ALL WRAPPED UP

Scots are getting far too cosy for their coats laments Alan Cochrane

My old boss, the late Jack Warden, was one of the last of the breed of true gentleman journalists. He had one strict rule, which was to never wear an overcoat until January.

Mind you, we were working in the House of Commons at the time and this hardy Glaswegian, out of Angus stock, positively scorned the idea that it was ever cold enough for overcoats in such southern latitudes, even if there happened to be a few inches of snow on the ground. Only in January would his British Warm be fished out of the cloakroom.

I’ve been frequently reminded of Jack’s rule this winter by what I consider a fairly new phenomenon in this country, namely the plethora, thickness and variety, not to mention cost, of the over garments now donned by all and sundry from September onwards.

I was in Toronto a couple of years ago as winter approached and although the city is nothing like Canada’s coldest, the mercury was hitting zero Centigrade on a daily basis.

I had taken my thirty-year-old cashmere overcoat with me, which just about kept me warm. But all around me, the residents of Canada’s mercantile capital sported what I soon discovered was another example of that country’s pride and joy. It came in the shape of Canada Goose anorak-things, or parkas to give them their Sunday name.

These magnificent fur-trimmed coats were worn by almost everyone and are apparently completely weather-proof even in a country where t he temperature frequently drops to double-figures below zero.

Lucky old Canadians I thought, even if I couldn’t ever imagine such apparel ever catching on here.

However, I couldn’t be more wrong. In the cold – for us – snap we had in this country towards the end of November, I spotted a couple of those distinctive Canada Goose motifs on coats worn in Edinburgh and in London. Hmm, I thought, must be Canadians on holiday. Gosh they’ll get boiled alive over here wearing those things.

Wrong again, Cochrane. It appears that this brand has become, or is becoming, not just something that no rugged outdoor type would be seen without as they tramp Highland hill and glen, but also a fashion must-have for the world’s beau-monde. I’m not suggesting for a second that our shooting fraternity would ever dream of wearing such a coat – tweed will always be de rigueur for them. But the sales of Canada Goose products are booming.

It’s an incredible success story but one thing puzzles me and it’s this: unless you’re planning to spend time at the top of the Cairngorms, these coats are far too warm. I possess an inferior, but similar, brand which I’ve worn only once to stand on the sidelines and watch a local rugby match and I was almost cooked.

It’s been hanging in a wardrobe ever since, whilst I wait and hope that we get some really cold weather in which to test it out properly.

There is no doubt that our winters are getting warmer. So much so that Scotland appears to bask in roughly the same weather right through the year.

All of which brings me to my latest gripe which is why do people so massively overdress as soon as there’s an ‘r’ in the month? It might be that the shock brought on by the drop in temperature after leaving centrally-heated shops and offices, kept warm enough to grow orchids, is too much for many people. And as the learned editor of this magazine vouchsafed recently, it might be one reason why so many people seem to catch colds these days. Whatever it is, reaching for all this expensive and heavyweight clobber as soon as it gets a bit chilly cannot be good for our reputation as a hardy race.

Mind you, Canadians reckon themselves to be tough guys and they’ve invented these blessed coats, so who are they to talk?