At 62, I wore two jumpers under my rain mac all winter just to keep warm
At 62, I wore two jumpers under my rain mac all winter just to keep warm
Six things the Sigrid coat gets right that my old rain mac got 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 coat. But for years my winter went like this. A thin rain mac, because it was always about to rain, and two jumpers underneath it, because it was always cold. By the time I had wrestled my arms down the sleeves I felt like a stuffed cushion, and I was still chilly at the bus stop. So this is not a review. It is a woman who finally found one coat that does both jobs, saying so.
What I found is from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is called the Sigrid, a long hooded coat with a smooth weatherproof outer and a soft, cream fleece lining that goes all the way up inside the hood. Mine is a deep navy. 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.
One coat. One jumper. Read on.
Here is how it happens, and I suspect it happens to most of us. The warm coat is too heavy and gets soaked, and the rain coat keeps you dry but has nothing to it. So we pick the rain coat and pile on layers underneath, and spend the whole winter bundled up, too hot on the bus and cold again the minute we step off it.
I did not need more layers. I needed one coat that was warm and kept the weather off at the same time.
The Sigrid is the first coat I have owned that does both, and having worn it most days since it arrived, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The afternoon it came. I could feel how soft the lining was before I had even taken it out of the bag.
Warm inside, without the extra jumpers
It is lined right through with a thick, cream fleece, the curly, cosy sort. One ordinary jumper underneath is plenty now. The second jumper has gone back in the drawer, and I can move my arms again.
Hanging on the bedroom door. That lining is the whole story.
So warm and cosy. I only need a light jumper under it now.
Margaret H., BeestonA hood that is lined all the way up
The fleece goes right up inside the hood, so when I put it up it is soft round my face instead of cold and clammy. There is a drawcord to pull it in when the wind gets up.
The fleecy hood is lovely. Warm ears for the first time in years.
Jean T., ArnoldA smooth outer for wet, windy days
The outside is a smooth, matte weatherproof fabric made for cold, wet and windy days, and it does not rustle or shine. It looks like a proper coat, smart enough for town and practical enough for a walk.
On the wardrobe door, ready for the morning.
Smart and practical. I wear it into town and on dog walks.
Pauline W., HucknallA zip with press-studs over it
A full zip goes up the front, and a flap with press-studs closes over the top of it. Zip up, press the studs, and the front is snug from the hem to the chin.
Love the studs over the zip. It feels really snug done up.
Sheila M., Long EatonDeep pockets with flaps
Two deep pockets at the hips, each with a flap and a press-stud, so my purse and phone stay put and my hands have somewhere warm to go while I wait for the bus.
Hands in pockets on the walk home. Proper deep ones.
Good deep pockets. My phone and purse are safe in them.
Brenda P., CarltonLong enough, with room for a jumper
It comes to just above the knee, so it covers my bottom and keeps the backs of my legs warm, and the straight, relaxed cut leaves room for a jumper underneath without pulling. It comes in sizes UK 8/10 to UK 20/22.
Lovely length and plenty of room for a jumper underneath.
Christine R., West BridgfordThis, against my old rain mac
Most of us have a thin rain mac on the hook by the door, and a pile of jumpers to go under it. I know, because I had both for twenty years. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Thin, with nothing to it
Two jumpers underneath
A cold, clammy hood
Shallow pockets
Stopped at the hip
Fleece-lined all the way through
One jumper is plenty
A soft, fleecy hood
Deep flap pockets
Long, just above the knee
About the price
The Sigrid is £59.95 at the moment. It was £120.00.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that with the cold weather starting the middle sizes are going first, and once this batch has gone it can be a long 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 after weeks of wearing it, I have not found it.
And I do not trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I told my sister to get one. 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.
If you are spending another winter in a thin mac and two jumpers, I would start here. Not because you need more coats, but because you deserve to be warm and dry in one go. Go and have a look while your size is still there.
Caroline
SIGRID | Navy Fleece-Lined Hooded Coat
- Soft sherpa-style fleece lining, right up through the hood
- Smooth, matte weatherproof outer
- Deep hood with a drawcord
- Full zip under a press-stud storm flap
- Two deep flap pockets
- Long line, just above the knee, UK 8/10 to UK 20/22
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The sale is on now, half price. Also in burgundy, black, olive green, tan and light grey.