The oversized jumper everyone is asking us about: our honest verdict
The oversized jumper 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 Celinda in khaki, the piece our readers have asked about more than any other this season.
Few pieces have filled our post bag quite like this one. Readers have seen it, liked the look of it, and then written to ask me the same thing in a dozen different ways: is a hoodie really for a woman of my age, and will something that roomy swamp me? Those are good questions. You should ask them of anything oversized. So I have answered them as honestly as I can.
It is called the Celinda, from Nottingham Boutique, the boutique behind this journal. It is a soft knitted hoodie with an easy oversized shape: a hood with a small V-neck beneath it, two long drawstrings, wide sleeves that stop just past the elbow and a ribbed hem with side splits. On a hanger, it looks like a big jumper. On a woman, over a pair of jeans, it looks like she has her life in order.
On a hanger, it looks like a big jumper. Over a pair of jeans, it looks like she has her life in order.
The verdict
Editor's Pick, Winter 2026
The easiest thing to throw on this winter that still looks like you made a choice.
The questions readers ask, answered honestly
Is a hoodie too young for me?
Not this one. What makes a hoodie look young is sweatshirt fabric, a pouch pocket and a slogan, and this has none of them. It is a soft knit with a small V-neck and long drawstrings, so it reads as a jumper that happens to have a hood. Worn with jeans, it looks relaxed, not borrowed from your grandson.
With ordinary jeans. Relaxed, not gym kit.
Will it swamp me?
This is the worry I hear most, and the answer is in the details. The shoulder is dropped on purpose, the sleeves stop past the elbow so your hands stay free, and the hem has side splits so it falls straight over the hips rather than gathering round them. Big jumpers swamp when they are just a normal jumper made larger. This one is cut to be roomy.
The deep ribbed hem and side split. This is why it skims instead of swamps.
Will it go with my clothes?
It is made to go over jeans, trousers or leggings, and a plain white tee underneath is all it needs. If your wardrobe is mostly denim and neutrals, you already own everything you need to wear it.
A white tee and jeans. That is the whole outfit.
How does it fit?
Relaxed and easy, with the oversized shape built in, so order your usual size. It is not clingy anywhere. The range runs from UK 8/10 (S) right up to UK 24/26 (5XL), and in November I would wear it over a long-sleeved tee.
Over a long-sleeved tee for the colder months.
Is it worth the money?
It is £35.95 in the sale, down from £72.00. Measure it by how often you will reach for it. Readers tell us it is the first thing they pick up on a cold morning. 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 a big knit look deliberate
- Let a little white show. A plain white tee peeping at the V-neck and the hem frames the knit and lifts the whole outfit.
- Tie the drawstrings level. Pull them to the same length and let them hang straight. Two clean lines down the front make you look taller.
- Mind your shoes. A plain white trainer or a neat flat keeps the look light. A chunky boot under all that volume tips it over into swamped.
Three ways I would wear it
One piece, three ordinary days, and nothing new to buy to go with it.
Way oneWith straight jeans
Straight jeans and a plain white trainer. The easiest outfit there is, and the one I would wear for coffee with a friend on a Saturday.
Way twoOver a long-sleeved tee
A white long-sleeved tee underneath for the cold months. The cuffs sit neatly over it and the whole thing looks layered on purpose.
Way threeWith slim trousers
Slim dark trousers and a neat flat shoe. A little smarter, and just as easy to put on in the morning.
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.
I was sure an oversized jumper would make me look huge. It does the opposite. It just looks relaxed.
Jean H., CarltonAs easy as a hoodie but it looks like something a grown woman chose. I have had so many compliments.
Linda F., HucknallSoft and comfortable, and it does not look like a sack. I have ordered a second colour.
Maureen A., Long EatonThe price
The Celinda is £35.95 in the sale, down from £72.00. Delivery is free, and there are thirty days to return it if it is not right, which takes the risk out of trying an oversized shape for the first time. 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
Which colour should I choose?
It comes in ten. If you live in jeans, khaki is the one I would start with: warm, soft and easy with denim and white. Brown and black are the richest for winter, navy and grey are the quiet classics that go with everything you already own, and green, blue, pink, purple and red are for the days you want a little colour near your face.
Are the sleeves short for winter?
They stop just past the elbow, which is what keeps the shape light. In the colder months, wear a long-sleeved tee underneath and you have the best of both.
What size should I order?
Your usual size. The oversized shape is built in, so there is no need to size up. Sizes run from UK 8/10 (S) to UK 24/26 (5XL), and with thirty days to return it, there is no risk in trying.
The Editor's Pick
CELINDA | Chique Oversized Sweater
- Soft knit with a pleasant, smooth feel
- Relaxed oversized shape with a dropped shoulder
- Hood, small V-neck and long drawstrings
- Wide sleeves ending just past the elbow
- Ribbed hem with side splits
- 10 colours, UK 8/10 (S) to UK 24/26 (5XL)
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
In the 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