Founder’s Letter Resort 2022
For the past six years, we’ve spent New Year’s Eve with a childhood friend of my husband and his wife and kids. A few years ago, I started the tradition of making everyone write down a prediction and resolution for the following year. As we celebrated the end of 2021, I read aloud some of the entries from the book; my resolution for 2021 was “spend tons of time with friends once COVID is over.” I certainly paused when reading that: obviously, my resolution for last year wasn’t quite achieved.
While it would be unfair not to take note of the improvements we saw in 2021 thanks to the vaccine programs, there is still a feeling that we haven’t progressed much – certainly not as much as we had hoped. I’d imagined that by now, we would be returning to our normal lives and enjoying many opportunities to wear our fancy clothes, nice jewelry, and high heels again. Instead, many of us are holed up at home trying to avoid Omicron.
That said, there is cautious optimism about where things are headed, and I don’t think we need to plan on 2022 being a year for baking bread and wearing pyjamas all day again. For the start of the year, I am definitely not abandoning comfort, but am also finding ways to make my comfortable clothing feel a bit more dressed up.
Above: Two Pocket Sleep Shirt Black Tencel Twill
That’s where the Resort 2022 collection comes in. It is always my favourite collection because it has a bit of everything: festive-season pyjamas, warm flannels, luxe linens, and true resort pieces – so you can get warm and cozy AND think about the sunny days ahead. Maybe you’re already somewhere sunny, in which case, I’m jealous.
Indeed, just because Christmas is over doesn’t mean flannel season has ended – we could still have another four months of snow. Which is why the Resort collection always has great flannels. This year, we’ve featured a Raspberry Plaid Flannel and a deep, beautiful dark blue flannel. If you are familiar with our flannels, you’ll know they are soft and beautiful. I know I’ll be spending my January weekend mornings in a Full Length Sleep Shirt or a pyjama set in flannel.
If I need to get dressed (though let’s face it, this isn’t the case for weekends at the moment), I’ll be slipping into the new Cocoon dress from our t-shirt collection. Pictured above, I’ve dressed it up with a pair of luxe slides to make me feel like I’ve made an effort. This shape is the ultimate throw-on jersey dress. If I ever go on a plane again, I’d likely pair this with tights for a long haul.
Speaking of dresses, we’ve launched a short version of our hugely popular Long Slip Dress (see below.) I expected this to be something I’d wear in the summer or as an actual slip, but I’ve found it to be a great winter piece when paired with tights and an oversized sweater (mine is by Bare Knitwear, of course; we’ve got another pop-up from the Canadian brand launching very soon). I’ve found that it feels nice to wear something short in the winter, even if it’s over merino tights.
One of my favourite fabrics of the season is the Black Tencel Twill. We’ve always been a cotton and linen brand but last Resort 2021, we launched the Tencel Twill in a nude colour and the fabric has been a hit ever since. It’s heavy, which is wonderful because the weight gives the pieces a great drape. We’ve made nightshirts, slip dresses, tunics, and the Classic Shirt in this fabric. I’m wearing mine in the photo below with a pair of black jeans and a chunky down jacket – it’s the perfect oversized shirt: comfortable but classy.
While we often try new things, we also tend to re-visit and re-issue old favourites. Take, for example, the Long Two Pocket Sleep Shirt. Its predecessor (which also makes a reappearance in the Resort 2022 collection) was the Two Pocket Sleep Shirt, a hugely popular tunic style that works as sleepwear, daywear, or as a beach coverup. When designing the collection, I thought to myself, why not make it longer? And the result is nice, if you ask me. The high side slits on this piece create great drama when you’re walking down the street in it, wearing sexy shoes. And, like many of our pieces, it will also be wonderful as beachwear or loungewear. If you have spent most of the pandemic in pyjamas and you still aren’t leaving the house, I highly recommend this style as you’ll automatically feel glamorous, without sacrificing any comfort.
I’m not ready to make many predictions about this year, but I am feeling positive. I hope you are, too. I wish you all a happy, healthy 2022.