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It’s Raining, It’s Pouring… 16 Kids’ Essentials To Keep Them Dry This Season

It looks like we’re in for a rainy few weeks! Summer quickly turned in autumn, didn’t it? Keep your kids dry this season with some of these rainy day essentials. If they’ve outgrown their wellies since the last downpour, now’s the time to click express delivery on some of these brilliant boots. I’ve picked out some reliable macs, umbrellas and waterproof trousers too, so the kids can splash about as much as they like without getting soaked through!

Jump to…

Raincoats

I like Hatley raincoats because they’re well-lined, so they keep your kids cosy as well as dry.

Pretty Alpacas Raincoat, Hatley

£36

Yellow is the classic rain coat colour, so I had to include this one from Hatley too!

Yellow Splash Jacket, Hatley

£45

For something simple — waterproof and windproof — H&M can always be relied upon. This one comes with a practical detachable hood too.

Lined Hooded Rain Jacket, H&M

£18

Frugi always has the most fun and vibrant designs! Plus, their raincoats are made from recycled plastic bottles, ideal for us being more environment conscious.

Puddle Buster Coat, Frugi

From £39

Knights & Dragons is just one of the gorgeous rain coat designs from Powell Craft. I also love the unicorn and robot prints.

Knights & Dragons Raincoat, Powell Craft

£39

I wanted to include a coat with a thicker lining too and I think this White Stuff one is perfect for keeping them toasty and dry.

Rainy Day Mac, White Stuff

£33

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Umbrellas

3D umbrellas with wings, eyes, ears, (whatever they think of next!) are always lots of fun. Brollies Galore has a huge selection of characters to choose from.

Kids Umbrella, Sunnylife

£13

3D Monster Umbrella, Brollies Galore

£14

rain day essentials

I must admit I wouldn’t mind this Hunter one for myself! It’s nice to know that simple, monochrome umbrellas for kids exist. This is a good one for occasions too.

Kids Moustache Bubble Umbrella, Hunter

£28

rain day essentials

We all know it’s never going to look as neat as the one in the product shot but letting the kids decorate their own umbrellas is a nice way to add a personal touch to their rainy day outfits.

Paint Your Own Umbrella, KidMaker

£15

rain day essentials

You might also like: 13 People Who Can Help With Your Small Business

Wellies

You can guarantee that Muck Boot Company boots will be super comfortable as well as practical.

Kids Half Pull-On Wellington Boots, Muck Boot Company

£55

These wellies look pretty easy to slip-on and ankle height might be more comfortable for your little one to walk in.

Kids Ankle Wellies, JoJo Maman

£17

I love that these are fleece-lined and elasticated at the top — perfect for keeping toes cosy.

Red Slip-On Waterproof Boots, StartRite

£29

rain day essentials

These stylish wellies from Polarn O Pyret look super-durable.

Stripe Kids Wellies, Polarn O Pyret

£28

Other Essentials

A rain mac by itself doesn’t cut it on those autumn country walks. Pack some Puddle Buster trousers to keep them dry and your car seats mud-free  when you whip them off post walk!

Puddle Buster Trousers, Frugi

From £28

rain day essentials

Don’t give them chance to complain about cold (or wet!) fingers with these rain-proof mittens.

Fleece Lined Rain Mittens, H&M

£9

rain day essentials

Something for you too…

Navy Poncho 3.0, thepeoples.co

Reversible leopard print jacket, TLM Edit

£60


Looking for something else? Take a peek at my ultimate directory for the best parent, baby and business recommendations.

Activities Days Out Little Reviews

The Little Grand Tour : Art Tours For Kids

One thing I fondly remember of my father, is he knew the answer to everything. I have never known a person with such a good general knowledge and knew if I was on his Trivial Pursuit team – we would definately win. Sadly however, I lack this knowledge!! I don’t know whether it is nature or nurture, but I am very keen to help my kids excel in their pub quizzes over the years! If you are with me and want to give your children an understanding of art history, The Little Grand Tour is just what you need to know about.

During the 18th and 19th centuries men and women ventured across Europe on a ‘Grand Tour’ to experience high culture and see first hand the wonder of Italian art and sculpture. Isabel and her team want to inspire a community of little grand tourists across London to its many secret and varied collections in well known and not so well known galleries and museums. Together with their LGT passport, children can enjoy their holiday and weekend tours. Lasting 2-3 hours depending on the tour, with a necessary picnic pit stop, they focus on a number of works of art which we hope will not only encourage a love of art but also contribute towards school learning.

My oldest son and his friend went a Myths and Legends Tour at the National Gallery yesterday.

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I dropped them off at 10 with Isabel and Annabel and 4 other boys and let them get on with it.

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When they arrived back at the same spot two hours later, they were telling me 3 paintings they saw – all under late rennaissance era.

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From never having been inside an art gallery to all of a sudden knowing who Titian was – that’s not something I could have ever taught!

There is something about them being with a stranger that makes them behave (in my opinion!) so Isabel encourages parents to drop the kids with her rather than join the tour (as much as you will want to!)

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As Isabel has two children (age 10 and 6) herself, she has an immediate way with children and knows how to engage them straight away.

They were given a Little Grand Tour silicon bracelet, a neck tag and a ‘passport’ to collect stickers each time they go on tour.

Boys

For the individual tours, they fill in a small form of what paintings they saw and have time to recall their favourite painting and redraw and colour it on the back of their worksheet.

Worksheet

Isabel knows how to bring art alive and I am looking forward to booking them on another one – I love the sound of ‘Picasso and Colour’ at Tate Modern!

Here is a list of what’s coming up

Wednesday 18th July: Cedric Morris & Floral Fun at The Garden Museum (10.30am-12.30pm)

Friday 27th July: Picasso & Colour at Tate Modern (10am-12pm)

Wednesday 15th August: Tate Britain (10am-12pm)

Wednesday 22nd August: Victoria & Albert Museum (10am-12pm)

Friday 27th August: Picasso & Colour at Tate Modern (10.30am-12.30pm)

Tuesday 28th August: Flower Fairies at The Garden Museum (10.30am-12.30pm)

Thursday 30th August: Flower Fairies at the Garden Museum (10.30am-12.30pm)

Contact Isabel to book hello@thelittlegrandtour.co.uk

thelittlegrandtour.co.uk

Fashion Little

5 Ways To Buy School Uniform On a Budget

The days, weeks and months fly past faster with each year that passes. How can it we be approaching the end of the school year already? Not one to wish away the holidays – before we know it we will be scrabbling around in September trying to piece together their school uniform. Not this time. I am going to get their uniform ready for September in the next few weeks before they break up as I know once that bell rings – the days are not our own for a good 8 weeks.

So, how to do this?

1) Are their any families leaving the school who might want to flog you their uniform. Approach them.

2) Are there children in your oldest kids year that don’t have younger siblings? Ask their mum if they want to sell their old uniform to you for your younger ones.

3) Head to that second-hand sale and make sure you go with a list!

4) Book an appointment with the uniform shop and ask for a discount if you are buying a quite a bit. It’s worth trying!

5) Put a message on your local area’s Facebook page and see if anyone is selling any?

Once you have all these bits in place – get the basics like socks, underwear and vests from your trusty Marks and Spencers.

They currently have 20% off school uniform at present.

I have never thought of heading to Marks for school shoes, but after a quick peruse – you can definitely cover the basics with their selection.

Check them out…

Leather Cross Bar Shoes : Sizes 8 small to 1 £20

Leather T Bar Shoes

Ballet Shoes : 5 Small – 4 Large £10

Ballet Shoes

Riptape Trainers : £14 5 Small – 12 Small

Riptape Trainers

Astro Trainers : £16 13 Small – 7 Large

Astro Trainers

Leather Shoes : £30 13 Small to 9 Large

Freshfeet

Don’t forget to go up a size as there trotters will no doubt grow over the holidays with all the 99ers they will eat!

Lots of love
Lucinda x

Fashion Little

New Brand Spotlight: Kit The Kids Out This Summer with These Online Shops

In the hecticness of life, it is hard to think of where to head when you actually need something, other than the big corporates (or the supermarket!)  We all have our default shops and where we head to for a quick virtual supermarket sweep, but its important to try and balance out this with smaller brands.  We have left it ia little late with independent shops on the high street, so let’s not leave it to late to support online shops.

Todays aim is to introduce to some wonderful businesses I have come across in the last couple off months which will help you get your families Spring Summer wardrobe together and encourage you to shop from smaller brands.  Why chance looking like everyone else, when you can look individual, knowing you are supporting someone’s dream?

St Berts 

Yesterday as I discussed with a friend what 8 year old boys should wear to Dress Down Thursday, we both agreed they were too old for appliqué or Lego logo T shirts – but we wanted to avoid looking like they had been dressed by us! I had no hesitation in recommending she looked at St Berts that have totally nailed the smart relaxed look.

I love this Chevron Sweater 

Chevron Tops

As they get older, I have noticed comfort is King and so these shorts work a treat.

Rainbow shorts

The girls playsuits are also so cute!!

Playsuit

The selection of T shirts will have you sorted for summer, so head on over and check them out.

Apatchy London 

As I packed the boys off to cricket camp at Easter with their Spiderman lunch boxes, I slightly cringed for them and made a mental note to get them something more grown up. Apatchy London have a huge range of super smart and very cool personalised bags and cases for travel, sport and school.

This Personalised Backpack is only £49. It is sturdy and understated but the personalisation makes it stand out as a bit different.

Back Pack

This silver holdall is a real showstopper. The quality is outstanding and would make a wonderful present.

Holdall

They also have brilliant smaller gift ideas, such as Pencil Cases and Mouthguard cases that you can attache to your sports bag!

Mouthguard

THIMBLE London

Emily started by making nighties for her own children, and then friends.. and then the rest is … Thimble Onion!

Her handmade nighties are just beautiful.

Traditional Nightie

As there was such a huge demand she has also started making dresses.

If you want one for the summer, get in touch as I have a feeling she will be busy!

Thimble Dresses

 

Twinkledust 

If you love simple strong prints and only the best fabric for your baby – you will love Twinkledust.  I love the star print – especially these little leggings!

Leggings

They also have a great selection of gifts, both for baby and mum to be and I am hoping this headband will fit me!

Headband

It is overall a lovely manageable one stop shop if you are having a bay or looking to buy something for a baby!  Check out the goodies in this Marvellous Mum Set.

Little Boxers 

Started by the gorgeous Caro who has just had her 4th baby, these boys boxer shorts are an absolute winner.

Boxers

As they don’t  have the traditional gap, they can be worn around the house and even for a quick dip!

Boys Boxers

Suitable for age 3 – 10. I am waiting for her to branch into mens!

Butterflies and Bees 

If you are staying with friends over the summer months – step up your guest game by taking your own towels. These hand stitched personalised towels are very sweet.

Personalised Towels

Why not take one as thank you present too? There are gorgeous hand towels or these face cloths are only £6 and would make the most lovely gift for a little person!

Facecloth

I hope these have inspired and do email me if you have any great businesses that I should be including hello@thelondonmummy.com

Have a lovely evening,

Love from
Lucinda x

Fashion Little

Get Ahead of Your Kids Summer Wardrobe

When I have had a spare moment these Easter holidays, I have been packing parcels for my shop (I have a theory that it’s busy in the holidays as women only have a second to do an online purchase rather than head to bricks and mortar stores as they do during the term time?) However it’s good to be back in the hot seat – sharing recommendations with you on The London Mummy!

We pretty much beavered away doing house jobs all weekend.

Decluterring, cleaning, gardening and wardrobe weeding.

I love an annual Spring clean and it was good to do before we bought anything new and take a reccy of what we actually needed. So what did we need? Other than a new drier (door has fallen off), TV (playdate gone very wrong – door stop thrown in to screen – on purpose) and new loo (rather embarrassing when you hear your guests yelp from the downstairs bathroom, oops I forgot to warn them about the wobbly loo seat) let’s talk kids clothes today.

What did we discover during the annual clothing reshuffle?

My daughter (3ys) had 7 different variations on a pink skirt and 20122 summer dresses, but no summer cardigans.

My second son (5 ys)  didn’t have any holes in his summer wardrobe, other than claims he needed a new football kit (umm no I don’t think you need every stripe in the Premier league!)

My oldest (7ys)  seems to get longer but not wider, so all the ankle swinging jeans were passed down to his younger brother (hence why he needs nothing!) and we resolve this long thin dilemma with shorts!

(I will save the gaps in my wardrobe for another time – oh is that the postman delivering a parcel? Yes, there will be a few parcels arriving this week!!)

So, where do you head when you need to do a practical, quality and well price? You guessed it – it’s time for Marks and Spencer Kids! 

GIRLS 3 – 16 YEARS 

Lobster Sequin Sweatshirt £16- £22

This goes up to age 16 (all the items I have included today are ages 3-16) and I do wonder if this could fit me? (That’s short-lived as I know it wouldn’t but I wish it did!)

Lobster Sequin Sweater

Tassel Pure Cotton Top £14 – £20

The placement of the tassels on this top makes it slightly different to the usual neck tie tassels. Just very cute. #addstobasket

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Frill Jump Suit £20 – £26

This colour isn’t for everyone but this jumpsuit has the potential to look very cool on the right little lady. (I am not sure I would put a 16 year old in it though, would you?)

Jumpsuit

Pure Cotton Sleeveless Ruffle Top £8 – £12

Want want want. (adult sizes M and S?) Will go with everything.

Avoid anything tomato sauce related when in it though.

Ruffle T Shirt

Frill Sleeve Stripe Playsuit  £18 – £24

The colour, the pattern, the ruffle sleeves, the belt. Yes, this is a winner.

Striped Playsuit

 

Tankini Set £12 – £18

I am not a fan of little girls in bikinis but I can stretch to a tankini if it is fun and not too grown up.  Love the colours and ruffles of this one – very Rio carnival.

Tankini

Striped Culotte £12 – £18

These look great on the girl modelling them and with a little white t-shirt, I think this could look lovely and super different to the norm.

Culotte

BOYS 3-16 YEARS 

Long Sleeve Polo Necks £4 – £7

These classic polo necks come in white and navy too. They are super easy to wear and they go with everything and for that price they could have one in every colour.

Polo

Pure Cotton Knitted Jumper £10 – £16

Again, not crazy but will go with everything.  Also comes in grey.

Cotton Jumper

Colour Block Hooded Gilet £20 – £26

The retro feel of this gilet combined with the classic colours makes this a very wearable coat for the Spring/Summer.

Gilet

 

White Embroidered Stretchy Cotton Shorts £10 – £16 Ages 3 – 16

You have to be very quick if you want to get these (or the pinks below for that matter) as a few sizes have sold out already. You can see why can’t you.

I LOVE THEM.

White Shorts

and also in pink

Pink shorts

Drawstring Swim shorts £10 – £16

Swimming shorts have to have a tie. It’s a false economy buying cheaper ones with a fake tie and just elasticated waist. (I am now a narrow waist expert – and it’s not mine I am talking about!)

swim shorts

 

Hibiscus Print Red Swim Shorts £10 – £16

You will certainly be able to spot little Timmy in the distance with these.

Hibiscus Trunks

Waterproof Cloggs 

These specimens are now part of middle class culture – so whether you like them or not they are here to stay – and the kids love them.

Cloggs

 

Enjoy the rest of the holidays! We are now changing over the school uniform from winter to summer, trying on shoes for size and doing last-minute homework. I am not leaving it to the night before (just day before this time!) like usual…

Love from

Lucinda xx

This post was written in collaboration with Marks and Spencer but all product picks are entirely my own. 

 

Family Life Little Products Reviews Spotlight

Mini Epic : Take The Chore & Bore Out of Party Invitations

Have you noticed how each class or school send children’s party invitations? There are three different groups. Some flick the date out on whatssapp (my worst – umm hello, I have lost the date before I can say ‘another whatssapp group’), loads use an online tracking service – sorry, I do love my kids and their friends and the convenience of having it all in one spot, but I won’t be paying for a coin for each invitation thank you very much. The majority of parents, send a paper invitation home in the book bag. Yes, this is lovely for the kids and if I was more organised I would put it in my inbox and reply straight away – however often not….

None ideal.

So, when I discovered husband and wife duo (a professional animator and a media producer) who had created Mini Epic as an alternative  way of sending kids party invitations – I was very excited!

 

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As parents of two young girls, they know the importance of getting invitations done as quickly as possible but also wanted something a little more entertaining than paper or a static image.

 

Party invitations rarely capture the excitement of what’s to come on the big day, so we wanted to create a new kind of invitation that’s entertaining, functional and makes the whole process of sending and managing invitations easier.

 

Mini-Epic is a fun and fast way to send online animated party invitations for kids’ parties.

  • You simply pick an animated template
  • Add your party details
  • Upload a photo and within 60 seconds your personalised invitation is ready to view.
  • Then you can send it by email and track your guests’ RSVPs (or download your invitation to share via WhatsApp)

And the good bit?

All for just £9.99!!!

 

Mini Epic

 

If you have a party coming up, you could try a free preview… 

 

I know for a fact a little girl who would love this 0ne…

UNICORN PARTY INVITATION

 

DANCE PARTY INVITATION

 

An oldest son who would like this one (although he isn’t allowed a video game party quite yet!)

VIDEO GAMES PARTY INVITATION

 

and a second son, who would like this invitation – he would watch it on repeat!!

FOOTBALL PARTY INVITATION

 

And they do adult invitations so I may just be winning in the original stakes when I decide to have a party!

Jonathan’s Favourites :

Restaurant : Antipodea in Kew Gardens – their Brew Melt is a family favourite for breakfast on a lazy weekend.

Hotel : The Dorchester – there’s something special about having afternoon tea there with our daughters once a year.

Holiday Destination : New York – we have family across the pond and we always make sure we fly in to the Big Apple – so much to see and do.

Shop : Hmmmmm…very difficult to say, but I do like Reiss, my wife’s a fan of H&M and our daughters love Smiggles at the moment.

Website : Vimeo – inspiration, inspiration, inspiration!

Parenting tip : If you’re serving food at your child’s party, try individual packed paper lunch bags. Not only will each child get the same portion, but you can easily cater to any food allergies and it makes clearing up a whole lot easier too. Oh, and go for juice boxes or small bottles of water – less chance of a spillage!

Website www.mini-epic.com

Twitter : @the_mini_epic

Facebook : @TheMiniEpic

Instagram : @mini.epic

One off £9.99 includes invitation and tracking.

Fashion Little

Threads for The Boys

We have just done a monumental wardrobe weed. Delivering 3 bin liners to the charity shop was cathartic even for the hoarders amongst us.  The boys were up first as they have a lot of clothes that they don’t wear. This is a combination of being in school uniform most of the week and football kit most Saturdays but mainly because the clothes they do have don’t fit!

The Rules of the Recycling

  • If it hasn’t been worn for year (through all the seasons)
  • Doesn’t currently fit (yup if the waist was tight – it’s out)
  • Had any marks on it (although we kept a few ‘gardening clothes’)

The boys don’t give a hoot about what they wear. Ok, they might prefer to wear Arsenal over Bolton Wanderers (like my footy knowledge?) or a Ninjago T Shirt to a playdate but if I tell them they have to wear something else – as long as I help them get changed (!) there is usually no argument.

Until they complain, I will dress them in the same jumper for as long as possible but instead of putting them in matching jumpers with a picture on it -we are going sightly more grown up. (They are 7 and 5)

Trip

 

So, now there is a whole in their wardrobe, these are some ideas for my latest sweep – no ripped shirts and ankle skimming jeans!

 

Colour Block Hooded Gilet £20 

An xtra layer under their coat or wear alone. I love the retro ankle of this – I am sure my brother had something similar 30 years ago!

Gilet

Rugby Shirt £12

Rugby shirts may be too preppy for some but if I want them to look relatively presentable it is a good option.

Rugby Shirt

 

Pure Cotton Navy Jumper £14 

Very safe but very VERSATILE.

Navy Jumper

Trainers £20 

I love the flash of green in these trainers (see what I have done?)

Old School Trainers

3 Pack of PJS £25

Absolutely bargain and if I went age 6 they could share a pack (pj bottoms are allowed to be short aren’t they?)

Pjs

Flip Flops £8 

Not often I see a pair of flippies (as we for some reason call them…hmm) I like, but I do like these.

flip flops

Cotton Chinos £16 

Find me a pair of jeans/trousers for age 7/8 that don’t have some weird stitching or detail on them and I will send you a case of caviar. It is pretty impossible to find in stock ‘normal’ trousers but I think I have done it (you have ti be quick, the simple stuff for boys sells out fast!)

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Riptop Trousers £12

Casual trousers for after school.

img_2238

 

Suede Chelsea Boots £20 

Not sure they would choose these but less affected than loafers. I am on the bench. What do you think?

 

 

Chelsea Boots

 

Yes, yes I hear you – lots of blue. But hey, my boys suit blue it is the basis of their wardrobe which is what I am trying to establish since the clear out. It goes with pretty much everything!

Hope this has helped, have a good day and give your boys an extra hug today xx

Days Out Family Life Fashion Little

Warwick Castle : An Educational Christmas Outing

A visit to a castle conjures up school outings, tours of the castle room by room and if you are lucky a token whip around the hedge maze. When we were asked to visit Warwick Castle with* Joules Clothing, we decided to give it a go as both boys have recently had Castles as their class topic.

Warwick Castle

Situated above Banbury and below Coventry, it was an easy journey along the M40.  The castle is hidden until you are through the gates.

Joules Coat

It is truly magnificent from the outside but only when you go over the draw bridge do realise the enormity of it.

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I felt the interiors were much more accessible than a lot of castles with few barriers and wax like assistants growing at you if you go too near the four-poster bed. As it is run by Merlin Entertainments who also have Seaworld and Chessington to their name, they have made it child friendly and interactive.

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Sadly as it was mid winter, the maze and adventure playground were closed. However, Christmas at The Castle is on till 31st December.

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The story time with Santa was enchanting and the visit to the Princess in the tower was a treat for little girls.

Father Christmas at Warwick castle

My highlight other than using the castle as an adventure playground (you can navigate your way around the whole castle along the top, weaving through small passages and up and down-arrow staircases.

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Be warned if you suffer from vertigo though – lots of see through walk ways. The 4 year old wasn’t too delighted by the narrow spaces so managed to wrangle being carried around.

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All this exercise built up a bit of an appetite and given a choice between the sit down courtyard restaurant and the all you can eat pasta and pizza buffet – yup you guessed it – we went for the latter and were pleasantly surprised by how tasty the food was for only £12 per adult and £6 for a child.

Peacocks

The highlight of the day was the Time Tower.

Cauldron

It consisted of an interactive video taking you through the history of Warwick Castle, the battles and the families that resided there. Its was a great brush up on Common Entrance history!

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Despite the freezing temperatures, we were all kept warm with our new Joules coats.  They are very well made, well insulated, comfortable and good shapes.

Here they are…

Belmont Padded Coat £59

Belmont

Noah Parka Jacket £69

Noah Coat

 

 

Farrington Jacket Was £99 Now £59

Farrington

I chose the Gosling Padded Coat due to the curve at the bottom and the flattering lines at the back.

Gosling Padded Coat

Sadly the red is sold out but there are still some Burgundy, Navy and Caramel left.

Gosling Caramel

H’s coat is also sold out but I love the Stafford Marine Navy Quilted Jacket as a smart alternative.  (They also do a mens version!)

joules_stafford

When I am next on the hunt for a proper winter coat I will definitely head over to Joules. The selection is vast and you know everyone will be properly insulated!!

PS. I have added these to my basket, as they aren’t just good at coats!

The Mens Crew Neck Jumpers £49 are very smart.

This Navy Boys Rugby Shirt is unbelievably in the sale!

I love this Pincord Dress – very original.

What do you think?

This is not a sponsored post however entrance to Warwick Castle and the jackets from Joules were gifted.