At 62, the warm coat that also makes me smile
At 62, the warm coat that also makes me smile
Six things that make the Selene the perfect jacket for a cheerful 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 jacket in my life. What I had was a row of sensible winter coats all in the same sludgy colours, a black, a grey, a beige, warm enough but dull as ditchwater, and putting one on of a morning made me feel about as cheerful as the weather. I had decided a woman my age ought to be sensible, and sensible had quietly turned into drab. So this is not a review. It is a woman who found a warm coat that also makes her smile, saying why.
The one I am writing about is called the Selene, from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is a warm padded jacket, but with a lovely retro stripe across the front, the sort of cheerful thing I might have worn in my twenties. 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 that first cold morning, caught sight of the stripe in the mirror, and grinned like a girl. That was the moment it won me over. Read on.
Here is the little gloom that had crept up on me. Every coat I owned was warm and worthy and dull, and the greyer the weather the greyer I felt putting one on. I told myself colour and a bit of fun were for the young, so I kept to my sensible dark coats and felt sensible and dark all winter long. Warm, yes. Cheerful, never.
My coats were all warm and worthy and dull as ditchwater. This one is just as warm, and it makes me grin every time I put it on.
The Selene is the first winter coat I have owned that keeps me warm and cheers me up at once, and having barely had it off since, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The morning it arrived. That cheerful retro stripe made me smile before I had even tried it on.
A RETRO STRIPE THAT BRINGS A BIT OF FUN
This is the heart of it. It has a proper retro stripe across the front, a bit of that seventies cheer, so instead of another dull dark coat I have something with real character and a bit of joy in it. It makes me smile when I put it on, and it makes other people smile too. After years of worthy grey coats, a little fun on a cold morning has been a proper tonic.
The cheerful retro stripe, the cosy hood and the sturdy zip. Warm, and full of character.
Warm as anything and such fun to wear. I get a compliment every single time. It has cheered up my whole winter.
Christine B., West BridgfordGENUINELY WARM AND PADDED
It is not just for show. It is a proper padded jacket, warm and cosy right through, so on a cold, damp autumn morning it keeps the chill off beautifully. The padding is snug without being heavy, so I am warm from the school run to the shops and back, and never once wishing I had worn my old sensible coat instead. Cheerful and genuinely warm, both at once.
Lovely and warm, properly padded, keeps the cold right out. I was worried a fun coat would be thin, but it is toasty.
Margaret E., SouthwellA RELAXED FIT THAT LAYERS OVER A JUMPER
It is cut with a relaxed, easy shape, so it goes comfortably over a jumper without feeling tight or bundled, and I can move my arms and reach and do up my seatbelt without a fuss. There is room to layer up underneath on the coldest days, and it still sits neatly rather than like a great sack. Warm, roomy and easy, just as an everyday coat should be.
Roomy enough over a thick jumper and still looks neat. So easy to wear, and I can actually move my arms in it.
Dorothy S., BeestonA COSY HOOD FOR WHEN THE WEATHER TURNS
There is a snug hood, so when the drizzle and the wind come in, as they do, I can pull it up and carry on rather than getting caught out. It is the little bit of extra cover that means I can set off on a grey morning without fretting about the weather, and it sits softly at the back out of the way when I do not need it.
The stripe up close, and a hand in the cosy zip pocket. Warm and practical.
The hood has saved me more than once when the rain came in. So snug, and it tucks away neatly when I do not need it.
Pauline H., ArnoldHANDY POCKETS AND A PROPER ZIP
It has two good deep zip pockets at the front, so my hands, my keys and my phone all have somewhere warm and secure to go, and a proper sturdy two-way zip up the front that does up smoothly and keeps the draught out. The little practical touches are all there, done properly, so it is as sensible as it is cheerful. A fun coat that still works hard.
By the door, ready to grab. The one I reach for now, every time.
Lovely deep zip pockets for my hands and keys, and the zip is sturdy. All the sensible bits done properly. So pleased.
Eileen T., NewarkTHREE COLOURS, AND HONEST SIZES
It comes in three colours, my deep blue with the stripe and a couple of others, so there is one to suit whether you want to be bold or a touch quieter, and the sizing runs honestly from an XS up to a 3XL, cut relaxed to sit well over a jumper. I went for the deep blue and I am so glad I was brave, the stripe is the whole joy of it. At half price, a warm coat with this much cheer in it is almost unheard of.
I was nervous of the stripe and I am so pleased I was brave, it is gorgeous and warm. My size fit perfectly too.
Maureen C., BinghamThe Selene, against the sensible coats that make you feel drab
You can have a row of warm coats and still feel drab all winter, because every one of them is the same dull dark colour. I know, because I did. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Warm, but dull as ditchwater
Black, grey, beige, the same as everyone
Makes you feel drab on a grey day
Nobody looks at it twice
Worthy, and a little joyless
Just as warm and padded
A cheerful retro stripe with character
Makes you smile every time
People stop and admire it
Warm and full of fun at once
About the price
The Selene is £41.95 at the moment. It was £86.00.
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 coat this warm 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.
Ready for the next grey autumn morning that could do with a bit of cheer.
If your coats have all gone sensible and drab, and you fancy something warm that also makes you smile, this is the jacket I would hand you myself, while your size is still there. Be a little brave, and go and have a look.
Caroline
SELENE | RETRO PADDED JACKET
- A cheerful retro stripe with real character
- Genuinely warm and padded for autumn
- A relaxed fit that layers over a jumper
- A cosy hood for when the weather turns
- Handy zip pockets and a sturdy two-way zip
- Deep blue, blue or black, honest sizes XS to 3XL
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The autumn sale is on now. Middle sizes go first.