At 62, the Black Jacket Just Right for Autumn
At 62, the black jacket that is just right for the in-between autumn days
Six things the Stacy gets right that in-between layers 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 jacket in my life. What I have done is be caught out by the autumn every year, stuck between a cardigan that is not quite warm enough and a great heavy coat that is far too much, ending up either cold or lugging something about I did not need. So this is not a review. It is a woman who finally found the layer that is just right for this time of year, saying why.
The one I am writing about is called the Stacy, 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 market on one of the first proper autumn mornings, warm and easy while the rest of us were caught out, 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 black denim jacket. I can hear you, because I said the same to my friend Sue. Denim will be stiff and not warm enough for autumn, I thought. Then I saw the soft knitted sleeves and how it went straight over her jumper, and I changed my mind. Read on.
Here is what a lifetime of autumns taught me. For these in-between days we tend to have two things in the wardrobe, and neither is right. The cardigan, cosy enough indoors but no match for a damp, fresh morning, so you end up chilled. And the winter coat, warm but far too heavy and formal for a quick trip to the market, so you swelter and lug it about. I have owned plenty of both and never once had the one layer that was just right for the season.
A cardigan that let the cold in, or a heavy coat that was far too much. Every autumn I was caught between the two, and neither one was right.
The Stacy is the first thing I have owned that sits perfectly in between, and having barely had it off since the mornings turned, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The morning it arrived. The denim looked smart, and then I felt how soft the sleeves were.
IT IS THE PERFECT IN-BETWEEN LAYER FOR AUTUMN
This is the whole point of it. It is warmer than a cardigan, being a proper denim body with cosy knitted sleeves, but it is nowhere near as heavy or as formal as a winter coat. On a fresh, damp autumn morning it keeps the chill off beautifully without weighing you down, and it is not so warm that you are stewing the moment you step into the shop. It is, quite simply, just right for this time of year.
The denim body, the soft black knit sleeves and the easy zip. Just right for a cool morning.
Warmer than my cardigan but not a heavy coat. It is exactly what I want on these in-between autumn mornings.
Christine B., West BridgfordIT LAYERS BEAUTIFULLY OVER A JUMPER
It is cut with a relaxed, easy fit, so it goes straight on over an autumn jumper with room to spare, no pulling across the back or straining at the sleeves. As the mornings get colder you simply add a warmer layer underneath and the Stacy still sits nicely on top. It is the layer that makes the rest of your autumn wardrobe work harder, right through the season.
It goes right over my thick jumper with no pulling at all. Lovely and roomy, so I can wrap up underneath as it gets colder.
Margaret E., SouthwellTHE SOFT KNIT SLEEVES MEAN YOU CAN ACTUALLY MOVE
The body has the smart look of a denim jacket, but the sleeves are a soft, stretchy knit, so there is none of that stiff, rigid, can-hardly-lift-your-arms feeling you get with denim. You can reach, drive, carry the shopping and hug a grandchild without a single tug across the back. It looks like a proper jacket and moves like your favourite old jumper.
The soft black knit sleeve. Smart to look at, and you can actually move in it.
The knitted sleeves make all the difference, I can move freely. Comfiest jacket I have owned, and it looks smart with it.
Dorothy S., BeestonAN EASY ZIP TO ADJUST AS THE DAY WARMS AND COOLS
Autumn days cannot make up their minds, and this lets you keep up with them. It fastens with a simple zip straight up the front, so it is on and off in a second, no fiddling with a row of little buttons. Zip it up against a cold, damp start, zip it down when the sun comes through by lunchtime. For hands that are not as nimble as they were, that easy zip is a small daily kindness.
The zip is so easy, up when it is nippy first thing and down when it warms up. On and off in a moment.
Pauline H., ArnoldTHE BLACK GOES WITH ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING
I chose the black, and I am so glad I did, because it goes with every single thing in my autumn wardrobe. Over jeans for the market, over trousers for a lunch, even over a dress on a milder day, it pulls the whole thing together without a moment's thought. The black is as easy to wear as a favourite old jacket, and it never looks scruffy the way a faded one can.
By the door, ready to grab over whatever I am wearing.
The black goes with everything I own, jeans, trousers, a dress. I reach for it every single autumn morning now.
Eileen T., NewarkSOFT BUT STURDY, IN FOUR COLOURS AND HONEST SIZES
For all that it is soft, it is well made and holds its shape wash after wash, no sagging and no bobbling on the sleeves. It comes in four colours, the black like mine, a blue denim, a grey and a black-and-white, and the sizing runs honestly from a small all the way up to a 5XL. I have the black. I am rather tempted by the grey so I have one for every autumn outfit.
It has washed beautifully and still looks smart, and it goes up to my size. The black is such a useful autumn colour.
Maureen C., BinghamThe Stacy, against the layers you reach for in autumn
You can find a casual jacket for forty-odd pounds almost anywhere. I know, because I have a peg full of them, most of them either too thin for the season or too heavy. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
A cardigan that lets the cold in
Or a heavy coat, far too much too soon
Stiff rigid denim you can barely move in
Fiddly buttons, or nothing to fasten
Fades and looks scruffy
Just right, warmer than a cardigan, not a coat
Layers easily over an autumn jumper
Soft knit sleeves, moves with you
Easy zip, adjust as the day changes
Smart black that goes with everything
About the price
The Stacy is £40.95 at the moment. It was £82.00.
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 upon us 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 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 fresh autumn morning that catches me out.
If autumn always catches you between a thin cardigan and a heavy coat, and you would like one easy layer that is just right for the season, this is the one I would put on your shoulders myself, while your size is still there. Stop dithering and go and have a look.
Caroline
STACY | CASUAL JACKET
- Black denim body with soft knit stretch sleeves
- The just-right in-between layer for autumn
- Layers easily over a jumper
- Easy zip fastening, adjust as the day changes
- Chest and hand pockets
- Black goes with jeans, trousers or a dress
- Four colours, honest sizes S to 5XL
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
Autumn is here. The middle sizes and popular colours go first.