At 62, the Cosy Blue Fleece That Lifts a Grey Day
At 62, the cosy fleece that keeps me warm and lifts a grey day
Six things the Fenna gets right that cold-weather jackets get 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 jacket in my life. What I have done is spend too many winters shivering in a thin coat and fading quietly into the same tired greys, feeling the cold and feeling a little invisible with it. So this is not a review. It is a woman who finally found something that keeps her warm and puts a bit of cheer back in a grey morning, saying why.
The one I am writing about is called the Fenna, from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. I first saw it on a woman out on a grey, drizzly morning, the one warm and cheerful thing on the whole street, and 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.
A fleece, in a proper cheerful blue. I can hear you, because I said the same to my friend Sue. A fleece is a shapeless, scruffy thing in a dull sludge colour, I thought. Then I saw how snug and how lifted she looked in that lovely blue, and I changed my mind. Read on.
Here is what a lifetime of cold mornings taught me. For the winter we tend to have two things, and neither quite does. The thin pile, the light jackets that look tidy enough but let the wind straight through and leave you frozen. And the dull pile, the warm coats that do keep the cold off but come in the same lifeless black and grey that drain the colour from a grey day and from you. I have owned plenty of both and never once had one that was warm and cheering at the same time.
A thin jacket that let the cold in, or a warm coat in the same dull grey. Those were my winters, cold or colourless, and often both.
The Fenna is the first thing I have owned that is warm and cheering at once, and having barely had mine off since the cold set in, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The morning it arrived. Soft as anything in the hand, and such a lovely cheerful blue.
IT IS LIKE BEING WRAPPED IN A WARM HUG
The warmth is the whole point, and this delivers it. It is a soft, fluffy teddy fleece, thick and cosy, and putting it on is like being wrapped in a warm blanket, or a hug, the second it goes on. On the cold mornings when my old thin jacket used to let the wind cut straight through, the Fenna keeps me warm through and through. I have not shivered at the gate once since it arrived.
So warm it is like wearing a duvet. I used to be frozen on my morning walk and now I am cosy the whole way round.
Christine B., West BridgfordTHE CHEERFUL BLUE LIFTS A GREY DAY
This is the part I did not expect to love as much as I do. After years of black and grey, a proper cheerful blue like this does something lovely, it lifts a dreary morning and it lifts me with it. I feel brighter for wearing it, and I have had more compliments in a fortnight than in a year of dull winter coats. And if blue is not your colour, there are three others to choose from.
The blue is gorgeous and it honestly cheers me up on a grey day. So many people have stopped to ask me about it.
Margaret E., SouthwellTHE ZIP AND HOOD MAKE IT EASY AND PRACTICAL
It fastens with a proper zip up the front, so it is easy to get on and off without dragging anything over your head, and you can zip it up to your chin or open it as the day changes. And there is a soft, cosy sherpa-lined hood, so when the wind picks up or the drizzle starts on a walk, your head is covered without carrying an umbrella. Simple, sensible things that make all the difference on a cold morning.
The cosy sherpa hood and the easy zip. Warm and practical for a walk in any weather.
The zip is so easy on my hands and the hood keeps the wind off my ears. Just what I needed for the dog walks.
Dorothy S., BeestonIT IS LONG ENOUGH TO COVER YOU, WITH BIG WARM POCKETS
So many jackets stop at the waist and leave a cold gap across your back. This one is a good length, coming down past the hips, so it covers you properly and keeps the warmth where you want it. And there are two large, deep pockets at the front, so my hands go straight in and stay warm, with room besides for my phone and my keys. Warm all the way round, and warm hands too.
A good length that covers the hips, and two big pockets to keep your hands warm.
The length covers my hips so there is no cold gap, and the big pockets keep my hands toasty. No need for gloves.
Pauline H., ArnoldIT IS SURPRISINGLY LIGHT FOR HOW WARM IT IS
You would think something this warm would weigh a ton and feel like a great heavy overcoat. It does not. It is soft and surprisingly light to wear, so there is none of that dragging, sweaty feeling you get in a thick winter coat, and I can wear it all day, pottering about the house and out to the shops, without a thought. All of the warmth, and none of the weight.
So warm and yet so light to wear, not heavy like my big coat at all. I have it on from morning till night.
Eileen T., NewarkIT IS EASY TO WASH, IN FOUR LOVELY COLOURS
It goes in the machine and comes out soft and fluffy as new, so there is no fuss and no special care, which at our age is exactly what you want. And it comes in four lovely colours, the cheerful blue like mine, a soft green, a pink and a warm camel, so there is one to suit everyone. I have the blue. I am half tempted by the green for my sister.
By the door, ready to grab on the next cold, grey morning.
It washes beautifully and comes up like new, no fuss at all. Such a lovely cheerful colour too.
Maureen C., BinghamThe Fenna, against the coats you have been shivering in
You can find a winter jacket for thirty-odd pounds almost anywhere. I know, because I have a peg full of them, most of them either too thin or a dull, lifeless grey. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Thin, and lets the wind straight through
Or warm, but in the same dull grey
Stops at the waist, cold gap at the back
Small pockets, cold hands
Heavy, like lugging a great overcoat
Thick teddy fleece, warm as a blanket
A cheerful blue that lifts a grey day
A good length that covers hips and bum
Two big pockets to warm your hands
Surprisingly light for how warm it is
About the price
The Fenna is £34.95 at the moment. It was £70.00.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that the popular colours and the middle sizes are the first to go, and once a size in a colour has gone 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 I have found nothing wrong with this one.
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.
Folded away, ready to bring a bit of warmth and colour to the next grey morning.
If you spend the cold months shivering and fading into the same dull greys, and you would like one soft, warm layer that keeps you cosy and lifts your spirits, this is the one I would put on your shoulders myself, while your size is still there. Stop dithering and go and have a look.
Caroline
FENNA | WOMEN'S FLEECE JACKET
- Soft, thick teddy fleece, warm as a blanket
- A cheerful blue that lifts a grey day
- Zip front with a cosy sherpa-lined hood
- A good length that covers hips and bum
- Two big pockets to warm your hands
- Surprisingly light for how warm it is
- Machine washable, four colours, UK sizes S to 3XL
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
Popular colours and middle sizes go first.