As the weather turns, I find myself turning to coats. I understand that this isn't a revelation to anyone - it's cold, so it's logical to layer up, but this is one of my favourite times in the year. For the brief period in which it can be cold, dry, and sunny, I feel like my wardrobe comes into its full effectiveness. Of course, I have my trusted items, the ones that have been with me for years, and will stay with me until they are beyond repair, or until my figure exceeds their limits. It's rare to find another coat to add to this collection of loyal coats, but I'm glad to say that the beauty you see above, the Grey Check Overcoat from The Idle Man, has taken a well earned place among the seasoned veterans.
For me, it ticks all the right boxes. It is comfortable, classic, tailored but easily worn casually, a little quirky, and it has an inside pocket (seriously, the lack of that feature is a deal breaker for me). Quality wise, I honestly couldn't fault it for the £75 price tag - I've had more expensive coats with worse quality. Not only that, but this coat is currently £53 in The Idle Man's sale... making it impressive that, at the time of writing this, all sizes are still available.
The Idle Man Coat | The Idle Man Shirt | Edwin Jeans | adidas x Juice Trainers
Along with the coat, I'm also wearing the Corduroy Mustard Shirt from The Idle Man. I've hit the stage now where I have so many shirts that I can wear with everything, so when given the right opportunity, I'll jump at the chance to have something a bit different. Again, this ticked the right boxes. I'm a fan of corduroy in bold colours - mainly because I think it gives a slight juxtaposition from the usual image of the material, and at £28, it's a bit of a struggle to turn down a statement piece (and, again, it's currently a steal at £20, with all sizes available).
The shirt did a little less for me, quality wise. Overall, it's good, but I personally prefer my corduroy a little thicker; this felt slightly 2D... if that even makes sense? However, I would never expect the world for the price tag, the shirt wears comfortably, and the cut of it is pretty much spot on.
For me, this was an exercise in trusting The Idle Man. I'm often dubious about retailers that start offering their own range, even with the likes of powerhouses such as John Lewis. They often fall short of the brands that they stock, acting as a bit of a lower price point to satisfy the Google searchers among us (does anyone use Bing?! I mean, I even had to Google "Bing" to make sure I had it right...). This is definitely not the case for The Idle Man; their latest collection is well thought through, coherent, great quality, and offers up styles that many brands are lacking. The price point is definitely a bonus, to the extent that I'm now tempted to cop the blue and yellow version of the coat... So yes, I'd say I trust them now.
Rob.
(Photography by David Joseph)
*The Idle Man kindly offered me a gift card to use to select items for review. This, as always, hasn't changed my opinions in any way.
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