British Heritage Collection from Fat Face

We’d been hearing good things about Fat Face’s brand revamp from friends in the industry and when I visited Westfield Stratford City, I liked the look of the new store concept, which featured less of that funny little skull logo on pastel fleeces and more of a grown up wearable vibe. I have to confess that it’s not really been a brand I’ve ever seriously considered buying anything from before, but the introduction of a premium range Heritage Collection of waxed jackets and outdoor wear looks interesting. The small collection has been designed in collaboration with Cro’Jack owners Dean and Lisa Batty, who specialise in quality outdoor wear made in the UK using oiled and waxed Millerain cotton, a waterproof sailcloth.

It’s looks good, in a very British-autumn-weekend- walk-in-the-country kind of way. Corduroy collars, moleskin lined pockets and nice quality hard wear (zips and poppers) all make you want to don your wellies and kick about in the fallen leaves. The Darcy jacket (below left) is nicely shaped at the waist, so doesn’t look like you’ve grabbed middleagedad’s coat, although there is a nice Captain’s jacket (bottom left) for him too and I think the Raleigh cape, for wearing while you are cycling down to the village post office to send a telegram with the dog perched in the wicker basket (oh wait, I think I’m still stuck in a country fantasy here…..sorry) looks mighty practical. There’s a Dorothy duffle too (below right), which looks refreshingly modern in white.

If Belstaff (who Lisa Batty used to design for) and Barbour are out of your price league, these look like mighty fine stand ins. The jackets start at £175, but check out the website for full details and colours.