A Letter From the Founder: The Rhea
A Letter From Eleanor · Founder of Eleanor & Co
Australia · September 2026
I Have Dressed Women Like Us for 22 Years. The Rhea Is the Long Sleeve I Make for the Cool Mornings and Warm Afternoons of Spring.
On the six things I insisted on for our striped Rhea blouse, why it is the one long sleeve that works when the mornings turn cool and the afternoons stay warm, and why it is clearing as we move online.
I am Eleanor, and I started Eleanor & Co 22 years ago, in a small shop a few streets back from the water. The Rhea is the blouse I make for the women who have quietly given up on long sleeves, because every one they owned was either too warm by lunch or too thin to be worth wearing.
Too warm, too thin, or too obviously there to cover something. That is what a long sleeve usually is. The Rhea is the one that changed their minds. The women who wore it all winter with the sleeves down are writing to me now, in September, to say it is the first thing they reach for on a cool morning, and of everything we are clearing as we move online, it is the piece I hear about most.
For years I watched women our age give up the sleeves they wanted, because the only choice was a sweater that had them roasting by ten or a blouse so thin it clung. Spring is the worst of it, cool at seven and warm by two, and nothing in the closet right for both. I never accepted that. A woman should be able to cover her arms and stay comfortable all day. The Rhea 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.
A lightweight cloth that actually breathes.
So a long sleeve finally stays comfortable from the cool of the morning to the warm of the afternoon. You can have it on all day, in and out of the car and the house, and forget you are wearing sleeves at all.
"I wore it with the sleeves down all winter. Now the afternoons are warming up I roll them to the elbow, and it is still not hot by the afternoon. My sister said I looked ten years younger."
Classic stripes that never date.
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.
"The stripes are so classic. It looks far more expensive than it was, and it goes with everything."
A relaxed crew neckline that flatters.
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.
"It sits just right at the neck. Comfortable from the first minute, no pulling or adjusting."
An easy cut that flatters without billowing.
Skims the body, instead of tenting out like a smock. Loose enough to wear over trousers and under a cardigan on the few mornings you need one, shaped enough to look like you chose it.
"It skims instead of billowing. The first long sleeve in years that does not make me look bigger than I am."
Full sleeves that roll up or stay down, with no extra warmth.
Rolled to the elbow when the afternoon sun comes through, down to the wrist when the evening turns. The part most women want covered, covered, and not a degree of heat added for it. That is the whole trick of the Rhea.
"Finally, sleeves that cover the tops of my arms without cooking me. I wore it all winter and I am wearing it into spring."
Three soft colours that sit with what you own.
Blue, khaki and grey, each chosen to go with the trousers, jeans and cardigans already in your wardrobe, so the Rhea earns its place from the first cool morning.
"I bought the blue, then went back for the grey. They go with everything I own."
The Rhea, against the long sleeves you have been buying
You can find a long sleeve for fifty dollars almost anywhere. I know, because before I made the Rhea I bought a great many of them, trying to find the one that did not roast me by noon or leave me cold at seven. Here is the difference.
A heavy or synthetic cloth that traps heat
Clings, or tents out like a smock
A trend print you will not wear next year
Thin enough to see through
Tight at the neck and the cuffs
Lightweight cloth that actually breathes
Skims the body without billowing
Classic stripes you will wear for years
Opaque, even in bright sun
A relaxed neck and easy sleeves
A woman should be able to cover her arms on a cool morning and still be comfortable by the afternoon. The Rhea is the whole reason I stopped accepting that she could not.
Why the Rhea is clearing now
We are closing the shop and moving Eleanor & Co online, so the whole collection is clearing before the season turns, the Rhea with it. It is now $64.95, from $149.95, 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 shop has taught me anything, it is that a woman who tries the Rhea once usually comes back. That is the quiet bet I am placing in writing you this letter at $64.95.
I had given up on long sleeves until this one. I wore it all winter with the sleeves down, and now the days have turned it is the first thing I reach for. I have it in two colours. So light I forget I have sleeves on.
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. 4.7 stars across 935 women. If you have ever wanted one long sleeve that carries you from a cool morning to a warm afternoon, that covers your arms and never feels hot, this is the one I would put in your hands myself, while the colours are still in stock.
— Eleanor
The Rhea Long Sleeve Striped Blouse
- Lightweight breathable cloth, sleeves up or down without the heat
- Classic stripes, a relaxed flattering cut
- Free shipping & 30 day money back guarantee
Stack and save: buy 2 save 15%, buy more and save up to 30% extra.
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