A letter from Harper & Matilda – Christabel
She hasn't bought a pretty blouse in years.
Not because she stopped caring. Because everything pretty was tight, sleeveless or cut for someone thirty years younger.
On the six things that made us choose the Christabel, how it compares to what you have been wearing, and why it is A$69.95 as we close our boutique doors.
We are Harper and Matilda, two sisters, and we opened our boutique in Melbourne in 2010 with one idea: that a woman should never have to choose between comfortable and beautiful.
The place that idea gets tested hardest is a warm morning with somewhere to be. Coffee with the girls, the Saturday market, a lunch that runs into the afternoon, and a wardrobe that never seems to have the right top for it.
There are two kinds of blouses waiting for you, and you know both. There is the sensible one, plain and boxy, that covers everything and says nothing. And there is the pretty one, cut close, sleeveless or low at the neck, made for a woman thirty years younger.
So every spring a woman does the sums, takes the plain one, and puts a cardigan over it even when it's warm. And then she is covered, and a little invisible, and quietly annoyed about it.
We never accepted that a woman had to choose.
The Christabel is our answer. A vintage floral print on soft denim blue, three buttons at a gentle V, and sleeves that finish in a ruffle just past the elbow. There were six things we would not do without.
1Sleeves to the elbow, because you shouldn't need a cardigan in November
So many of us know the routine. The pretty tops are sleeveless or barely-there, so on goes a cardigan over the top, even on a warm morning, even when everyone else is in short sleeves. By eleven you are hot, and by lunch you are carrying it.
The Christabel's sleeves come down past the elbow and finish in a soft, gathered ruffle. Your upper arms are covered, the ruffle keeps it light and pretty, and the cardigan can stay at home. That was the first thing we checked.
2A soft V with three buttons, because a neckline should flatter, not reveal
Necklines are where a lot of blouses lose us. Too high and plain and you look buttoned up for a meeting. Too low and you spend the day checking it in every shop window.
The Christabel has a notched V-neck with a short placket of three wooden-look buttons. It opens just enough to soften the face and frame a necklace, and no further. You put it on, and you stop thinking about it.
3Room through the middle, because nobody wants to spend lunch tugging at her top
You know the blouse. It looked lovely on the hanger, then clung in all the wrong places the moment you sat down. So you spend lunch pulling it straight and wishing you had worn the old one.
The Christabel is a relaxed pull-on shape with a soft pleat at the centre front, just below the buttons. It falls past the tummy to the hips and simply skims. There is no button front to gape. You sit, you laugh, you stay as long as you like.
4A soft cotton blend, because a warm Australian afternoon is the real test
Every blouse feels fine in the change room. The real test is two o'clock on a warm afternoon, after the garden and a run to the shops, when a stiff fabric starts to feel like a chore to be wearing.
The Christabel is made from a cotton-polyester blend with a soft, slightly textured feel, like a well-loved chambray. The cotton gives it softness, the polyester helps it keep its shape through the day. It's the one you can put on in the morning and forget about.
5S to 5XL, because pretty shouldn't stop at a 16
There's a particular disappointment in finding a top you love and discovering it stops at a 16. We have never understood a shop that does that and then wonders where everybody went.
The Christabel comes in eight sizes, S to 5XL (AU 10 to AU 24), every one at the same price, with a size chart in centimetres on the product page. If the fit isn't right, you can send it back within 30 days. The only real decision is when you'll wear it first.
6A print that goes with everything you already own
A comfortable top usually apologises for itself in plain navy or beige. A pretty one often only works with one skirt, so it sits on the hanger most of the season.
The Christabel is a white vintage floral vine on a soft denim blue. That's the trick. The blue works with your jeans, white linen, navy and beige, while the print keeps it from ever looking ordinary. It reads as a choice you made, not a compromise you settled for.
The Christabel, against what you have been wearing
| The usual blouse | The Christabel | |
|---|---|---|
| Sleeves | Sleeveless or barely capped | Elbow-length, with a soft ruffle |
| Neckline | Plunging, or high and plain | A notched V with three buttons |
| Fit | Clingy, or shapeless and boxy | Relaxed, with a soft centre pleat |
| Sizing | Often stops at a 16 | S to 5XL (AU 10 to AU 24), one price |
| Style | Plain and safe | Vintage floral on denim blue |
We refuse to sell a woman a blouse that asks her to choose between feeling covered and feeling pretty. That is the whole reason the Christabel is in our final collection.
Why we're clearing it now
The Christabel is marked at A$349.95. But after many years of welcoming women through our door in Melbourne, we are closing our physical boutique, and this is our final collection. We would rather see it go to women who will wear it than hold on to it, so it is going out at A$69.95.
This is the blouse for the warm months ahead, for long lunches, Saturday mornings and all the days you want to say yes to. Our years behind the counter have taught us that once a woman finds a top she feels like herself in, she reaches for it every week. That is what we hope for every Christabel.
★★★★★ 4.7 out of 5 · from 1,475+ women in our Melbourne boutique
- Elbow-length sleeves with a soft ruffle
- Notched V-neck with three wooden-look buttons
- Relaxed pull-on fit with a centre pleat
- Soft cotton-polyester blend
- Blue vintage floral · S to 5XL (AU 10 to AU 24)
- Free shipping Australia-wide · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every size the same price
We have watched a great many women pick up a pretty blouse, hold it against themselves in the mirror and put it back on the rack. She likes it. That isn't the question.
What she is deciding is whether she will feel comfortable, and covered, wearing it out of the house.
With this one, you don't have to choose. Go and pick your size.
With love, Harper & Matilda · Wattle & Vale Melbourne
See the Christabel · A$69.95 →A personal letter from the founders of Wattle & Vale Melbourne. Melbourne family boutique since 2010 · Free shipping Australia-wide · 30-day money-back guarantee, subject to our returns policy.