A note from Leya
At 67, I'd given up on jackets. Then I found one with ruffles
Six things these ruffle jackets get right that ordinary blazers get wrong, from a woman who stopped buying jackets years ago.
Let me be plain about who is talking. I am Leya, I am 67, I live in Guildford, and I stopped buying jackets some years ago. Not because I didn't want one, but because every one I tried on either fought my shoulders, gaped at the bust or made me look as though I was about to chair a meeting. So this is not a review. It is a woman who had given up on jackets, admitting she was wrong.
The ones I am writing about are the ruffle jackets from Susan and Kate London, a British label started by two sisters. I first noticed one on a woman at the next table in a café in town: a soft jacket with a frill along the edges, worn over a plain top and jeans. She looked put together without looking dressed up, which is the hardest trick there is.
Here is what years of fitting rooms taught me. Jackets come in two piles. The sharp tailored blazers, stiff in the shoulders, tight across the bust and only really comfortable when you're standing still. And the shapeless cover-ups, comfy enough but about as flattering as a dressing gown. Structured and uncomfortable, or comfortable and frumpy. I had done my years in both.
These are the first jackets I have owned that are neither, and after a few weeks of wearing mine to lunch, to the shops and to a christening, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
1The ruffle does the work
A frill along the edges sounds as though it might be too much at our age. It isn't. It softens the whole line of the jacket, frames the face, and turns a plain top and trousers into an outfit. It reads as pretty rather than girlish, and it means I no longer need a necklace, a scarf or any of the other things I used to fiddle with in the mirror.
A lady stopped me outside the café to ask where I’d bought it. Then my sister asked the same thing over lunch. Clearly a good choice.
Sandra B., Beverley
2It fits where blazers don't
A proper blazer is cut for straight lines, and most of us stopped being straight lines some time ago. Mine is softer than that. It sits over my shape instead of squeezing it, nothing gapes at the front, and nothing strains at the buttons. I didn't need to take it to anyone to have it altered, which is a first for me and a jacket.
I like a bit of coverage around my tummy. This sat nicely over a plain top, and I didn’t spend lunch pulling at my clothes.
Christine M., Ripon
3You can actually move in it
I can reach for the top shelf, drive the car and hug a grandchild without feeling the seams across my back. It stays on from the morning to the end of the day, which is more than I can say for any blazer I have ever owned. Most of mine came off the moment I sat down.
Had a long train journey before meeting friends for supper. Just changed my shoes and kept the blazer on. Felt perfectly dressed for both.
Linda P., Skipton
4It goes with what you already own
Over jeans and a white T-shirt it looks relaxed. Over a plain dress it looks like an occasion. Over good trousers it is smart enough for anything I am likely to be invited to. I haven't bought a single new thing to go with it, because it simply goes with what was already in the wardrobe.
5Choosing the size is straightforward
Every jacket has its own size chart, and if you're between sizes Susan and Kate suggest going up one, which is what I did. Delivery is free, and I checked before ordering that I could send it back within 30 days if it wasn't right. I didn't need to.
Went up a size as I’m broader across the shoulders. I could move my arms comfortably, and it still looked neat rather than oversized.
Pauline T., Ilkley
6There's one for every mood
This is the part that got me into trouble. There are embroidered florals, leopard prints, soft knits, gingham and a lovely ivory, all with the same flattering ruffle. I went in for one and came out with two, and my sister has already put her name down to borrow the floral.
These jackets, against the blazers you have been buying
You can find a blazer on any high street. I know, because I have a wardrobe of them I never wear. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
| Most high street blazers | The Susan and Kate ruffle jackets |
|---|---|
| Stiff shoulders that fight you | A softer shape that moves with you |
| Pulls across the bust when buttoned | Sits over your shape instead of squeezing it |
| Plain and severe, needs jewellery to lift it | The ruffle frames the face on its own |
| Only right for smart occasions | Over jeans, a dress or good trousers |
| Navy, black, and not much else | Florals, leopard, ivory, gingham and more |
About the price
Most of these jackets are £39.95 at the moment, down from £135.00, and a few styles are £49.95. Susan and Kate have their Autumn Sale on, and they sell directly, with no shop in the middle taking a cut.
What I can tell you from my side is that seventy per cent off is usually where I start asking what is wrong with something, and a few weeks in I have not found it.
And I do not trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I ordered. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.8 stars, which sounded like real people rather than robots. The same things I have just walked you through come up in them again and again, in other women's words.
If you have a lunch, a christening, a birthday or simply a Tuesday that deserves better than your old cardigan, and you gave up on jackets years ago, this is where I would tell you to start again. Have a look while your size is still there.
Leya
The Ruffle Jacket Collection
£135.00 £39.95
- A soft ruffle that frames the face
- Embroidered, printed and knitted designs
- A softer shape that moves with you
- Over jeans, a dress or good trousers
- Most styles £39.95, a few £49.95
- UK sizes 8 to 22
- Free UK delivery
Sale — while sizes last.
Leya Whitmore is 67 and lives in Guildford with a labrador. She is not a fashion writer.
Susan and Kate London · Free UK delivery · 30 day returns