At 62, the cowl-neck jumper that warms my neck like a scarf
At 62, the cowl-neck jumper that warms my neck like a scarf
Six things the Juliette gets right that jumpers 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 jumper in my life. What I have is a neck that feels the cold first, so I spent every winter winding a scarf round indoors and then getting too hot, or fussing with one slipping off my shoulders, never quite warm and never quite comfortable. So this is not a review. It is a woman who found a jumper that keeps her neck warm all on its own, saying why.
The one I am writing about is called the Juliette, from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is a soft knit jumper with a lovely big draped cowl neck, and mine is a warm autumn orange. It is one of a whole collection of cosy sweaters. 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 and, for the first time in years, did not reach for a scarf. The soft cowl was already doing the job. That was the moment it won me over. Read on.
Here is the little battle every cold morning used to bring. A round-neck jumper left my neck bare and draughty, and my neck, as I say, is where I feel the cold first, so on went a scarf, and off it slipped, and soon I was too warm and unwinding it again. A polo neck was too much, too hot and closed-in. I never seemed to land on warm-necked and comfortable at the same time, and had rather stopped trying.
My neck feels the cold first, and a scarf indoors was forever slipping and overheating me. This jumper simply wraps my neck up, softly, and leaves it there.
The Juliette is the first jumper I have owned that keeps my neck warm without a scarf and looks elegant doing it, and having barely taken mine off since, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The morning it arrived. Such a warm, lovely colour, and softer than I expected.
THE COWL IS LIKE A SOFT SCARF BUILT IN
This is the whole thing, really. The big, soft, draped cowl wraps gently right around the neck, just where the cold gets in, so it is really a soft scarf built into the jumper. There is no winding, no slipping, no unwinding when you get too warm, it simply sits there keeping the draught off. For a neck like mine that feels every chill, it has been the loveliest discovery.
The big soft draped cowl. A scarf built in, keeping the neck warm.
The cowl is like a built-in scarf. My neck is never cold now, and there is no scarf to slip about or overheat me. Wonderful.
Christine B., West BridgfordIT FRAMES THE FACE AND LOOKS ELEGANT
Here is the lovely surprise. Instead of looking bundled up, the way a scarf and a jumper can, the soft folds of the cowl drape neatly around the neckline and frame the face, so the whole effect is refined, elegant even. It draws the eye up and softens everything, so I look pulled-together and considered while being every bit as cosy as I would be under a blanket.
It looks so elegant, the soft folds frame my face beautifully. My friend asked if it was cashmere. Cosy and refined at once.
Margaret E., SouthwellA RELAXED FIT THAT SKIMS AND FLATTERS
The body is cut relaxed and soft, so it skims gently over the middle rather than clinging to it, and it stays looking easy and elegant rather than baggy. It is comfortable and forgiving through the tummy and the hips, with nothing tight anywhere, so it flatters without a bit of fuss. Cosy and flattering, which is just the combination I want at my age.
The soft cowl and the relaxed, skimming fit. Cosy at the neck, flattering through the body.
The fit is so flattering, it skims over my middle and does not cling. Comfortable and elegant, and warm where I need it.
Dorothy S., BeestonTHE LONGER HEM COVERS THE HIPS
It comes down a little longer at the hip, with a soft curved hem, so it covers the tummy and the hips and the tops of the trousers, all the bits I would rather have covered. It is long enough to wear comfortably over jeans or slim trousers without feeling I have to keep tugging it down, so I feel neatly covered as well as cosy.
The longer curved hem covers my hips and my tummy, so I feel properly covered. No tugging it down, it just sits right.
Pauline H., ArnoldA SOFT, LIGHT KNIT, WARM WITHOUT THE BULK
For all that it is so cosy, it is a soft, fine, lightweight knit rather than a heavy one, so it keeps you lovely and warm without weighing you down or adding bulk. It is breathable and gentle on the skin, just right for a cool day indoors or out under a coat, and never hot or heavy. Warm, soft and easy, from morning to night.
By the wardrobe, ready to pull on and keep the neck warm.
So soft and light, not a heavy jumper at all, but lovely and warm. It goes under my coat with no bulk too.
Eileen T., NewarkELEVEN LOVELY COLOURS, AND HONEST SIZES
The sizing runs honestly from an XS up to a 3XL, cut relaxed so it sits well and flatters whatever your figure. And the choice of colours is a joy, eleven in all, my warm orange and a red, a green, a brown, a soft beige and more, so there is a shade to suit and warm everyone. I have the orange for the autumn. I am rather tempted by the green as well.
Such a lovely choice of colours, and it goes up to my size and still drapes beautifully. So pleased I have ordered the beige too.
Maureen C., BinghamThe Juliette, against the jumper-and-scarf you keep fussing with
You can have a drawer full of jumpers and a basket full of scarves and still spend the winter fiddling with your neck. I know, because I did. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
A round neck leaves the neck draughty
A scarf slips and overheats you
A polo neck is too hot and closed-in
Bundled-up and fussy
Never quite warm and comfortable
A soft cowl, like a scarf built in
Wraps the neck, no slipping, no fuss
Cosy, but open and never stuffy
Drapes elegantly and frames the face
Warm-necked and comfortable at once
About the price
The Juliette is £34.95 at the moment. It was £70.00.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that the middle sizes and the popular colours are the first to go, and with the autumn sale on they are going quickly, so once a size or 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 for a jumper this soft and this warm, 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 across the collection, 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 cold morning that would rather have a warm neck than a scarf.
If your neck feels the cold first, and you are tired of scarves slipping about indoors, this is the jumper I would hand you myself, while your size is still there. Stop dithering and go and have a look.
Caroline
JULIETTE | COWL NECK SWEATER
- A big soft draped cowl, like a scarf built in
- Keeps your neck warm without a scarf
- Frames the face and drapes elegantly
- Relaxed fit that skims and flatters
- Longer curved hem covers the hips
- Soft, light knit, warm without the bulk
- Eleven lovely colours, honest sizes XS to 3XL
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The autumn sale is on now. Middle sizes and popular colours go first.