Primark’s £28 hooded raincoat is the school-run layer for soggy September mornings
This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small amount of money if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. The school run in autumn is a weather lottery. You leave the house in. . .
This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small amount of money if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. The school run in autumn is a weather lottery. You leave the house in bright sunshine and come back nine minutes later looking like you’ve been for a swim. Most of us have quietly given up on the forecast. What you need isn’t a beautiful coat. It’s a coat you don’t mind hanging off the end of the buggy, stuffing in the boot of the car or wearing over pyjama bottoms – nobody’s looking that closely at 8. 40am. Primark’s checked anorak is aiming squarely at that job. It’s £28, it comes in khaki and it’s built the way a school-run coat needs to be built. That’s a good deal less than you’d pay for the same shape elsewhere on the high street. Why a fixed hood matters more than you’d thinkA fixed hood is one that’s sewn onto the collar rather than zipped or buttoned on. It sounds like a small detail. In practice it’s the difference between having a hood when the sky opens and remembering it’s in the drawer at home. Detachable hoods are brilliant right up until the moment you actually need one. It’s worth knowing what checked outerwear is doing for you, too. A check breaks up the surface of a coat, so mud splashes and the handprint your toddler leaves on your hip don’t show up the way they would on plain navy. That’s not a styling tip so much as a survival one. © PrimarkCheck Hooded Raincoat, Primark, £28A checked anorak in khaki with a zip front, a drawstring waist and a hood attached to the collar. The outer is a polyester blend with a full polyester lining, so it holds its shape rather than hanging like a bin bag. It’s £28 and it’s sold as a raincoat, which in Primark’s language means it’ll see off a shower and a drizzly walk home. It isn’t mountain kit, so don’t take it up Scafell Pike. The drawstring waist does the styling for youAn anorak is a boxy shape by design. Left alone it can look a bit like you’re wearing a tent, which is fine on a wet Tuesday and less fine if you’re going on somewhere afterwards. Pulling the drawstring in at the waist gives you a shape without you having to think about it. Cinch it and the coat reads as deliberate over jeans or a midi skirt. Leave it loose and there’s room for a thick jumper underneath come November. That’s one coat doing two jobs, which is rather the point at this price. © PrimarkThe zip helps here as well. A full-length zip means you can open the coat right up when you get indoors without doing the awkward wrestle over your head, and close it to the chin when you’re standing at the gate in the wind. What to wear it with on the school runJeans and trainers is the obvious answer, and there’s nothing wrong with obvious at 8am. If you’d rather it didn’t look quite so functional, a knit in cream or grey underneath lifts the khaki nicely. Primark’s £20 zip-through shacketworks on the same principle for milder days. © PrimarkBoots are the other easy win. Ankle boots or wellies both sit well with a check, and both keep the puddle situation under control. For the colder end of term you’ll want something padded instead, andM&S’ £40 padded jacketcovers that job. 5 Questions About Primark’s Check Hooded Raincoat1. Is it properly waterproof?It’s sold as a raincoat and it’ll handle a shower or a damp walk to school. Primark doesn’t publish a waterproof rating, so treat it as showerproof rather than something you’d wear up a hill in a downpour. 2. Will the hood stay up in the wind?The hood is attached to the collar, so it can’t go missing. It hasn’t got a drawstring of its own, which means in a proper gale you’ll still be holding it. That’s true of most anoraks at this price. 3. Can I put it in the washing machine?Yes. The care label says wash at a maximum of 30°C with similar colours. Don’t tumble dry it, don’t bleach it and don’t send it to the dry cleaner’s. Cool iron only, and keep the iron off the trim. 4. What colour does it come in?Khaki. The check is woven into a khaki base, which is why it sits happily with black, cream, grey and denim without any planning on your part. 5. Can I get it delivered?Primark doesn’t do standard home delivery, so it’s Click and Collect from your local store. There’s a £10 minimum spend on online orders and collection is free, though it isn’t available in Northern Ireland.