At 62, the red blazer that made me feel noticed again
At 62, the red blazer that made me feel noticed again
Six things that make the Kathy the perfect blazer for a lift this autumn, 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 blazer in my life. What had happened to me, though, was that I had gone quietly invisible. My whole wardrobe had turned to black and grey and beige, all sensible and safe, and I had faded into the background, the sort of woman nobody looks at twice. I told myself colour was for the young, and I felt a little dull every single day. So this is not a review. It is a woman who found a bit of colour that made her feel like herself again, saying why.
The one I am writing about is called the Kathy, from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is a smart open-front blazer in a proper, cheerful red, with a fun little leopard-print cuff, and it has quite woken up my whole wardrobe. 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 put it on over a plain white top and my jeans, looked in the mirror, and for the first time in years I looked cheerful and alive rather than sensible and grey. That was the moment it won me over. Read on.
Here is the little sadness that had crept up on me. Every year my clothes got safer and greyer, until I could walk into a room and nobody's eye would land on me at all. It was not that I wanted to be gaudy, I just missed feeling like there was a bit of life to me. And I had convinced myself that a woman my age in a bright colour would look as though she was trying too hard. So I stayed in my greys, and felt dull.
My wardrobe had gone all safe and grey, and I had faded into the background. This one red blazer put the colour, and me, right back.
The Kathy is the first thing I have bought in years that makes me feel noticed in the nicest way, and having barely taken mine off since, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The morning it arrived. Such a proper, cheerful red, and that little leopard cuff made me smile.
A LIFT OF COLOUR THAT MAKES YOU NOTICED
This is the heart of it. A proper, cheerful red does what all my greys never could, it lifts my whole face and makes me feel seen again, in the nicest way. I walk in and people smile at me rather than past me. It is not loud or gaudy, it is just a warm, confident colour that says I am here and I have made an effort. After years of fading into the background, that lift has been a tonic.
The smart lapel and the little leopard-print cuff. Grown-up fun, not fuddy-duddy.
It lifts my whole mood, let alone my outfit. People smile at me now. I feel like me again after years in grey.
Christine B., West BridgfordIT INSTANTLY SMARTENS ANY OUTFIT
Slip it on over a plain top and jeans and you look pulled-together in a second, as though you planned it. It lifts the most ordinary outfit into something that looks considered, so I can throw it over what I already own, day or evening, and instantly look like I have made an effort. One blazer that quietly does the work of dressing me up.
Over a white tee and jeans it makes me look like I have really made an effort. So easy, and I get compliments every time.
Margaret E., SouthwellA FLATTERING TAILORED OPEN DRAPE
It is cut like a proper blazer, with a neat lapel and a soft structured shoulder, but it is open at the front so there is no buttoning and no tugging over the middle. It drapes down in two clean lines that skim either side and make me look neat and slim, without a thing pulling anywhere. Smart and flattering, and comfortable with it, which is just the combination I want.
The open front is so flattering, it skims down either side and nothing pulls. Smart shape, and comfortable to wear all day.
Dorothy S., BeestonA FUN, GROWN-UP LEOPARD CUFF
The sleeves turn back to show a little leopard-print cuff, and I cannot tell you how much I love that small touch. It is a wink of personality, a bit of grown-up fun, that lifts it above an ordinary blazer without being loud or trying too hard. It is the detail people notice and comment on, and it makes the whole thing feel a little special rather than plain.
The open drape and the turned-back leopard cuff. The little detail people always notice.
The leopard cuff is such fun, everyone comments on it. Grown-up and cheeky at once. It makes the blazer feel special.
Pauline H., ArnoldLIGHT AND COMFORTABLE, DAY TO EVENING
For all that it looks smart, it is a soft, light fabric rather than a stiff heavy one, so it is comfortable to keep on all day and straight into the evening. It does not crease into a heap or weigh on my shoulders, and it is breathable enough that I never want to take it off. From the shops to lunch to a dinner out, it simply comes with me.
By the door, ready to throw on and lift whatever I am wearing.
So light and comfortable I forget I have it on, and it takes me from day to dinner. Smart but never stiff. I love it.
Eileen T., NewarkA BOLD RED OR A CLASSIC BLACK, HONEST SIZES
It comes in my cheerful red or, if you would rather ease in gently, a classic black, and the sizing runs honestly from a small up to a 3XL, cut to sit well and flatter. I went for the red and I am so glad I was brave, but the black is lovely and smart too. Whichever you choose, it is the sort of small thing that quietly lifts every day.
I was nervous of the red and I am so pleased I was brave, it is gorgeous. My sister has the black and loves it too.
Maureen C., BinghamThe Kathy, against a wardrobe gone all safe and grey
You can have a wardrobe full of sensible clothes and still feel a little invisible, a little dull, every day. I know, because I did. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Black, grey and beige, sensible and dull
You fade into the background
Nobody looks at you twice
You feel a little invisible
Warm and tidy, but never a lift
A proper, cheerful colour that lifts you
You feel noticed, in the nicest way
People smile at you, not past you
Smart, flattering and a bit of fun
A lift every time you put it on
About the price
The Kathy is £36.95 at the moment. It was £74.00.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that the middle sizes are the first to go, and with the autumn sale on they are going quickly, so once a size 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 blazer this smart and this cheering, 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, 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 grey autumn morning that could do with a lift.
If your wardrobe has gone all safe and grey and you feel a little invisible this autumn, this is the blazer I would hand you myself, while your size is still there. Be a little brave, and go and have a look.
Caroline
KATHY | STYLISH BLAZER
- A proper pop of colour that makes you feel noticed
- Instantly smartens a top and jeans, or a dress
- A flattering open drape, no buttoning or tugging
- A fun grown-up leopard-print turned-back cuff
- Light and comfortable, day to evening
- A bold red or a classic black, honest sizes S to 3XL
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The autumn sale is on now. Middle sizes go first.