A Letter From Clara  ·  Founder of Clara's Closet

Chicago, Illinois  ·  June 2026

I Have Made Summer Clothes for 22 Years. This Is the Long Sleeve Blouse I Make for the Women Who Gave Up on Sleeves.

On the six things I insisted on for our lightweight striped blouse, how it compares to the long sleeves you have been buying, and why it is clearing as we move online.

Clara Bennett  ·  Founder of Clara's Closet  ·  Chicago  ·  June 2026  ·  5 min read

I am Clara, and I started Clara's Closet 22 years ago, in a small boutique here in Chicago. My daughter Charlotte has been by my side behind the counter for years, and together we have dressed the women of this city through every season. This blouse is the piece I make for the women who have quietly given up on long sleeves in summer.

Too warm, too thin, or too obviously there to cover something. That is what a summer long sleeve usually is. This is the one that changed their minds, and of everything we are clearing as we move online, it is the piece women write to me about most.

For years I watched women our age give up the sleeves they wanted, because the only choice was to roast or to go bare. I never accepted that. A woman should be able to cover her arms and stay cool. This blouse is my answer, and I argued for six things when I made it, usually with a supplier who wanted me to use the cheaper, warmer cloth.

So a long sleeve finally stays cool. You can have it on for hours, in and out of the car and the air conditioning, and forget you are wearing sleeves at all.

The timeless kind, the sort you would have called classic in a catalogue years ago, and will still be wearing in five. Not a trend, a wardrobe staple.

Sitting right on a real neck, easy and open, never tight or fussy. The kind of neckline you forget about the moment you put it on.

Skims the body, instead of tenting out like a smock. Loose enough to be cool, shaped enough to look like you chose it.

The part most women want covered, covered, and not a degree of heat added for it. That is the whole trick of this blouse.

Blue, khaki and grey, each chosen to go with the trousers and jeans already in your wardrobe, so this blouse earns its place from the first day.

This Blouse, Against The Long Sleeves You Have Been Buying

You can find a summer long sleeve for fifty dollars almost anywhere. I know, because before I made this one I bought a great many of them, trying to find the one that did not roast me by noon. Here is the difference.

A woman should be able to cover her arms in summer and still stay cool. This blouse is the whole reason I stopped accepting that she could not.

Why This Blouse Is Clearing Now

We are closing the Chicago shop and moving Clara's Closet online, so the whole summer collection is clearing, this blouse with it. It is now $52.95, from $139.95, and when you take more than one the discount stacks further, up to 30 percent on top.

I will be plain about it. At this price we are barely covering our costs on it. I am telling you because it is true, and because once we hand back the keys at the end of the season, this price goes with the shop. There is no plan to bring it back.

If twenty-two years of running this little boutique has taught me anything, it is that a woman who tries this blouse once usually comes back. That is the quiet bet I am placing in writing you this letter at $52.95.

Wrapped by hand, the way every order has left this shop for 22 years.

It is the long sleeve I am proudest of in 22 years. I would rather it go to women who will wear it than sit folded in a box.

The reviews say the same things I have, over and over. 4.8 stars across 847 women. If you have ever wanted a long sleeve you can finally wear in the heat, that covers your arms and still keeps you cool, this is the one I would put in your hands myself, while the colours are still in stock.

— Clara

This is a personal letter from the founder of Clara's Closet. Prices and availability are accurate while stock lasts as the shop clears.