A letter from Margaret

The jacket I wanted by the back door when the weather changed its mind

Margaret
Harrogate · September 2026

I have a habit of keeping a jacket by the back door and expecting it to cope with whatever the day decides to do.

That works until the wind gets up, the hoodless jacket becomes a nuisance, and the umbrella is, naturally, somewhere else.

I did not need autumn reinvented. I needed a jacket that made the ordinary bits less fiddly.

I wanted warmth, a hood I could actually use, and enough room for the jumper I had already decided to wear.

How it happens

The weather is rarely dramatic enough to justify a grand plan. It is usually a bit of wind, a short shower, or a colder walk back to the car than I expected.

That is exactly when I notice the small things: whether there is a hood, whether a jumper fits underneath, and whether I can simply zip up and get on with the day.

I have owned enough useful-looking jackets to know that useful is not quite enough if I never feel like reaching for them.

What I had wrong

I used to think the sensible answer was to keep the plainest coat possible by the door and let everything else do the interesting work.

The trouble is that the coat is often most of what anyone sees in autumn.

A little shape and a striped, retro look can do more than I expected without making the rest of my clothes work harder.

Mine is the Luca Moretti

The Luca Moretti Retro Hooded Puffer Jacket is the one that made me reconsider the jacket by the back door.

It has a hood, a puffer shape and a striped retro look, which is enough detail to feel considered without asking me to reorganise the cupboard around it.

The sizing guidance is unusually worth paying attention to: if you normally wear M, choose L, and if you are between two sizes, choose the larger size.

What happened on an ordinary trip into town

This is the sort of jacket I judge by a very unremarkable day: a jumper underneath, the car parked farther away than planned, a few shops, and somewhere too warm for tea afterwards.

I want the jacket to cope with those changes without turning itself into the main event.

Three things I have learned since

One. A hood earns its place quickly. I am not thinking of mountain weather. I mean the five-minute shower when the umbrella is in the wrong place.

Two. Room for a jumper matters. I would rather follow the sizing guidance and have space for a proper layer than spend the morning negotiating with a zip.

Three. A little character helps. The striped retro look means the jacket does not disappear into the category of things I wear only because the weather insists.

About the price

I want to be straightforward about this, because price is always part of deciding whether something will earn enough wear.

The Luca Moretti is £52.95 at the moment.

For me, the question is whether I can see it working on the ordinary days: over a jumper, into town, back to the car, and out again when the weather has changed its mind.

What I would tell you if we were friends

If you and I were sat with a pot of tea and you asked me, this is what I would say.

Read the sizing guidance properly, choose the colour that already has friends in your wardrobe, and think about the jumper you will actually put underneath it.

It comes in navy blue, black and turquoise, in sizes XS to 3XL. If you usually wear M, the guidance says choose L; if you are between sizes, choose the larger size.

The useful jacket is the one you actually reach for when the weather changes its mind.

Margaret

Luca Moretti Retro Hooded Puffer Jacket For Women

£52.95

• Hooded puffer jacket
• Striped retro design
• Colours: navy blue, black and turquoise
• Sizes XS to 3XL
• If you usually wear M, choose L
• If between sizes, choose the larger size
• Free UK delivery

See the Luca Moretti jacket