The colourful hoodie everyone is asking us about: our honest verdict
The colourful hoodie everyone is asking us about: our honest verdict
You may well have seen it already. Here is what I really think, who it suits, who should think twice, and the questions readers ask before they order.
By Helen Marsh, Style EditorTwenty years as a personal shopper · 5 min read
The Amanda, the piece our readers have asked about more than any other this autumn.
No piece has filled our post bag this autumn quite like this one. Readers have seen it, loved it, and then written to ask me the same thing in a dozen different ways: is it really for a woman of my age, and will I actually wear it? Those are good questions. You should ask them of anything this colourful. So I have answered them as honestly as I can.
It is called the Amanda, from Nottingham Boutique, the boutique behind this journal. It is a relaxed, quilted hoodie with a patchwork-style sunburst across the front: a big golden sun with rays of every colour fanning out from it, and a drawstring hood. On a hanger, it is a lot. On a woman, on a grey morning, it is something else entirely.
On a hanger, it is a lot. On a woman, on a grey morning, it is something else entirely.
The verdict
Editor's Pick, Autumn 2026
The most cheerful thing you can put on in the grey months, and far easier to wear than it looks.
The questions readers ask, answered honestly
Is it too young for me?
No. What makes clothes look too young is a tight cut or a slogan across the chest, and this has neither. It is a relaxed shape in a quilted, patchwork-style design, which is about as grown-up as pattern gets. Worn with dark jeans, it looks warm and cheerful, not borrowed.
With ordinary jeans. Cheerful, not costume.
Is it too loud?
It is bright, there is no getting away from that. But it is not loud in the way a single neon colour is loud. The colours are warm and many, and the quilted texture softens them, so from across a room it reads as sunshine rather than shouting.
Up close, the stitched texture is what softens all that colour.
Will it go with my clothes?
This is where it surprises people. Because every colour is in the pattern, it goes with almost everything: navy, grey, black, denim, cream. If your wardrobe is full of dark neutrals, it does not fight them. It gives them all a job to do.
On top of a wardrobe of greys and navies, exactly where it does the most good.
How does it fit?
Relaxed and easy, with long sleeves and a drawstring hood. It is not clingy anywhere. Most readers order their usual size. The range runs from UK 4/6 right up to UK 22/24.
Is it worth the money?
It is £29.95 in the autumn sale, down from £60.00. Measure it by how often you will reach for it. On a grey day, readers tell us, it is the first thing they pick up. At that price, worn that often, I think it is one of the best-value pieces on the site.
Helen's styling notes
Three small things that make bold colour look effortless
- Let the piece be the jewellery. With this much colour, skip the necklace. A wedding ring and a pair of small studs is all it needs.
- Take your trousers from the darkest colour in the pattern. Dark indigo jeans or navy trousers ground a bright top better than anything pale.
- Tidy the neckline. Let the hood lie flat at the back and pull the drawstrings to the same length. It is a two-second habit that makes a casual piece look put together.
Three ways I would wear it
One piece, three ordinary days, and nothing new to buy to go with it.
Way oneWith your darkest jeans
Dark indigo jeans and a plain flat shoe. The easiest outfit there is, and the one I would wear to the garden centre on a Saturday.
Way twoOn a wet day at home
With soft trousers and a cup of tea by the window. This is the day it was made for, when the sky is grey and you need a little sunshine.
Way threeOver your navy and grey
Pull it on over the plain jumpers and trousers you already own. Suddenly, the whole dull wardrobe looks chosen.
What readers say
Just over three hundred reviews, averaging 4.2 stars. I trust that more than a perfect five. These are typical of them.
Everyone smiles when I wear it. On a wet Monday in November that is worth every penny.
Margaret S., ArnoldI was worried it would be too much. With my jeans it just looks cheerful, not costume.
Valerie T., MansfieldMy wardrobe is all navy and grey. This brought the whole lot back to life.
Christine B., BeestonThe price
The Amanda is £29.95 in the autumn sale, down from £60.00. Delivery is free, and there are thirty days to return it if it is not right, which takes the risk out of trying something this cheerful for the first time in years. The middle sizes always go first, so if you have been thinking about it, I would not leave it long.
You asked
A few more questions, answered
Is it real patchwork?
It is a quilted, patchwork-style design rather than hand-pieced patchwork, so it has the look and the stitched texture of a quilt with the ease of an everyday hoodie.
Does it come in other colours?
Just the one, the sunburst you see here. Every colour is already in it, which is rather the point.
What size should I order?
Your usual size. It is a relaxed fit, so there is no need to size up. Sizes run from UK 4/6 to UK 22/24, and with thirty days to return it, there is no risk in trying.
The Editor's Pick
AMANDA | Colourful Quilted Hoodie
- A quilted sunburst in every colour
- Patchwork-style pattern with stitched texture
- Relaxed fit with long sleeves
- Drawstring hood
- Goes with jeans or casual trousers
- UK 4/6 (2XS) to UK 22/24 (5XL)
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
In the autumn sale now. The middle sizes go first.
About the writer. Helen Marsh is the Style Editor of the Ageless Style Journal. She spent twenty years as a personal shopper, dressing women in fitting rooms from a size 8 to a 24, before starting the Journal to share what she learned there with women over 55. Her golden rule: the best clothes are the ones you can put on without a second thought, and still feel like yourself in.
The Ageless Style Journal is published by Nottingham Boutique. This page is an advertisement for Nottingham Boutique.
Nottingham Boutique · free UK delivery · 30 day returns