A stranger stopped me in a car park to ask about my coat. That has never happened to me before.

What I did not expect when I finally bought a statement coat, written by a customer, not the shop.

Anne Whitaker · Customer · West Yorkshire · 5 minute read

I have never been a coat that gets noticed sort of woman. Practical, warm, plain, that has always been the brief for me. So when my daughter sent me a link to a long pink coat with a leopard print lining, I very nearly scrolled straight past it. It looked like something for a woman who does not mind being looked at twice.

I did not scroll past it. I opened it, then I ordered it, and here is what actually happened once it arrived.

From standing still, the Madison looks like a very elegant plain coat. Notched lapels, a single button, a soft, deep sheen to the fabric. You would never guess what is underneath. It is only when you actually walk that the leopard print lining shows itself, flashing open with every stride. I was crossing a car park in the rain, coat swinging open as I walked, when a woman I have never met stopped me to ask where it was from. That has never happened to me in a coat before.

It is not loud standing still. It is loud the moment you move. That is the part nobody told me about.

I have worn a knee length winter coat for the better part of a decade, the sensible sort you forget you are wearing. The Madison falls properly to the ankle, the sort of statement length I would have called impractical a year ago. It does not feel impractical. It feels like the difference between a coat and an entrance.

The same leopard print turns back at the cuffs, so when I reach for my bag or my keys there is a flash of it at the wrist too. It is a small detail, but it is the reason the coat looks finished rather than simply long. My husband, who comments on my clothes perhaps twice a year, asked if I had been somewhere special. I had only been to the shops.

A single button front and flap pockets mean it goes on over a plain jumper and jeans without a second thought, and the same coat has now been to two dinners out over a black roll neck. I was expecting to need an occasion for it. I have not needed one yet.

The Madison is 70% off at the moment. I am wary of a percentage on its own, because a discount only means something if the coat underneath is actually worth having. This one was, so the 70% off simply removed the last excuse I had for hesitating.

That is really the point of it. It is the coat I reach for on an ordinary Tuesday now, not the one I save for a single occasion a year and forget about the rest of the time. It has become the coat people remember long after I have walked past, which for something I almost did not open the link for is the highest compliment I know how to give it.

The Madison, against the coat you usually reach for

I have owned more plain, sensible winter coats than I can count, and most of them did their job without anyone ever noticing they existed. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.

About the price

I will be honest, when something this striking is also 70% off, my instinct is to look for the catch. I looked. The coat is exactly as it is in the photograph, the button is secure, and the lining has not pulled or faded after wear.

Free UK delivery, and 30 days to send it back if it is not right. If you, like me, have been putting off buying a coat that actually gets noticed, I would have a proper look at this one before the weather turns.

Anne Whitaker

Madison | Elegant Long Tailored Coat

70% OFF

• Hidden leopard print lining, revealed with every stride
• Matching leopard print turn back cuffs
• Dramatic ankle length silhouette
• Notched lapels, single button, flap pockets
• Dusty rose pink or deep blue, UK sizes 8 to 16
• Free UK delivery and 30 day returns

See The Madison70% off · Free UK delivery · 30 day returns

About the writer. Anne Whitaker is a customer from West Yorkshire. This page is an advertisement for Abbey Lane · Free UK delivery · 30 day returns.