At 62, the layer that is half cardigan, half jacket
At 62, the layer that is half cardigan, half jacket
Six things the Vienna gets right for the in-between days, 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 cardigan in my life. What always caught me out were the in-between days, too warm for a proper coat, too cold and draughty for just a top, and my cardigans never quite bridged the gap, hanging there soft and saggy and doing very little. So this is not a review. It is a woman who finally found the right layer for those days, saying why.
The one I am writing about is called the Vienna, from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is a soft knitted cardigan in a lovely khaki check, but with a proper collar and buttons, so it is really half cardigan and half jacket. 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 over my jeans and a plain top on a cool morning, and it was exactly right, warmer than a top, easier than a coat, and it looked smart. That was the moment it won me over. Read on.
Here is the gap the in-between days always found in my wardrobe. On one side, my coats, warm but far too much for a mild, bright morning, and a faff to carry once the sun came out. On the other, my cardigans, soft and easy but not quite warm enough, and forever hanging shapeless and saggy so I felt I had made no effort at all. There was nothing in the middle, nothing that kept the chill off and still looked pulled-together, so I was forever too hot or too cold.
Too warm for a coat, too cold for a cardigan. The in-between days always caught me out, until this became the layer I reach for on every one of them.
The Vienna is the first thing I have owned that fills that gap exactly, and having barely taken mine off since, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The morning it arrived. A lovely soft khaki check, softer than I expected, and smart with it.
IT DOES THE JOB OF A JACKET, COSY AS A CARDIGAN
This is the whole thing, really. It has the collar, the buttons and a bit of structure of a light jacket, so it keeps the chill off and covers you properly, but it is made of a soft, cosy knit, so it feels like a cardigan, easy and comfortable with nothing stiff about it. It is genuinely the best of both, and it is the reason I reach for it over everything else on a cool day.
The knitted collar, the buttons and the soft khaki check. Half jacket, half cardigan.
It does the job of a jacket but feels like a cardigan. Warmer than a cardigan, comfier than a jacket, I reach for it every day.
Christine B., West BridgfordPERFECT FOR THE IN-BETWEEN DAYS
Those tricky days when a coat is too much and a cardigan too little, this is exactly what they were waiting for. It keeps the draught off on a fresh, bright morning without leaving you roasting once the sun is up, and it is easy to slip off and carry over your arm if you warm through. For autumn and spring both, it is the layer I live in.
For those in-between days it is spot on. Warm enough on a cool morning, easy to take off if it warms up. I wear it constantly.
Margaret E., SouthwellTHE COLLAR AND BUTTONS LOOK SMART
This is what sets it apart from an ordinary cardigan. The proper knitted collar and the neat row of buttons give it a tidy, structured, pulled-together look, so it never hangs soft and saggy the way a plain cardigan does. It looks like a considered layer, something you chose, rather than something you grabbed, and it lifts a plain pair of jeans no end.
The collar and buttons make it look so smart, not saggy like my old cardigans. It makes jeans and a top look pulled-together.
Pauline H., ArnoldA SOFT, WARM KNIT, COMFORTABLE ALL DAY
For all that it looks structured, it is a lovely soft brushed knit, warm and comforting the moment it is on, with nothing scratchy or stiff about it. It has the give and the ease of your comfiest cardigan, so you can wear it all day, in and out of doors, and never once want to take it off. Warm, soft and easy, from morning to night.
The soft brushed knit and the neat buttons. Structured to look at, cosy to wear.
So soft and warm, like my comfiest cardigan, but it looks like a proper jacket. Comfortable all day long.
Dorothy S., BeestonIT THROWS OVER ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING
One layer, and it does the lot. Over jeans and a plain top for the shops, over a jumper for a colder day, over a dress for something nicer, buttoned up against the wind or left open. It goes with everything I own and finishes an outfit off without a thought, so it has quietly become the thing I grab off the peg on my way out of the door.
By the door, ready to throw over whatever I have on.
It goes over everything, jeans, a jumper, a dress, open or buttoned. I grab it on the way out every single day.
Eileen T., NewarkEIGHT LOVELY COLOURS, AND HONEST SIZES
The sizing runs honestly all the way from a small up to a 5XL, cut with a relaxed, forgiving shape that sits well whatever your figure, with room to layer a jumper underneath. It comes in eight lovely checks, my soft khaki and an orange, a red, a blue, a green and more, so there is one to suit everyone. I have the khaki. I am rather tempted by the red for something warmer.
It goes up to my size and still looks smart and structured, not a sack. So pleased with it I have ordered the red as well.
Maureen C., BinghamThe Vienna, against the coat and the cardigan you keep choosing between
For the in-between days you can have a peg full of coats and a drawer full of cardigans and still nothing quite right. I know, because I did. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
A coat, far too much for a mild day
A cardigan, not quite warm enough
Cardigans hang soft and saggy
Too hot, or too cold, never right
Nothing for the in-between days
Does the job of a jacket, cosy as a cardigan
Just right for the in-between days
Collar and buttons look smart, not saggy
Soft, warm knit, comfortable all day
Throws over absolutely everything
About the price
The Vienna is £36.95 at the moment. It was £74.00.
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 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 layer this useful, 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.
Folded away, ready for the next in-between morning that calls for a bit of both.
If the in-between days catch you out, and your cardigans never quite do the job, this is the layer I would hand you myself, while your size is still there. Stop dithering and go and have a look.
Caroline
VIENNA | PLAID KNIT CARDIGAN
- Does the job of a jacket, cosy as a cardigan
- Perfect for the in-between days
- Collar and buttons look smart, not saggy
- Soft, warm brushed knit, comfortable all day
- Throws over everything, buttoned or open
- Relaxed, longline, forgiving fit
- Eight lovely plaids, honest sizes S to 5XL
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The autumn sale is on now. Middle sizes and popular colours go first.