A letter from a reader

At 62, the cosy jumper that puts autumn right on me

Six things that make the Autumn the loveliest jumper for the season, from a woman who is not a fashion writer.

Caroline Richards · Customer · Nottinghamshire · 5 min read

Let me be plain about who is talking. I am Caroline, I am 62, I live in Nottinghamshire, and I have never once sat down to write about a jumper in my life. What I have is a real love of this time of year, the leaves turning, the first proper chill, and an autumn wardrobe that had gone all sensible and plain, jumper after jumper in the same safe cream and grey and navy, none of it feeling like the season I loved. So this is not a review. It is a woman who wanted a bit of the autumn out of her window to be on her, and found it, saying why.

The one I am writing about is called the Autumn, from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is a soft, cosy jumper with the loveliest falling maple leaves printed down the sleeves, in all the ambers and oranges of the season. When the boutique later asked if they could put my letter up for others to read, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.

I pulled it on that first crisp morning, caught the leaves drifting down my sleeve in the mirror, and felt, for once, dressed for the season I love. That was the moment it won me over. Read on.

Here is the little sadness that had crept up on me. I would stand at the wardrobe on a beautiful golden morning, everything outside turning amber and russet, and put on the same plain cream jumper as always, because that is what sensible women my age wear. Warm, yes. But I felt none of the joy of the season I was looking at, and I had rather decided a bit of colour and pattern was for the young.

Every autumn I put on the same plain jumper while the whole world outside turned amber. This one finally lets me wear the season I love.

The Autumn is the first jumper I have owned that is cosy and warm and actually feels like autumn, and having barely had it off since, I can tell you it comes down to six things.

Just some of the prints. Falling leaves like mine, pumpkins, sunflowers, pretty flowers and more.

1

A GORGEOUS AUTUMN PRINT THAT GETS COMPLIMENTS

This is the heart of it. The falling maple leaves drift so prettily down the sleeves and around the hem, in all the ambers and oranges of the season, that it is a proper little picture of autumn to wear. People stop to admire it wherever I go. After years of plain jumpers that nobody looked at twice, having something this cheerful on has quite lifted my mornings.

The falling maple leaves up close. A little picture of the season, worked into the knit.

★★★★★

The print is even prettier in person, the leaves are gorgeous. I get stopped every time I wear it. So cheerful for autumn.

Christine B., West Bridgford

2

SOFT, WARM AND PROPERLY COSY

It is not all show. It is a soft, gently textured knit that is genuinely warm and cosy, so on a crisp, cold morning it keeps the chill off beautifully while looking lovely. It is soft against the skin with no scratch or itch, just the sort of thing you want to pull on when the mornings turn and live in all day. Pretty and practical at once.

Cosy by the window with a cup of tea. Soft and warm as anything.

★★★★★

So soft and warm, and no itch at all. A proper cosy jumper for the cold mornings, not just a pretty one. I love it.

Margaret E., Southwell

3

A RELAXED, FLATTERING V-NECK

It is cut with a relaxed, easy shape and a soft V-neckline, so it skims gently over the middle rather than clinging, and the V draws the eye up and flatters the neckline and the face. It is comfortable and forgiving through the tummy, with nothing tight anywhere, so it looks pulled-together and elegant while being as easy as a favourite old jumper.

Out on a crisp morning. The V-neck flatters, and the fit skims not clings.

★★★★★

The V-neck is so flattering and it skims rather than clings. Comfortable and elegant at once. It suits me beautifully.

Dorothy S., Beeston

4

IT THROWS OVER EVERYTHING

It goes over everything I own, my jeans for the shops, my leggings on a lazy day, a skirt if I am making an effort, and it always looks right and always looks like autumn. I can dress it down or up and it pulls the whole outfit together with a bit of seasonal colour. It has quietly become the first thing I reach for now the mornings have turned.

Also in cheerful pumpkins. Over jeans, over leggings, it always looks like the season.

★★★★★

Goes with everything, jeans, leggings, a skirt. I reach for it every morning now. Cheerful and easy and always right.

Pauline H., Arnold

5

A WHOLE AUTUMN OF PRINTS TO CHOOSE FROM

Here is the joy of it. It comes in a whole range of autumn prints, so there really is one for everyone. My falling maple leaves, cheerful orange pumpkins, soft watercolour pumpkins, sunflowers, pretty flowers, even a playful cat print. Whatever bit of autumn you love best, there is a print that will feel as though it was made for you, and they make lovely gifts too.

Soft watercolour pumpkins, another favourite. There is a print to suit everyone.

★★★★★

I could not choose, there are so many lovely prints. I ended up with the pumpkins and the leaves. Both gorgeous.

Eileen T., Newark

6

HONEST SIZES, AND HALF PRICE

The sizing runs honestly from a small right up to a 4XL, cut relaxed so it sits well and flatters whatever your figure, with none of that meanness you get where the bigger sizes are an afterthought. And at half price, a cosy jumper this pretty is the sort of small treat that quietly makes every autumn morning better. I have the leaves, and I am rather tempted by the flowers as well.

Pretty florals too, for something a little softer. Honest sizes, and gorgeous whichever you pick.

★★★★★

Goes up to my size and still looks lovely and relaxed, not an afterthought. Such a pretty jumper for the price.

Maureen C., Bingham

The Autumn, against the plain jumper you wear because it is sensible

You can have a drawer full of warm jumpers and still feel plain and sensible all season, while the world outside turns gold. I know, because I did. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.

About the price

The Autumn is £31.95 at the moment. It was £64.00.

I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that with so many different prints the popular ones are the first to go, and with the autumn sale on they are going quickly, so once a print has sold out it can be a wait for it to come back. Their words, not mine. What I can tell you from my side is that half price is usually where I start asking what is wrong with a thing, and for a jumper this soft and this pretty, I have found nothing wrong with it.

And I do not trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I ordered. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.2 stars, which sounded like real women rather than robots, so I read on. The same six things I have just walked you through come up in them, over and over, in other women's words.

If your autumn wardrobe has gone all plain and sensible, and you fancy wearing a bit of the season you love, this is the jumper I would hand you myself, while your favourite print is still in stock. Go and have a look.

Caroline

AUTUMN | COSY SWEATER WITH PRINT

★★★★☆ 4.2 out of 5 from 300+ reviews

£64.00 £31.95

• A gorgeous falling-leaf autumn print that gets compliments
• Soft, warm and properly cosy for crisp days
• A relaxed, flattering V-neck that skims not clings
• Throws over jeans, leggings or a skirt
• A whole range of autumn prints to choose from
• Honest sizes S to 4XL
• Free UK delivery and 30 day returns

See the Autumn jumper

The autumn sale is on now. With so many prints, the popular ones go first.