At 62, the quilted jacket that is like wearing a painting
At 62, the quilted jacket that is like wearing a painting
Six things that make this quilted floral jacket the loveliest layer for 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. But my autumn coats had all gone a bit sensible and a bit sad, the navy, the beige, the sort of thing you reach for without a second thought and that does nothing for you. Warm enough, but I had rather stopped feeling like myself in them. So this is not a review. It is a woman who found a jacket that keeps her warm and looks like a piece of art, saying why.
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 a lightweight quilted jacket, but printed with the most beautiful painted flowers, like a piece of art you can wear. Mine has bold blooms on 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.
I threw it on over a plain top that first cool morning, caught sight of the painted flowers in the mirror, and looked, for once, as though I had made a proper effort. That was the moment it won me over. Read on.
Here is the little defeat every autumn used to bring. When it turned cool, my choices were a stiff formal coat or the same sad navy anorak, warm enough but forgettable, the sort of thing nobody has ever once complimented. So I blended into the grey mornings and told myself that was simply what a coat was for.
A warm jacket had always meant a sensible, forgettable one. This one is just as warm and looks like a painting.
These jackets are the first I have owned that are genuinely warm and genuinely lovely at once, and having barely had mine off since, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The morning it arrived. Lighter in my hands than I expected for something so warm.
IT IS LIKE WEARING A PAINTING
This is the heart of it. Instead of a plain navy anorak, mine is covered in the loveliest painted flowers, bold blooms in coral and pink spilling across a deep navy, so it is a proper little work of art to wear. It draws the eye and lifts the whole outfit, and it is why people stop to admire it. A woman at the coffee morning actually asked if the flowers were a painting.
The print up close. Painted blooms on deep navy, like a canvas you can wear.
I have never had so many compliments on anything. People genuinely think it is hand-painted. It is like wearing a piece of art, and it is so warm. I have ordered a second.
Christine B., West BridgfordLIGHTWEIGHT WARMTH, WITHOUT THE BULK
For all that it looks special, it is a proper quilted jacket underneath, soft and lightly padded, so it keeps the chill off a crisp morning beautifully without the weight of a big coat. I am snug rather than bundled up, and it never feels heavy on my shoulders the way my old winter coat did. Warm and light at once, which is just what these transitional weeks want.
Hung by the door, ready to grab. Light as anything, and warm with it.
So light and yet really warm. No bulk at all, it does not weigh me down like my old padded coat. Perfect for autumn when a big coat is too much.
Margaret E., SouthwellIT LIFTS THE PLAINEST OUTFIT
Thrown over a plain white top and my jeans, that beautiful print does all the work, so a simple everyday outfit suddenly looks considered and rather artistic, as though I had planned it. I do not have to fuss or think, I just reach for it and I look pulled-together and a bit special. One jacket that quietly makes me look as though I have made an effort.
Over a plain top and jeans, the print does all the work.
Over jeans and a tee it makes me look like I have really thought about my outfit. So easy, and I get stopped and asked about it every single time.
Dorothy S., BeestonA FLATTERING, EASY CUT
It is cut with a relaxed, easy shape and a neat stand collar that drapes softly and skims rather than clings, so it flatters through the middle and sits nicely open over whatever I am wearing. There are proper pockets for my hands, a smart snap front, and it comes in honest sizes right up to a 4XL, cut to flatter whatever your figure. Comfortable and covered, never boxy.
The easy quilted shape, slung over the kitchen chair of a morning.
So flattering and comfortable. The relaxed shape skims over my middle and the pockets are lovely and deep. It goes up to my size and still looks elegant, not an afterthought.
Pauline H., ArnoldIT GOES WITH EVERYTHING
Mine has a deep navy ground, so for all the colour in the flowers it is surprisingly easy to wear, and goes over everything I own, my jeans, my trousers, a dress on a milder day. It has quietly become the first thing I reach for now the mornings have turned, whether I am off to the shops or out for a proper coffee.
Goes with absolutely everything despite all the colour. I have practically lived in mine since it arrived. So easy to throw on and always looks lovely.
Eileen T., NewarkHONEST SIZES, AND A JOY TO OWN
Here is the last of it, and a real relief. The sizing runs honestly from a 2XS right up to a 4XL, cut with the same easy, flattering shape whatever your figure, so what you order is what turns up. The stitching and the quilting feel properly made rather than thrown together, and it has quickly become the coat I am happiest to be seen in. It would make a lovely gift too, though I am rather keeping mine.
True to size and beautifully made. I am usually between sizes and this fits perfectly and looks elegant. Honestly the nicest thing I have bought in years, I have not stopped wearing it.
Maureen C., BinghamThese, against the sensible autumn coat you have been reaching for
You can spend every autumn in the same sad navy anorak, warm enough but forgettable, because that is what feels safe. I know, because I did. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Navy, beige, forgettable
Warm, but nobody ever comments
Heavy and bulky on the shoulders
Makes you blend into the grey
Sensible, and a little bit sad
A beautiful painted print, like art
Just as warm, and stops people in the street
Lightweight quilted, never bulky
Makes you look considered and lovely
Warm and joyful at once
About the price
The Amaya jacket is £49.95 at the moment. It was £100.00.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that with the autumn sale on these are going quickly and the middle sizes sell first, so once they have sold through it can be a wait for them 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 jacket this warm and this lovely, 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 things I have just walked you through come up in them, over and over, in other women's words.
If your autumn coats have gone a bit sensible and sad, and you would rather wear something lovely and still be warm, this is the jacket I would point you to myself, while your size is still in stock. Go and have a look.
Caroline
THE AMAYA QUILTED JACKET
- A beautiful painted floral print, like wearing art
- Lightweight quilted warmth, without the bulk
- Instantly lifts a plain top and jeans
- A flattering, easy cut with a neat stand collar and pockets
- A deep, versatile ground that goes with everything
- Honest sizes, 2XS to 4XL, cut to flatter
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The autumn sale is on now. With so many prints, the popular ones go first.