please help me find an 'anorak'

[misshardbroom]

I have a very limited coat repertoire, namely the following:

gorgeous beautiful new Monsoon coat for going out to special places and pretending to be a lady that lunches.

long M&S black wool coat in dire need of a dry clean, which I have decided makes me look like dirgey student c.1994

a really really crappy black nylon-y anorak type thing with quilted lining and hood, which I bought ten years ago for going travelling, and it wasn't flattering then. But I hang on to it because there's days when it rains a lot, or I have to take muddy children round the park.

If I wanted to replace it with something rather more attractive, what could I get? We do a fair amount of weekend walking round parks and woods, but don't have horses or dogs, bit of camping in the summer. I'm a 5'11' size 10-12.

so basically you want somethign waterproof with a hood that isn't too warm (for year-round wear) and has a modicum of style?

budget?
general style?

basic parka type
Boden school-run mac
The North Face 'Grace' also has a good rep but I can only find the insulated version
the AIgle Sugey is lovely but probably too warm for a summer waterproof

I'd be tempted by a 3-in-1 with a zip-out fleece for maximum versatility www.regatta.com/product-detail.asp?ref=2583tus or similar

NB you must also either ditch the M&S coat and wear the Monsoon one more, or replace it with a practical wool one - lots in Debenhams & HoF sales atm.

3-in-1 thus or similar

yyy!!

The North Face Grace jacket is exactly what I want and there's a non-insulated version on ebay at the moment, but I'm rubbish at ebay and will probably not get it.

We have a Regatta outlet locally so I could look in there, I just get a bit overwhelmed with choice so need to know what I'm looking for.

Will peruse some more web pages (while eating some of your tea loaf, MrsB ).