Mumsnet Talk

I was in Tesco on Monday evening and there were 3 women (with children) all wearing a navy blue waist-length quilted jacket with sort of big brass-coloured buttons. They weren't together in any way, they just had separately decided to wear the same coat, it seems. I'd guess they were all early-40s.

Is it a code for something?

I was behind one of them at the checkout, she had 3 little girls and they all had school boaters on. I overheard her say to the checkout operator that she was struggling because 2 of her girls were on half-term and the other had hers a different week.

Which leads me to my second question - Is there a connection between wearing your school boater whilst on half-term and having a mother with a blue quilted jacket?

I immediately thought I must ask mumsnet, it's the type of thing that I could only get an answer for here.

Do you mean this kinda thing?

If so, it's just a horrible fashion trend for people who like to show they have money. Unfortunately for them it's been adopted by every market stall in the country and is now as equally naff as Daniella Westbrook in her Burberry

That's exactly it, Bunny!

I guess the boater-wearing thing is also about showing you have money.
How strange.

You wouldn't think they'd openly shop at Tesco!!

Yes, it's a secret code that the Masons devised in the 1600s to show they had discovered an ancient scroll which details the whereabouts of the descendants of the dinosaurs and the lettering on the buttons can only be understood by those who have followed a trail across the museums of Europe.

Alternatively, it's an item of clothing that is currently thought to be fashionable by some mums who may, or may not, also favour schools with hats as part of their school uniform.

Sorry, but ROFL at "Is there a connection between wearing your school boater whilst on half-term and having a mother with a blue quilted jacket?" - that has really cheered me up.

I guess both are attempts to demonstrate that you have more money than sense. You make a valid point, though - if you were that sort of person, would you not do your Tesco shopping online rather than be seen in there .

If you buy the high-quality ones they are lovely. Worn alot by the posh people where I live (Highlands), along with LeChamaue (sp?) wellies and nice hats.

MIL bought a tiny for our baby as a joke. I'm a bit sad it doesn't fit him now, made him look like either a tiny chav or a tiny country gent depending on which hat he wore.

Posh mummy jackets!

Its the fashion copied off Barbour etc and has now filtered down to Tesco's, Matalan and Asda.

There were loads of pretty pattern lined ones in Joules today... it looks like Traveller chic

Joules ones show your a posh Mummy at our school, DCs will probably leave for private secondary.

I have a £25, Sainsbury's one my DDs think is Chavy, I didn't realise DD1 even knew the word, but that was her instant reaction.

She is right, cheap gold zips and poppers are too brash.

The expensive ones are generally worn by the kind of country mum who doesn't give two hoots about shopping at Sainsbury's, Waitrose or Morrisons and has a rather filthy car with a Labrador in the back.

School boaters on in half term? I hate them even in term time. Horrible, stupid hats.

I've noticed one or two people at dd's school who seem to feel the need to prove they are posh by buying their child designer clothes and bags and turning up at the school gate in Jack Wills stuff (which I won't even wear myself at 32 because it's quite obviously for college and uni students) It's sad and comes down to insecurity imo.

The family who really are upper middle class don't care what their kids are wearing or what anyone else thinks about it.

Means they are pretentious usually.

Ah, this explains why their is a strange outbreak of "stable-lasses" on the buses of North East London.
Quilted stable jackets, jodhpurs and fake barbour wellies. I didn't think their were that many riding establishments in the Walthamstow/Tottenham environs.

However, if they moan about my quilted jacket I do have a 14yo fleece

So if I wear a Barbour I'm a pretentious posh travelling chav? Blimey.

DS1 calls them 'Freezer aisle jackets', as worn by the the lovely staff of M&S whilst restocking their chilly bits

The posh horsey ladies wore them when I was a teen. My sister had one (we were dirt poor) her rich friend gave it to her as she had been given a new one.

They are Barbour usually, or imitation Barbour. Proper ones are lovely, thin but really warm and very comfy.

Didn't realise wearing one made me a posh chav though I am horsey if that acts in my favour, although my stables attire is certainly not posh.

I have one of these. Mine's purple and quite expensive.

I am not wannabe posh, nor a chav, nor a traveller. Neither do I own a horse any more.

I wear it because it's warm and not because of any secret code.

I do think that if you're going to be a crashing reverse snob, you might as well be more overt with it, rather than dressing it up as a question.

Also, since when did it become ok to say 'chav' again? Or does it only count in certain circumstances?

Ive always said chav. If people want to dress and behave like one I am quite happy to call them one.

I was walking through Swindon town centre the other day, which for the uninitiated is a place devoid of class or style in any way, and I noticed that almost everyone looked as though they were on their way to go horse riding, rather than to primark which is what they actually were doing

I have seen that Chavs have now started wearing Barbour....

OP.. which part of country are you in.. in my area we may well be on the way to the yard, with kids in tow, wearing our barbours and stopping off at tesco for a few bits; before climbing back in to our filthy Volvos with the border terrier in the boot....
love my Barbour but have had it for many a year now not Chavy round my rural area..

BranchingOut that's me!

Except its a Jack Russell...

and I don't have one of those coats because they are fugly

those jackets always remind me of the jackets the m and s checkout operators wear (or used to wear)

I now shudder at the sight of a Barbour Jacket and Hunter wellie ensemble. Especially when worn for high street shopping. Like sports kits... Ok on the sports field, but not anywhere else.

I know both Barbour and Hunter are upmarket brands, but they have been crucified atm

the big yellow barbour logo does make me laugh, it's like a corporate badge and does make people look like they are on their lunch breaks

<off to Google "sports kilts">

KITS doh!!! How disappointing .....

Just what's in fashion.
Means cock all.

The expensive ones are generally worn by the kind of country mum who doesn't give two hoots about shopping at Sainsbury's, Waitrose or Morrisons and has a rather filthy car with a Labrador in the back.

I knew one of these women in the early ninties and she wore those coats then, with wellies.

Trendsetter

How sneery some of you are. I'll get me Barbour coat.

All Italians get a dark quilted jacket when they turn 18, to swank about Rome with sunglasses and earrings... they can pull it off

Same with Superdry though all the Chavs started wearing that and ruined it .

I grew up in a horsey family and grew up wearing the cheap knock-off versions of Barbour and Joules.

Now I can afford the real stuff second-hand from eBay I do feel a bit annoyed that everyone else is wearing it!

If you live in the countryside you'd have seen these jackets and Barbour wellies for years and years. I've got both because they are practical and warm when walking through muddy fields with the dog.

DD has one. From Primark. She is 16.

Now, sports kilts would be interesting!

Code for liking horses more than people.

it makes me laugh when i see men in their 40s in superdry clothing. i guess it's safe, people know it costs £££ and they probably think it makes them look trendy rather than rather sheepy

There were loads of pretty pattern lined ones in Joules today... it looks like Traveller chic

I have one from Joules, i love it.
<shrugs>

Judgy much?

I must be a posh chav then as I wear my red Barbour coat and red Hunters together. Cringe.

I must be a posh chav then as I wear my red Barbour coat and red Hunters together. Cringe.

Don't care what people say about Hunter wellies. They are the best wellies I've ever had. Especially with the sheepskin insoles. Last pair lasted over 5 years so well worth the money imo.

The bright purple ones are quite wank though.

As are clean ones.

It's all part of the fashion apparently influenced by horse riding. It doesn't look anything like what my DD wears to go horse riding, it's clean for one thing, her body protector still has mud stains on it from a recent fall.

I live in a village in the Highlands in the middle of nowhere.
The only people that dress like that hideous jacket in the op are the huntin', shootin' and fishing lot that come up to the estates round us, and the actual owners of said estates who only come up a couple of times a year.
The rest of us in the village wear the usual High Street stuff, or a nice warm waterproof coat.

I have one for the stables. It's very practical! Washes and dries quick (for those days when the horse has blown its nose all over your front) hay and hair doesn't stick to it (unlike fleece which is the stupidest fabric ever for anyone with a pet) warm, but light enough to actually be able to work in without overheating. I tend to complete the look with shite encrusted yard boots, windswept hair and fingerless gloves. Brass buttons are highly impractical, the horse would probably eat them.

The expensive ones are generally worn by the kind of country mum who doesn't give two hoots about shopping at Sainsbury's, Waitrose or Morrisons and has a rather filthy car with a Labrador in the back.

Actually, round here they are worn by people who aspire to that lifestyle or want to project that image. I live in London suburbs, where people have a maximum 5 x 5 ft patio garden btw. But they want to say "I have a pile in the country" or "My parents have a pile in the country"

I have one from Crew.
It's a good car coat.

Barbour wax jackets and tweed flat caps got a bit 'trendy' in the early 90's... then came Burberry for rappers!

It's aspirational fashion. It's seen as being worn by folk with a certain lifestyle (middle class, horses, dogs, 4x4 and very, very English), not by everyone of course, but certainly by some.

If it's your usual style and you see lots of other folk wearing it, you should be flattered... they want to be like you!

I've been considering digging out my 20 year old Barbour and rewaxing it for dog walking. I've also realised I need longer boots than my ankle high Muck boots for muddy gateways and was considering getting some Hunters simply because I have a high instep and most wellies don't fit.

Perhaps I will rethink as I don't want anyone thinking I am actively trying to be fashionable.

The cheapy kind (mainly in black) are common as muck on the school run in the market town where I live. Mainly paired with black leggings & proper Uggs (pre christmas, they were cheap imitations) & generous hooped earrings.

I've been wearing these since the age of 8. Along with waxed jackets, hunters and all these other "fashionable items". Only mine are covered in holes, horse dribble, hay, poo, mud and pony hair. If you're lucky I may even manage to produce a dog biscuit. They also stink and I wear them until they fall apart.

Then because people suddenly think these items are a must have, the prices have DOUBLED and the quality has halved. Whoever was responsible for this is a twat!

I remember working in an office in the early 90s and going back to work the first day after the Christmas break. I had left my coat behind visiting family over the festive season so had to wear my Barbour waxed jacket instead.

There was a bit of an unpleasant group in the office who liked to put people down and one twat of them had a bit of giggle at me wearing my trendy new Christmas present picked it up and called everyone's attention to it until I pointed out the holes where the horse had chewed through the sleeve and the decidedly unsavoury stain on the back because mine was kicked around stable yards and lived in the boot of my car. That was a very rare point scored in my favour but I enjoyed it.

I find that the fake horsey people are always missing one essential element which gives the away. People who really hang around stables smell of horse sh*t by the end of the day. Funnily enough they don't seem to want to go that far

Eau de muck heap anyone?