Rhea | Breathable Striped Summer Blouse

"I had it on for three hours in the sun, in and out of the car and the air conditioning, and I forgot about the sleeves entirely. My sister said I looked ten years younger. I told her it was a long sleeve on one of the warmest days of the year."

The Rhea is the blouse our customers buy when they have quietly given up on long sleeves in summer. Too warm, too clingy, or too obviously there to cover something. This is the one that changed their minds.

A softly striped long sleeve blouse cut from a soft and breathable fabric that genuinely stays cool, with a relaxed crew neckline and an easy silhouette that flatters without billowing. The stripes are the classic kind — the sort you would have called timeless in a J.Crew catalog twenty years ago. Light enough to forget you have sleeves on. Lovely worn loose, equally polished tucked into white trousers with a small necklace. It reads as a nice blouse you put on without thinking, not as something you wore to hide. The style is effortlessly everyday, and the relaxed fit skims rather than clings — making it just as at home at a summer lunch as it is on a weekend errand or a casual dinner out.

Why women our age keep coming back for it

Long sleeves that are not hot. The whole point. The soft and breathable fabric stays cool in the sun, so you are not peeling it off in a parking lot by eleven in the morning.

Easy arm coverage, without looking like coverage. It reads as a nice blouse you put on without thinking, not as something you wore to hide.

A relaxed cut that flatters. Loose enough to skim, structured enough that it does not billow. Beautiful untucked, polished tucked in.

Three quiet colors. Soft blue, khaki, and a gentle gray. Most of our customers buy two.

Why the price is what it is

$52.95 for a blouse you will actually keep reaching for, when it normally sells for $139.95, is frankly on the suspicious side. Most of our customers ask. So here is the honest comparison, written on the back of a notepad in our office.

• Eileen Fisher striped top — $178
• J.Jill striped blouse — $79
• Ellis & Rose Rhea — $52.95

We are 22 years old this month, and the Anniversary Sale is the only time of year we let go of these prices. Once a color is gone for the season, it is gone until next year.

Stack the sizes, stack the savings

• Buy 2, save 15% extra
• Buy 3, save 20% extra
• Buy 4, save 25% extra
• Buy 5, save 30% extra

The discount comes off automatically in the cart. Most customers grab two colors. The soft blue is already running low in the middle sizes.

What arrives at your door

Every order comes wrapped in soft tissue inside a small kraft paper parcel, tied with natural twine, with a handwritten note from Eleanor tucked inside. About a week to arrive. Tracked. Free.

"Thank you for trying us. Hope this one earns its place in your closet."

How it fits

The Rhea runs true to size with a relaxed, lightly loose fit, and is available in S through 2XL. If you are between sizes or prefer a roomier drape, size up by one.

No questions, 30-day returns

If it does not earn a place in your closet, send it back within 30 days for a full refund. No restocking fee, no questions. We would rather it went to someone who will wear it.

A few of the recent reviews

"The first long sleeve I have worn to a summer lunch in twenty years. It is genuinely light, it does not cling, and I stopped hiding my arms in photographs." — Margaret, 64

"I bought the blue and the khaki. Lovely with white trousers and a small necklace, and it does not feel warm at all." — Jennifer, 58

"I have three cardigans I bought only to cover my arms at dinner. I have not reached for any of them since this arrived." — Linda, 71

Loved by 847 verified buyers, most of them women aged 50 to 80.