Four new jackets!

Four new jackets?  How did I afford it, especially having spent so much on a new laptop? Well, it might have been just one jacket plus a pair of boots. But the kind of boots I had in mind weren't in the shops this winter. So cash was freed up to buy jackets. All will keep me warm enough on chilly evenings. Two are especially suitable for repelling cold weather. And only two of them were really expensive.

Jacket number one was discovered at FatFace in Ludlow, an attractive town I know pretty well in Shropshire. Here I am trying it on.

It was a semi-formal baggy polyester-and-wool charcoal jacket with a herringbone pattern and a black silky lining, all nicely cut and sewn. I wanted a roomy size 18 jacket that would drape over me, rather than fit me like a glove. The 18 was very comfortable to wear. Unfortunately I then tried on a size 16, just to see, and then couldn't make up my mind. 16 or 18? The 16 was a better conventional fit, in that it clung to me more snugly. But it emphasised my shape too well. Whereas the 18 flowed over my tummy and disguised it. And the 18 was subtly more casual and comfortable-looking. And yet...

Well, I didn't want to make a mistake. After half an hour of indecision, I left the shop. I would sleep on it. 

A couple of days later, when at FatFace in Oystermouth (I was visiting the Mumbles, then going on to Worm's Head on The Gower) I saw it again, tried on the size 18, and without further ado bought the thing. The cost was £110. I wore it almost at once, at an evening meal with friends Jean and Geoff who live near Lymington (in Hampshire).

Which brings me on to jacket number two. Now this was most definitely a fashion purchase. But the styling is timeless and it won't look dated in the years ahead. While shopping in Lymington with Jean, we came to a shop selling Blueberry leather jackets. An entire rainbow range of colours, in soft nappa leather. I thought Blueberry items were available online only. I was immediately interested, as I only had one leather jacket - a soft brown thing I bought in Harrogate years many before. It was still an occasional jacket choice. But brown is a bit boring. This one wasn't in the slightest bit boring. It was orange! Here it is, back at Jean and Geoff's:

And here I am, wearing it at home, about to enjoy a sunny-day lunch:

Jean had approved. My local Sussex friends loved it too, and wanted to try it on, not that it quite fitted everyone:

So now I had two soft leather jackets. Did I squander a small fortune on this one? No. It wasn't cheap, but at £189 - the Lymington shop was having a sale - it was a good deal less expensive than the official online price, which seemed to be £385. So I got a bargain, as well as a striking jacket. 

Even so, I'd so far spent £110 + £189 = £299. But I didn't stop there. 

A week and a half later - just over a month ago - I was in Canterbury in Kent with my cousin Rosemary. As was our invariable custom, we had a good lunch first, then we did our round of the shops we like. These included Mountain Warehouse, which had moved into the spacious premises formerly occupied by Wilko. And there I spotted two quite different jackets that would be perfect for cold weather. This was one of them - jacket number three - a cosy fleece jacket in dusky pink, which I thought would be ideal for winter evenings at home. Here I am, wearing it in the changing room at Mountain Warehouse.

Here's a closer look at the fleece back at home:

I feel beautifully snug in it when the cold rain lashes down outside. So soft and warm. 

Jacket number four was hanging up in that changing room: a bright yellow puffer jacket. What better to combat frosty days, or chilly winds on an exposed beach? 

These were the two less-expensive jackets. The yellow puffer jacket cost £39.99. The pink fleece jacket only £24.99. I think I got value for money there. I love them both.

All told, £110 + £189 + £40 + £25 = £364 spent. But at last I have - taking into account my other coats and jackets - an adequate range of great-looking outer garments.  

But I still haven't got the boots I wanted. Oh well. Next year.

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