anybody to see it. This is not a review. It is a woman who finally found something worth showing under her cardigans, saying so.
What I found is from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is called the Kelly, a soft ribbed knit top with a little buttoned neck, a curved hem and a few buttons at the sides. Mine is a deep warm red. When the boutique later asked if they could put my letter up for others to read, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
A red top with buttons. At 62. Read on.
Here is how it happens, and I suspect it happens to most of us. We spend our money on the cardigans and jackets, because those are the bits people see. The tops underneath are whatever is left in the drawer. Then the cardigan falls open, and the bit everyone sees is the bit we spent nothing on. So we button up, and stay buttoned up, and wonder why we never feel quite right.
I had been buying cardigans to hide my tops, when I should have been buying tops worth showing.
The Kelly is the first top I have owned that I am happy to let a cardigan fall open over, and having worn it most days since it arrived, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The afternoon it came. A lovely deep red, and so soft.
The neck is the bit that shows, and it is lovely
Instead of a plain round neck, the Kelly has a little notched neckline with a short row of buttons. When a cardigan falls open, that is exactly the bit you see, and it looks finished and pretty instead of tired. I can leave my cardigans open again, the way they were meant to be worn.
The little buttoned neck. This is what shows when the cardigan is open.
The buttons at the neck make it so much nicer than a plain top. Looks lovely under my cardigans.
Brenda C., BeestonUnder a jacket, too
It is not just cardigans. Under my navy blazer for a lunch, the red neckline shows in the opening and the whole outfit looks put together. I used to wear a blouse for that, and never felt as comfortable. This just goes on.
Under my navy blazer on the way out for lunch.
I wear it under my blazer for church. Smart but so comfortable.
Margaret L., ArnoldSmart enough on its own
On a mild day I wear it with nothing over it at all, just jeans. The buttons and the curved hem mean it never looks like I have forgotten to put something on top. That is more than I could say for my old T-shirts.
On its own in the kitchen with jeans. You can see the little buttons at the side.
Nice enough to wear on its own. I have had lots of compliments on the colour.
Sheila W., HucknallA proper soft rib knit
The knit is a proper ribbed knit with a lovely soft feel. It has some body to it, more like a light jumper than a T-shirt, so it hangs nicely under a cardigan without clinging, and it looks a cut above a plain cotton top. It is the sort of soft you notice when you put it on in the morning and then forget about for the rest of the day.
On the wardrobe door. The ribbed knit, the neck buttons and the curved hem.
So soft and comfortable. It sits nicely under everything without any bulk.
Jean T., CarltonA curved hem with a pretty detail
The hem curves gently and falls just below the hip, so it covers the top of my jeans properly. There are three little buttons on each side seam just above the hem, which is the kind of detail you only notice up close, and I love it for that.
Love the little buttons on the sides and the length is just right over leggings.
Doreen P., Long EatonSix colours, and real sizes
Mine is the red, but it also comes in a soft blue, navy, pink, white and black, and sizes go from UK 8/10 right up to UK 22/24. The black under my camel cardigan is next on my list.
Bought the red and went back for the navy and the blue. They go under everything.
Pauline H., West BridgfordThis, against my tired old tops
Most of us have a drawer of tops that only ever get worn under something else. I know, because mine is full. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Plain round necks gone baggy
Faded from the wash
Cardigan kept buttoned to hide them
Fine under something, never on their own
The bit people see, and the bit I spent nothing on
A notched neck with a row of buttons
A soft rib knit in a deep warm red
Cardigan worn open again
Smart enough on its own
The bit people see, and it looks lovely
About the price
The Kelly is £27.95 at the moment. It was £56.00.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that with the autumn sale on the middle sizes are going first, and once this batch has gone it can be a long wait for it to come back. Their words, not mine. What I can tell you from my side is that half price is usually where I start asking what is wrong with a thing, and after weeks of wearing it, I have not found it.
And I do not trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I ordered a second colour. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.2 stars, which sounded like real women rather than robots, so I read on. The same six things I have just walked you through come up in them, over and over, in other women's words.
If your cardigans are lovely and the tops underneath are not, I would start here. Not because you need more clothes, but because the bit people actually see deserves a little more than whatever was left in the drawer. Go and have a look while your size is still there.
Caroline
KELLY | Soft Ribbed Top
- Notched neck with a short row of buttons
- Soft ribbed knit with some body to it
- Curved hem, just below the hip
- Three little buttons on each side seam
- Relaxed fit, lovely under cardigans and jackets
- Six colours, UK 8/10 (S) to UK 22/24 (5XL)
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The autumn sale is on now, half price. The middle sizes are going first.