The Chic Outdoors
New knits, hot hats and the cool jackets for noww
THE FOOTWEAR
Take out shares in boots. I lost out on knee-high Ganni ones last weekend, leaving them in my virtual basket while I toddled off to think about it.
Not just any boots. To combat Tier 1/2/3 and beyond, boots need to be warm, stylish, versatile, either with thick rubbery soles or colourful laces… these cheery M&S hiker boots have an ultra springy Insolia TM insole. That’s important now we’re walking a lot more.
So while I’m still wearing my ultra cosy Penelope Chilvers sheepskin-lined ankle boots from a few years ago (versions from £299) with trousers, knee boots are the solution for skirts and dresses especially if you don’t like wearing tights.
Sheepskin insoles (£12 from celticandco.com) will nicely pimp up any boots. For more insulation, these Celtic Sheepskin Woodsman boots are the trick. If you don’t want any fur, for tall boots, a soft, pliable leather, cut slim enough to wear under trousers, will get the most wear. Russell and Bromley have an excellent selection, while these & Other Stories’ boots will be go-to footwear until April, tough enough for proper walking but sleek enough for al fresco restaurants.
Lisa Armstrong
THE BASE LAYER
Behind every great winter outfit is a crew of concealed base layers doing the real warming work. I have a drawer dedicated to vests, T-shirts and polo necks, which I mix and match – these are mostly behind-the-scenes pieces, but you might like to make a feature of a striped polo neck here or a slim merino T-shirt sleeve there.
Uniqlo’s Heattech range is famously dependable; the £12.90 fleece turtleneck comes in a delectable range of colours. Ethical label Lavender Hill (loved by Meghan) has a great variety of tops in different cuts. I’ve also fallen for the £89 Ballet High Neck Body by Commando (available at Selfridges), which has long arms with thumb holes… bliss.
With socks, opt for knee-high styles for maximum draught exclusion; Burlington has a brilliant range of £15 Argyle options, which will look great if they flash out from your trousers. Tights-wise, M&S remains a go-to, but do check out Heist or Better Tights, which has a useful size calculator on its website (bettertights.com). And the best tip my grandma taught me was to always wear silk gloves underneath your woollen ones; they’ll be my Tier 2 socialising essential. Bethan Holt
THE BAG AND BACKPACK
Juggling a handbag, coffee (or cocktail, for those in Tier 1 who can still go out out), face mask and mobile phone is tricky enough on a normal day. Throw in an umbrella, strong winds and torrential rain, and it’s a recipe for disaster. If there’s so much as a rumour of rain, opt for a hands-free bag and avoid some of the faff.
If you’re wearing a small crossbody and a properly waterproof raincoat (see next page), wear your bag under your coat. And forget suede.
Thanks to Prada’s sell-out reissue of its nylon styles, the fabric is having a moment. Shoulder styles are ideal for evening and weekends, and a backpack is a great option for cyclists. Nylon is technically only waterresistant, so keep your belongings in a pouch within your bag just in case.
The Perspex styles that La-based brand Staud is famed for are a good, wipe-clean option, while Ganni’s recycled polyester crossbody styles are waterproof.
It’s worth noting that zips and fastenings are important too – it’s a lesson I learnt the hard way last winter: sporting a bucket bag in a downpour is just asking for it to serve as exactly that. Krissy Turner
THE GILET
The gilet is no longer just for country club toffs, football managers and media tycoons. This autumn’s outdoor socialising guidelines mean that a piece that once symbolised alpha power has become part of our dog-walking vocabulary.
Gilet styles fall into two categories: country and city.
City types tend to be pocket-phobes who prefer to opt for a smooth padded vest, but I’d recommend investing in a more practical, countrystyle version with big fisherman pockets to get you through the winter of 2020.
The Duchess of Cambridge also championed the gilet during lockdown, from the relaxed quilted Fjallraven Sörmland vest that she wore to a garden centre to the leather button-up from Really Wild that she debuted on a visit to a London Scouts group.
Another famous gilet fan is Dominic West, who was pictured wearing a gilet in Rome last weekend.
Now that temperatures are dropping, you may wish to layer yours over a neat padded jacket or underneath a Barbour – the more snug and tailored the fit, the cosier it will be. Hikmat Mohammed
THE HAT
During a storm this month, my umbrella and I ended up in a fight – in retaliation I threw it in the bin and decided this would be an autumn of hats instead.
Unfortunately, finding a waterproof one is harder than you’d think. A beanie on a wet day can feel like a damp cat on your head.
Bucket hats are in fashion but most are cotton, with short brims, so those with long hair need a blow-dry afterwards. The Kooples, though, has a properly waterproof design that’s bigger than most.
My favourite rain hats are from Cos – a waxed cotton design that kept my head and neck completely dry in a Devon downpour – and this pretty patent one with a tie by Mango that twists the brim up like a modern-day bonnet
Now that anyone dating in a Tier 2 or 3 area is meeting up outdoors, there is an understandable urge to look stylish rather than sweet. Fedoras ras flatter most faces but felt t can be ruined by rain, so try Maison Michel. Its s expensive but showerproof hats look so good with a belted d coat, you might be glad d you’re not in a candle-lit bar. For five minutes, anyway. way. Melissa Twigg
THE KNITWEAR
Turns out grandmothers were on to something with all their admonishments to “put on a sweater”: old-fangled knitwear really is the best way to keep warm for a nippy Tier 2 dinner party outdoors. Especially when it’s part of a clever layering strategy.
The only question, then, is whether you’re more inclined towards finegauge knits or chunky knitwear. If it’s a sleeker silhouette you seek, then wear one of Arket’s sheer merino roll-necks (or a polo-neck bodysuit) under one of Bella Freud’s now-classic 1970 jumpers. Or look for a sweater with something extra around the collar, like Alex Gore Browne’s scallop-collar design and Boden’s Hambleden.
But as no one is likely to see your jumper under your coat, why not go chunky? Something substantial enough to wear without a coat holds its own joys. &Daughter’s Aran-knit jumpers and cardigans aren’t cheap, but they are classics, and you can feel the quality in every hand-linked madein-ireland knit. As a bonus, under any jumper this big, there’s room for dessert… Emily Cronin
THE WATERPROOF JACKET
Shopping for a good raincoat can be tricky. The stylish, figure-flattering ones often aren’t properly waterproofed. The genuinely waterproof ones are usually naff anoraks.
But the rise of the Scandinavian fashion scene has brought some great outerwear brands into view – namely Stutterheim, Rains and Tretorn. All are watertight (Tretorn’s Wings jacket boasts an 8,000mm hydrostatic head rating, meaning the fabric could withstand an eight metre column of water being chucked on your head before it would leak). And all are stylish, with beautiful colours to choose from each season. My only caution would be that it can get steamy under these coated-style coats – choose your under-layers wisely.
The other (British) brand I’d recommend is Barbour. While the classic waxed cotton styles make for famously durable country attire, explore the wider range, with more hooded mac styles such as the drawstring Blythe. On barbour.com, if it says waterproof, then it is. If it doesn’t, it isn’t. Simple. Caroline Leaper