At 62, I have left a scarf on every bus in Nottinghamshire
At 62, I have left a scarf on every bus in Nottinghamshire
Six things the Estelle turtleneck gets right that forty years of scarves got wrong, 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. But I will tell you about my scarves. I have left them on buses, in cafés, on the back of a chair at the theatre and once, I am fairly sure, on a bench in Wollaton Park. Every winter I buy two more, and every winter they go missing one by one. So this is not a review. It is a woman who finally stopped losing them, saying so.
What I found is from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is called the Estelle, a relaxed turtleneck jumper with a tall, soft ribbed collar and a painted print all over. Mine is a soft lavender with a lattice of little deeper lilac shapes worked through it. 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.
No scarf. Still warm. Read on.
Here is how it happens, and I suspect it happens to most of us. The weather turns, the wind finds the gap at the back of the coat collar, and we reach for a scarf. Then the scarf slips, or it is too hot on the bus, so it comes off, goes on the seat beside us, and that is the last we see of it.
I did not need another scarf. I needed the warmth to be part of the jumper.
The Estelle is the first thing I have owned that keeps my neck warm without a single thing to take off and forget, and having worn it most days since it arrived, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The afternoon it came. The colour is even prettier in real life than it was on my phone.
A collar that does the scarf's job
The collar is tall and softly ribbed, and it stands up close round my neck, so the chill stays off without anything wrapped round me. It also frames my face nicely, which a scarf never quite managed once it had slipped round the back.
At home by the window. Warm right up to my chin, and nothing to come undone.
The collar keeps me lovely and warm. I have not worn a scarf since.
Margaret H., BeestonWarm without the bulk
It is a mid-weight jumper, so it is properly warm on a cold morning but not so thick that I am too hot the minute I step on the bus. No more peeling layers off and stuffing them in my bag.
Folded on the end of the bed, ready for tomorrow.
Warm but not heavy. Just right for the bus into town.
Jean T., ArnoldA print that does the work for you
The painted-look print is lovely up close, little lilac shapes in neat columns, softly blurred like watercolour. It is interesting enough that I do not need a necklace or a brooch. I put it on and I am dressed.
The print up close, and the soft ribbed cuff.
Such a pretty print. I get compliments every time I wear it.
Pauline W., HucknallRelaxed, with room to move
The shoulders are dropped and the body is roomy, so it never pulls or clings. I wear it loose with trousers, or tucked in at the front of my jeans when I want to look a bit smarter.
On the wardrobe door, ready for the morning.
Roomy and comfortable, and it still looks smart tucked in.
Sheila M., Long EatonEasy to layer
It goes over a T-shirt on a cooler day and still sits comfortably under my winter coat, with the collar showing above the lapels. It is lovely with jeans, trousers or a skirt.
Fits nicely under my coat and the collar looks smart above it.
Brenda P., CarltonEleven painted prints to choose from
Mine is the lavender, but there are eleven prints in the collection, from chestnut and sage to paisley, painted stripes and soft blue blooms. They come in sizes UK 8/10 right up to UK 22/24.
Bought the lavender, then went back for the sage one with the blue flowers.
Christine R., West BridgfordThis, against my old scarves
Most of us have a drawer full of scarves and a list of places we have left the rest. I know, because I have both. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Left on buses and benches
Slipping off all day
Too hot indoors, so off it came
One more thing to carry
Hid the jumper underneath
Cannot be left anywhere
A collar that stays put
Mid-weight, warm not heavy
One thing to put on
A print worth showing off
About the price
The Estelle is £39.95 at the moment. It was £80.00.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that with the cold weather starting the middle sizes are going first, and once this batch has gone it can be a long 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 after weeks of wearing it, I have not found it.
And I do not trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I went back for a second one. 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 you have a trail of lost scarves behind you, I would start here. Not because you need more jumpers, but because you deserve to be warm without anything to keep track of. Go and have a look while your size is still there.
Caroline
ESTELLE | Lavender Lattice Turtleneck
- Tall, soft ribbed collar that keeps the chill off
- Painted-look lavender lattice print
- Relaxed fit with dropped shoulders
- Mid-weight, warm without the bulk
- Ribbed cuffs and hem, lovely tucked or loose
- Eleven prints, UK 8/10 to UK 22/24
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The sale is on now, half price on every print in the collection.