At 62, the Cosy Set Decent Enough to Go Out In
At 62, the comfy set that is cosy as pyjamas but decent to go out in
Six things the Heart gets right that comfy clothes 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 jogging set in my life. What I have done is spend years in saggy old joggers and bobbly cardigans that I only ever wear about the house, because I would be mortified to be caught out in them. So this is not a review. It is a woman who finally found something comfy she is also happy to be seen in, saying why.
The one I am writing about is called the Heart, 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 at the café by the church, cosy and yet completely put together, 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 jogging set. I can hear you, because I said the same to my friend Sue. Those are scruffy, giving-up clothes, I thought. Then I saw how soft and how tidy she looked in the matching set, comfy as anything but perfectly decent, and I changed my mind. Read on.
Here is what years of comfy clothes taught me. When we want to be comfortable we tend to end up in two sorts of thing. The scruffy sort, the old joggers and the stretched cardigan, cosy enough but the sort you would dive behind the sofa in if someone knocked. And the not-really-comfortable sort, the "smart casual" that still nips and needs thinking about. I have owned plenty of both and never once had one thing that was properly comfy and properly presentable at the same time.
Scruffy old joggers I would hide in, or smart clothes that were not truly comfy. That was the choice, and neither let me relax and answer the door.
The Heart is the first thing I have owned that is both, and having all but lived in mine, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The morning it arrived. Two soft pieces, made to go together, and cosy in the hand.
IT IS A MATCHING SET, SO YOU LOOK PUT TOGETHER IN ONE DECISION
This is the part that changes everything. The hoodie and the joggers are made to go together, so you put on the two pieces and you look pulled together, even though you are as comfy as can be. There is none of the standing there wondering if things match. One decision, and you are dressed and tidy, which on a comfy day when I cannot be bothered to think is worth its weight in gold.
Because it matches, I look like I have made an effort when really I have done nothing at all. So easy in the mornings.
Christine B., West BridgfordIT IS ULTRA-SOFT AND PROPERLY COSY
The fabric is the loveliest thing, soft and warm and gently fleecy against the skin, so putting it on is like being wrapped up warm. It is genuinely cosy, the sort of thing you do not want to take off on a cold evening, and it keeps that softness wash after wash rather than going hard and bobbly the way cheap joggers do.
The soft brushed fleece and the little heart. Warm, soft and cosy as can be.
So soft and warm, like being wrapped in a blanket. I do not want to take it off of an evening.
Margaret E., SouthwellA FORGIVING FIT, WITH A WAIST THAT DOES NOT DIG
It is cut with a relaxed, forgiving fit and a bit of gentle stretch, and the joggers have a soft drawstring elastic waist, so nothing digs in or pinches after your dinner. You can potter and sit and relax in perfect comfort, and it skims rather than clinging, so it is comfortable and kind to the figure at the same time.
The soft waist does not dig in at all, and it is roomy and comfortable. I can relax properly in it after tea.
Dorothy S., BeestonA SNUG HOOD AND A HANDY POCKET
The hoodie has a lovely snug hood, lined and soft, that you can pull up when there is a chill in the house or the wind is up outside. And there is a big kangaroo pocket across the front, which is just the thing for warming your hands, or keeping your phone, your glasses and a tissue close by. Small comforts, but they are the things you reach for all day.
The cosy hood and the handy front pocket. For warm hands and your bits and pieces.
The hood is so snug and the front pocket keeps my hands warm and my phone handy. I use it all day long.
Pauline H., ArnoldDECENT ENOUGH TO LEAVE THE HOUSE IN
Here is the real difference. Because it is a smart, tidy matching set rather than tired old joggers, I am perfectly happy to be seen out in it. I have worn it to answer the door, to do the school run for my daughter, and down to the café for a coffee, and I have felt comfy and presentable the whole time. It is not just for hiding on the sofa, and that is rather the point.
The set, ready to grab. Cosy for the sofa, tidy enough for the café.
I am happy to nip to the shops in it, which I would never do in my old joggers. Comfy and presentable at last.
Eileen T., NewarkSIX COLOURS, AND HONEST SIZES
The sizing runs honestly from a small up to a 3XL, so it fits comfortably with no straining or swamping, and it washes and wears beautifully with no fuss. It comes in six colours, my soft blue and a green, a black, a grey, a beige and a pink, so there is one to suit everyone. I have the blue. I am half tempted by the grey so I have one on the go while the other is in the wash.
It goes up to my size and is so comfortable, and it washes lovely. I have ordered a second colour to alternate.
Maureen C., BinghamThe Heart, against the comfy clothes you have been wearing
You can find a jogging set for thirty-odd pounds almost anywhere. I know, because I have a drawer full of them, most of them saggy and scruffy. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Saggy old joggers and a bobbly cardigan
Nothing matches, looks thrown together
Goes hard and bobbly after a few washes
Waistbands that dig in after dinner
Only fit for hiding on the sofa
A matching set, put together in one move
Ultra-soft, warm and properly cosy
Keeps its softness wash after wash
Soft drawstring waist that never digs
Tidy enough to leave the house in
About the price
The Heart is £36.95 at the moment. It was £74.00.
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 for the next cosy morning that calls for it.
If your comfy clothes are all saggy joggers and bobbly cardigans you would not be seen out in, and you would like one soft set that is cosy and tidy at once, this is the one I would put in your hands myself, while your size is still there. Stop dithering and go and have a look.
Caroline
HEART | COMFORT CASUAL JOGGING SET
- Matching soft hoodie and joggers set
- Ultra-soft, warm and properly cosy
- Relaxed forgiving fit, soft drawstring waist
- Snug lined hood and a handy front pocket
- Tidy enough to leave the house in
- Six colours, honest sizes S to 3XL
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
Popular colours and middle sizes go first.