The weather is very unpredictable right now, and a trench coat is made for days when it can be sunny one minute and raining the next.
On a girly shopping day with my sister, I popped into a New Look for the first time in a while. I must admit, I rarely go in-store these days. When I go into New Look, I often feel like it's a bit too young for me. But on Saturday I had a quick browse and was shocked by how many nice pieces were on the shop floor. I'll definitely be making a bee-line for it again on my next trip.
At the moment I am shopping for a few transitional pieces for my wardrobe, and I'm kind of over my winter coat, so when I saw a whole space dedicated to the humble trench coat, I thought 'why not give it a try!'
There were three colourways to choose from in my local store - a traditional tan trench (the iconic colour made famous with the Burberry trench coat), black, and a khaki green shade.
© Leanne BayleyI decided to try all three on. At £40 for the tan, and £49.99 for the other shades, it's a real steal. Let's face it, the Burberry trench coat is stunning but it's nearly £2,000 these days, so if I can get the look (if you squint!) for less than £50, well, I'd be stupid not to.
I tried on the tan trench first, well, New Look call it stone. I probably don't need to go into too much detail on each one as they all feel the same and are the same length.
So, what are my takeaways about the £49.99 trench? Well, it was really easy to throw on - I wore a jumper and I decided to try on a size 14 which is probably what I'd go for in any coat I wanted to layer up underneath with.
The revere collared neckline is flattering and you can lift the collar up if you want that kind of look.
The sleeves fit well and I really enjoyed the detail on the cuff.
© Leanne BayleyThe coat buttoned up fine but I really like trench coats open and the belt tied at the back (there are lots of how-to videos on the internet of how to tie it the Burberry way!).
The fabric is really lightweight, this won't keep you warm but I wore a jumper underneath and I know it'll work really nice over a blazer as well. I often find when I'm commuting to London for work that I get too hot being all bundled up so a trench coat will be perfect.
The fit has a sort of fit-and-flare design, which I think looked quite nice but if you're pear shaped you might not like this kind of shape.
I can't decide on my favourite. I think the black might be my first choice as I think it would show less creases and less dirt.
Obviously if my budget was in the thousands, I'd be buying the Burberry trench coat but if £50 was my top budget, this is a really affordable coat that won't date. What's more, it's machine washable as well. If this isn't what you're looking for, check out my colleague Carla's edit of the best trench coats, or check out my other colleague Sophie who managed to track down the trench coat from Marks & Spencer that Vogue Williams advertised on her Instagram.
With all that said, if there's one thing I know for certain, the trench is the must-have jacket as we get closer to spring. Bring it on!
