Our Story
Three Decades by the Water
From an old harbour warehouse to a wardrobe worth keeping.
I spent my childhood summers in a converted warehouse on the Boston waterfront. That was where my aunt Vivian worked, and where I learned to watch her. She would take a length of fabric to the window, study it for a moment, and decide. Yes or no. Never more than a few seconds.
I still can't explain how she knew. I only know she was never wrong.
For thirty years, Vivian dressed women who had stopped listening to what they should wear. She didn't care about seasons or trends. She cared about good things, made well, that worked in a real woman's day: soft enough for hours on your feet, refined enough to feel like yourself. A loafer you wear with everything. A dress cut the way a dress ought to be. The bag you never leave home without.
"Every day deserves to be dressed for. A quiet Tuesday counts. A walk to the post box counts. You count."
— Vivian, Vivian & Claire
Carrying it forward
When Vivian stepped away, the wardrobe came to me. I'm Claire, her niece, and the girl who grew up among her rails and fabric samples.
I'll be honest: I'm no fashion insider. I don't follow the runways, and I've never read a fashion magazine cover to cover.
The shop on the Boston waterfront has closed its doors. Vivian's standard hasn't. Every piece we offer is still chosen her way: not because it's new, but because it's beautiful, well made, and meant to last.
We're here for women who know their own taste. Women who build a wardrobe instead of chasing one. Women who know that one pair of shoes that fits, feels good all day and goes with everything beats a handful you'll forget by spring.
How the wardrobe moves
Vivian believed nothing should stay on the rail longer than it earns its place. When something better arrives, you make space, and you let the old go at a fair price.
I still work that way. When new pieces come in, the earlier ones are offered at a lower price. There's nothing wrong with them; it's simply how a good wardrobe keeps moving. Pieces rotate. Space opens up. Good things find a new home.
Whenever a sale is on, you'll see it clearly on the site. Those are the moments to keep an eye out for.
Thank you for finding us. Vivian would have liked you straight away.
— Claire