Cotton-twill winter work jacket

The first work jacket of the season is nothing if not winter-proof, constructed as it is from the most stouthearted cotton-twill the north-west has to offer, and lined with a warming, brushed wool-melton.

The garment ticks many of the well-established work jacket boxes, but nudges them towards something more relaxed, and a little better suited, perhaps, to everyday wear.

So, the usual short and boxy work jacket fit is softened: the garment sits closer to the body on the chest and waist, and the arms have been slightly tapered from elbow to cuff. Not to abscond from its role as an outer-most item of outwear, though, the jacket is still sufficiently roomy to be worn over shirts, overshirts, jumpers, and so on and so forth.

Like any sensible outerwear garment, it also has plenty of room to put stuff. Patch pockets with turned-down details sit at the front of the garment; they double-up as wool-melton-lined slouch pockets, meaning that they can be gotten at from the top or sides.

Front-facing patch pocket, which can accommodate hands from either the top or the outside-seam side.

The French navy-coloured cotton-twill, mentioned at the top, hales from Lancashire, England, from a family-owned mill among the most distinguished in the north-west. It has a compact but breathable weave, and while the characteristic diagonal ribs and grooves of its weave pattern are decidedly prominent, it has a remarkably soft handle.