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After weeks of walking around outside in jumpers and taking every opportunity to comment about the unusually mild November weather, we’ve all had a major shock in the form of this week’s sudden cold snap. Plummeting temperatures, icy rain and fog have descended, and I’m surely not the only one to have made an emergency trip to the high street for a warmer coat
Luckily, my foray to the shops has come up trumps this year, and I’ve been walking round smugly in my brand new coat because it’s so cosy. The coat in question is Uniqlo’s Seamless Down Short Jacket, and I would say it’s worth every penny of the £109.90 price tag.
First of all, let me say this jacket is deceptive. It’s short and lightweight (when my friend first saw it packed for our recent weekend away, she picked it up and told me off for not having brought a proper warm coat). But despite feeling as light as a cloud, it’s really surprisingly warm – even with just one layer underneath I was toasty throughout the trip. Plus, it’s great for travelling or being out and about, because you can squash it down into a bag or fling it up onto a luggage rack with no bother.
After some investigation I’ve found it’s the down filling (responsibly sourced by Uniqlo) that makes this coat so cosy. Down is the soft, fluffy undercoating found beneath a bird’s outer feathers, prized for its lightweight and exceptional insulating properties.
Down jackets are so warm because this filling traps large amounts of insulating air in tiny pockets, creating a highly effective barrier against heat loss. Basically it’s hard to beat in terms of its heat-to-weight ratio, which is why this coat feels as light as a helium balloon but keeps you mega-warm.
Of course, we’re only at the beginning of the cold season, and things are going to get much chillier. Am I tempted by the Ultra Warm Long Down Coat, which offers all that toastiness right down to your knees? I can’t deny that I am. It’s £139.90 (currently £20 off in the sale), but given the way heating bills are going these days, I might be better off just living in this wearable duvet for the season ahead…
