At 62, the Jacket That Replaced My Cardigan
At 62, the easy jacket that finally replaced my tired old cardigan
Six things the Stacy gets right that everyday jackets 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 spend years reaching for the same tired cardigan on every cool in-between morning, the sort of day that is not cold enough for a coat but too fresh to go without. So this is not a review. It is a woman who finally found something better to reach for, 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 school gates, helping with her grandchildren, 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 denim jacket, of all things. I can hear you, because I said the same to my friend Sue. A denim jacket will be stiff, I thought, I shall barely be able to lift my arms. Then I saw that the sleeves were a soft knit, and how easily she moved in it. Read on.
Here is what years of cool mornings taught me. For those in-between days we tend to have two things in the wardrobe. The tired pile, the same old cardigans that have gone bobbly and shapeless and make you feel dowdy. And the stiff pile, the proper jackets and rigid denim that look smart enough but you can hardly move in and never quite reach for. I have owned plenty of both and never once had one that was smart and comfortable at the same time.
A bobbly old cardigan, or a stiff jacket I could barely move in. Those were my two choices for every cool morning, and neither made me feel myself.
The Stacy is the first thing I have owned that is neither, and having barely had it off since, 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 LOOKS LIKE DENIM BUT WEARS LIKE A SWEATSHIRT
The stiff-denim worry I will deal with first, because it was my objection too. Here is the clever part. The body has the smart look of a denim jacket, with the pockets and the little snaps, but the sleeves are a soft, stretchy knit, so you can reach and move and drive and hug a grandchild without a single tug across the back. It looks like a proper jacket and feels like your favourite old sweatshirt, which I did not think was allowed.
The denim body, the soft knit sleeves and the easy zip. Smart to look at, soft to wear.
It looks like a smart denim jacket but the sleeves are so soft I can actually move. Comfiest jacket I have owned.
Christine B., West BridgfordIT DOES UP WITH A ZIP, NOT FIDDLY BUTTONS
It fastens with a simple zip straight up the front, so it is on and off in a second, no fumbling with a row of little buttons or stiff denim studs. When the day warms up I zip it down, when the breeze picks up I zip it back. For hands that are not as nimble as they once were, that simple zip is a small daily kindness.
The zip is so easy, on and off in a moment. My fingers struggle with buttons these days and this is no trouble at all.
Margaret E., SouthwellTHE V-NECK COLLAR IS FLATTERING, NOT BULKY
Instead of a big stiff collar that sits up round your ears and swamps you, it has a neat ribbed V-neck. It sits softly, frames the face and draws the eye up, and it leaves room for a scarf or a necklace if you fancy one. It is a small thing, but it is the difference between a jacket that wears you and one you wear.
The V-neck is so flattering, it does not swamp me like my old collared jackets. It sits beautifully.
Dorothy S., BeestonIT IS A RELAXED FIT, WITH ROOM TO LAYER
It is cut with a relaxed, easy fit, so there is room for a jumper or a warm top underneath without it pulling or straining anywhere. It skims rather than clings, which is exactly what I want these days, and there is a gentle stretch to it so it moves with you. Comfortable enough to potter about the house, smart enough to keep on for the shops.
The soft knit sleeve, and a proper pocket for your hands. Room to layer underneath.
Lovely and roomy, I can wear a jumper under it and still move freely. Nothing pulls, nothing clings.
Pauline H., ArnoldIT GOES WITH ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING
This is where a denim jacket earns its keep. It goes over everything I own, jeans for the shops, smart trousers for a lunch, even a dress for something nicer. The blue denim is as easy to wear as your favourite pair of jeans, and it pulls a whole outfit together with no thought at all. One jacket, and it works with the entire wardrobe.
On the wardrobe door, ready to grab over whatever I am wearing.
It goes with everything, jeans, trousers, a dress. I reach for it every single day now instead of my cardigan.
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. It comes in four colours, the blue denim like mine, a grey, a black and a black-and-white, and the sizing runs honestly from a small all the way up to a 5XL. I have the blue. I am rather tempted by the grey for the winter.
It has washed beautifully and still looks new, and it goes up to my size. I have ordered the grey as well.
Maureen C., BinghamThe Stacy, against the jackets you have been reaching for
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 stiff or dowdy. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
A bobbly cardigan, or a stiff rigid jacket
Fiddly buttons or stiff denim studs
A bulky collar that swamps you
Too snug to layer a jumper underneath
Dowdy, or smart but you cannot move
Denim look with soft, stretchy knit sleeves
Easy zip, on and off in a second
Flattering ribbed V-neck, never bulky
Relaxed fit with room to layer
Smart and comfortable, both at once
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 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 cool morning that catches me out.
If those in-between days leave you reaching for the same dreary cardigan, and you would like one easy jacket that is smart and comfortable at once, 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
- Denim-look body with soft knit stretch sleeves
- Easy zip fastening, no fiddly buttons
- Flattering ribbed V-neck collar
- Relaxed fit with room to layer
- Chest and hand pockets
- Goes with jeans, trousers or a dress
- Four colours, honest sizes S to 5XL
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
Middle sizes and popular colours go first.