GREY COATIGANS

I love this new word - "coatigan" which was sprung up in the last couple of years.  I remember when lightweight coats were called "car coats".  Now coatigans are a cross between a cardigan and a coat - heavier than the former and lighter than the latter!

Actually they are very comfortable, because rightly, a coat is often too bulky for driving, but you need something lighter than a heavy winter coat, particularly if you are in and out of the car, the shops or even the neighbour's home!

We have both splurged a little this Autumn - see upcoming posts - and both of us (unbeknown to each other) have bought grey coatigans, albeit different styles.

First up is Anne H wearing a lightweight pleat neck grey coatigan from Modern Rarity at John Lewis. In 50% wool and 50% acrylic this lightweight piece is perfect for layering over winter knits or lighter blouses. A lovely casual piece with open neck, a relaxed fit, long sleeves that can be worn rolled as shown here and a versatile length for wearing with trousers or over a skirt or dress.  At £100 it is still available in oatmeal and blush but not in the grey shown here.   

Anne particularly likes Modern Rarity and the brand ethos of fewer, better wardrobe staples that create a collection of effortless pieces that complement each other.  

Anne C also has a coatigan, but a completely different style.  From TKMaxx, this is a woollen weave coatigan, which is light as a feather but extremely warm. However, we can both confirm that we are not particularly a fan of the huge press-stud fastenings which seem to be in abundance at the moment, however, not really a problem for a piece which is useful for throwing over a jumper and jeans, and leaving on the back seat of the car!

Incidentally Anne is a huge fan of TKMaxx, though there is no set colour palette or styles - they buy end of lines and one-offs so you have to buy it when you see it as they will often not stock more or even have the same item in a different size!

For our photographs she has teamed it with pale grey jeans from George at Asda, which were a steal at £14.  Fortunately for Anne she is quite short (5'2") so these value jeans are a reasonably good fit, whereas Anne H is so much taller, and can only buy her jeans from those stores selling longer lengths.

The grey suede boots are from Marks and Spencer and were bought in the sales a couple of years ago (similar ones here), while her earrings are from Pierre Lang, which is an Austrian company selling gorgeous jewellery - though it seems to have disappeared from the UK.

Grey seems to be one of our colour palettes this Autumn - so watch out for more grey buys (to match the coming weather, no doubt!)