Styling & Review By Simon Crompton
This is the new Donegal Overcoat - the update on the raglan coat released last year.
The only change on that version is the colour and the weight of the cloth. We decided to go with a heavier tweed this year, to make it into a true Winter coat: it's now 800g rather than 620g.
That makes it warmer, but also makes it drape and fall even better - something that's particularly lovely in a loose raglan, and hopefully comes across in images like the one above.
The yarn is the same as last year - from 'Donegal Yarns', the last remaining spinner of the product in Ireland. It’s a tiny mill that has been spinning the distinctive flecked yarn since the nineteenth century, and the Kilcarra tweed we used deliberately echoes the feeling of the first incarnations.
This year we just used a heavier version, and tweaked the colours. Essentially, last year’s was a grey and black herringbone, with variously coloured flecks. This year we’ve swapped the grey for brown, so overall the effect is of a deep, dark-brown cloth, with natural, organic variation.
We did this both to offer something different and because I felt a dark brown like this would still be versatile. It’s easier to wear with grey trousers or knitwear, but just as smart - an effective bridge between casual and formal, as the grey was.
I knew I didn’t want warm brown, as mentioned on the original piece. But this mixture with black works perfectly.