A letter from a customer: the Briar parka
I don't usually get stopped on my morning walk. This time, a neighbour of fifteen years actually did.
What changed my mind about a vintage floral hooded parka, written by a customer, not the shop.
I pass the same neighbour most mornings on the lane, always a nod, never much more than that, for about fifteen years now. The first morning I wore this coat, she actually stopped me, stood right there on the wet pavement in her dressing gown, to ask where it was from.
I had it saved in a browser tab for three weeks before that. A vintage floral print is not an obvious buy for me, I tend toward plain and sensible, and I kept telling myself it was a bit much. Then we had that first properly cold, properly damp morning, the kind where your usual coat suddenly feels thin, and I finally clicked buy, mostly because I needed something warmer, not because I expected anyone to notice.
Have A Look YourselfFree UK delivery ยท 30 day returnsIt is a proper length, not a cropped jacket
This was the first thing I noticed. It is not one of those short, boxy jackets that stop at the hip and let the cold straight in. The Briar sits well down, past the hip, closer to mid thigh, so it actually covers you. Roomy through the body too, with no waist seam pulling anywhere, which means a jumper underneath is no trouble at all.
Fifteen years of the same nod on that lane, and a coat is what finally got a conversation out of her. I still think about that more than I probably should.
The lining is the actual reason I kept wearing it
The whole inside is lined in a soft plush, not a thin satin like most coats this price, something you can actually feel the moment you put it on. It is there down both front edges and right through the hood, so it is not just for show when the coat is done up, you notice it every single morning you put it on.
The hood is not just there for the photographs
So many hoods on coats like this are decorative, a flat bit of fabric that will not stay up in any real wind. This one is generous and properly lined, and it stays put without me holding it there. I will not pretend it is a technical waterproof, the listing does not claim that either, but for a cold dry walk or a quick dash to the car, it has done exactly what I needed.
I am not a small size, and that mattered to me
I have been caught out before by a coat that only looked right in a sample size. The Briar runs from a UK 10 right up to a UK 24, and the cut is forgiving rather than fitted, so I did not have to guess or go up two sizes just to feel comfortable in it. That matters more to me than almost anything else when I am buying outerwear without trying it on first.
See All The SizesUK 10 to UK 24The sale is what finally moved me off the fence
Abbey Lane's 16th Anniversary Sale has this one at half price at the moment. I am always a little wary of a discount on its own, a cheap coat is still a bad buy if it is not actually warm or well made, but this one earned its place first and the sale simply removed my last excuse for leaving it in that browser tab any longer.
It is the coat by the door now
That is really the whole story. It is warm enough for a proper cold morning, long enough to actually matter, and distinctive enough that it does not disappear into the same grey and black everyone else is wearing on the school run. For a coat I nearly left sitting in a browser tab, that is as good a recommendation as I know how to give.
The Briar, against the coat you usually reach for
On the lane
Kettle on
On the doorstep
The lining, up close
I have owned more plain, forgettable coats than I can count, worn mostly out of habit. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
The one at the back of the hallway
- Plain, nothing to notice
- Hip length, lets the cold in
- Thin lining, no real warmth
- Hood that will not stay up
- Full price
The Briar
- Vintage floral print, five colourways to choose from
- Longline, sits at mid thigh
- Plush lining through the body and hood
- Generous hood that stays put
- 50% off, UK sizes 10 to 24
About the price
I will be honest, when a coat is both this distinctive and half price, my instinct is to look for the catch. I looked. The print matches the photographs, the lining has not flattened after wear, and the hood still sits exactly where it should.
Free UK delivery, and 30 days to send it back if it is not right. If you, like me, have been putting off replacing a tired coat, I would have a proper look at this one before the mornings get much colder.
Anne Whitaker
Briar Vintage Floral Hooded Parka
50% OFF- Longline hooded parka, sits at mid thigh
- Soft plush lining through the body and hood
- Large attached hood, generous and soft
- Two roomy patch pockets
- Five colourways, UK sizes 10 to 24
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
About the writer. Anne Whitaker is a customer from West Yorkshire. This page is an advertisement for Abbey Lane ยท Free UK delivery ยท 30 day returns.