The women's parka in the Gloverall range
A parka is the practical end of a coat wardrobe: hooded, cut long enough to cover properly, and built around weather rather than around tailoring. The women's range is led by the Shepherd Dufflewool Parka, style LS6165, cut from a showerproof outer fabric and insulated with Dufflewool. It is made for everyday wear in changeable conditions, which is most of a British winter.
Past-season women's parkas, including the Coleman and the Radcliffe, are in the women's surplus parkas collection at outlet prices.
Dufflewool, and why the insulation matters
Dufflewool is Gloverall's own wool fill. The Shepherd carries it at 220 grams per square metre, under a 100% cotton shell of 135 grams per square metre. The reason to care about a wool fill rather than a synthetic one is what it does when conditions are not ideal: wool keeps insulating when it is damp, and it breathes indoors, so the coat does not become uncomfortable the moment you step inside.
That combination is what the Shepherd is for. It carries its warmth inside rather than relying on a heavy outer cloth, so it stays wearable without the bulk of a heavyweight wool coat.
The specification in full
The Shepherd has a fixed hood, a fishtail back and four front pockets, two welt and two bellow. There is an internal waist adjuster and the cuffs are adjustable, so the coat can be closed down in wind or opened out over a jumper. The trim is rubberised and branded. The fit is regular.
It comes in two colours, Navy and Army Green, in sizes XS to 2XL.
Parka, duffle coat or overcoat
A parka is hooded, casual and built for weather. A duffle coat is wool on the outside, toggle-fastened, and the coat Gloverall has made since 1951. An overcoat is longer and more formal, cut to wear over tailoring. Choose the parka when the day is wet and cold and does not call for a smart coat.
If you want the same insulation in a different shape, Dufflewool also appears elsewhere in the range. If you want wool on the outside as well as inside, the duffle coats and wool overcoats are the ones to look at.
Sizing and layering
The Shepherd is cut to a regular fit and runs from XS to 2XL. It is designed to layer over knitwear, so there is room for a jumper underneath without sizing up. The internal waist adjuster lets you take in the shape once the layers are settled, which is worth using rather than choosing a smaller size.
If you are between two sizes, check the size guide against your own measurements, and take into account what you expect to wear underneath it through the coldest months.
Looking after it
The Shepherd is dry clean only. Do not machine wash it, do not tumble dry it and do not bleach it. If it needs pressing, use a cool iron. A wool-filled coat rewards being cleaned properly and infrequently rather than often, and the outer fabric is showerproof rather than waterproof, so it sheds rain but is not built for sustained downpours.
