Knitwear and Sweaters

You'll have no doubt noticed the change in the window displays on your local High Street. Gone are the shorts and t-shirts (and those stupid narrow brimmed hats) and in are rugged manly man items for days out in the park with your dog.

Following on from my last post on winter jackets, you could do a lot worse than treating yourself to a reasonably priced new jumper this season.

Below are few treats you might fancy checking out.
This first offering is from Bank Fashion which as you know isn't my favourite shop.

On the face of it, its a pretty unremarkable garment. The colour is pretty safe, the pattern is subtle and the lengths are pretty conservative. However there in lies it's beauty.
You can wear this with jeans, chinos and maybe even a pair of trousers with a pink or light bue shirt underneath. Pop a tweed or houndstooth jacket over the top and you've got a belting little Sunday afternoon pub lunch outfit.
It's a really rich and thick material, but cut loosey enough to prevent it being suffocatingly warm when worn inside.
It's currently going for £32.00 which isn't bad at all. Oh, and the brand is called Nanny State which made me laugh too.

Second out today is this jumper from Next

I don't very often go into Next as it tends to be a bit dearer than other places on the High Street, and at £42.00 they are continuing the trend. However I'll give Next some credit; they are excelent at Autumn/Winter wear.
The cable roll neck jumper isn't to everybody's taste, and the model on the link looks like a tool as well which doesn't help matters! I rather like this though. It's a classic pattern and the armpits are cut high so you can use your arms without the whole thing riding up and exposing your midrift.
The roll neck will keep the cold away from your neck which is always a boon. As you would expect from Next it's very sumptuous material and feels exquisite to wear. The elasticated cuffs add to the snug feel of it too.

My favourite find this week was this gem from River Island

Shawl neck is a happy half way house between roll neck and round neck. It's more commonly seen on cardigans but this a cracking example of it too.
The button on the right hand side gives the jumper a bit of focus, which is good as the colour is nothing to write home about.
The cut of the neck is fairly loose so you could even wear it over your shirt and tie on the way to the office. However it is best worn with jeans and a proper pair of boots. Although this isn't quite as versatile as the first jumper, it has a decent range and you just know you wife or girlfriend will 'borrow' it so you'll earn yourself some brownie points there too.
It's going for £30.00 which makes it the cheapest of the three today, and in my opinion, the best.

Happy shopping!

Winter Coats

You've probably noticed the weather turn and the nights starting to draw in.
With this in mind it's probably an idea to dig out your winter coats.

If your winter coat has seen better days and you want to look for something new, you might some of these on your outings

This jacket is from River Island and is retailing for £90.
This might be a bit steep for some, but you'll feel the benefir when the weather truly turns!

This item has a lot going for it. The collars are very large so you can turn them up when the wind is bad.
The double breasted buttons give a double layer of warmth. The pockets are very deep to, so you have plenty of space for your phone, wallet, gloves, and even a book.

The colour is very rich and this could be worn just a easily with a pair of jeans as with a suit. It comes in other colours too if you aren't feeling the green.
The buttons are study metal, and the material is very pleasant to the touch. The epaulettes are a nice touch too, even if they don't actually add anything practical.

This would look great with a pair of leather gloves and thick wool scarf.


The second item is from Bank Fashion and can be found here

I won't lie, I'm not a big lover of Bank Fashion. It's like shopping in a night club, without the booze.
This jacket hasn't endeered me to the brand either.
For a start, they want £225.00 for it! That is hideoulsy over priced.
The buttons look nice but are a cheap resin material. I like the asymetric design, especially the the right sholder flap, but the pocket on the left breast is distracting. The zip makes it look cheap.
The epaulettes are cool but it's a small boon in an otherwise lackluster item.
The colour is solid, but it's a shade short for my taste.

I would steer clear.

Third up we have this little doozey from Topman

There's a lot going on here. The designer obviously had some spare buttons they wanted to get rid off.....honestly, there are buttons everywhere!
The navy blue colour of the trench coat is a little dull, but the shoulder flaps, oversized collar and belt help to bring it to life.
The pockets are a nice size, even if the verticle style does make it easy for stuff to fall out.
The ringlet on the cuffs are rather nice too, you don't see them too often.
The one drawback of the belt however is that if you were to wear it open, the buckle would keep hitting your left hand which could get quite annoying.
It's going for £90.00 which is about right. It's not my favourite jacket in the world, but you could do a lot worse.

And when I say worse......I mean a lot worse. Brace yourselves for this nightmare

......where do you even start with this? It doesn't help that they've picket a model who looks like he tortours animals in a house he shares with his dead mother.
The shiloutte of the jackt is...ok. But that's as good as it gets. The faux leather looks like plastic, and the studded belt is something you would find at a BDSM convention. To make it worse, the back looks perfectly normal. I can only assume the desginer wants wearers to be able to shock people who approach from behins.
The final bit of salt in the wound is the price; Topman want £250 for this gauche hell spawn of a garment.


Of course you could do what I did and find yourslef one of these

Army surplus. I think it's from East Germany. It's in too good condition to any more than about 20 years old.
It's the warmest thing I have ever worn. And the best part.....it cost me £12.

I win at clothes!