Way back on Christmas Day last year, I was a tiny bit bored with all the rubbish TV, so I decided to download issue 25 of Vintage Life. Scrolling through, I found the Christmas Wishlist feature and immediately fell in love with the Collectif Gretel Coat.

Page from Vintage Life magazine.

Well, who wouldn’t? It’s an amazingly extravagant coat, straight out of Little Red Riding Hood – and a beautiful colour to boot. Unfortunately, at £160 it was definitely out of my price range – but then, a Christmas miracle happened. I checked out Collectif’s Facebook page and discovered that the company was running a 40% off discount… And they had one Gretel coat left, in my size. It was certainly fate, and who am I to fly in the face of the cosmos’ mysterious ways?

I ordered immediately, and when the coat arrived I fell in love all over again – but to be honest, I’ve chickened out of wearing it until last weekend. This is not a coat for the faint hearted. I was originally going to wear it last weekend, but with all the snow and ice I figured it would be just my luck to skid on the ice and fall over – embarrassing enough, but even worse when you’re dolled up to the nines. So when I was invited to the launch of The Powder Room on tour (more on that later!) I knew this was the perfect opportunity to wear my coat!

Coat: Gretel by Collectif. Hair: The Powder Room @ Paper Dress*

As you can see, you certainly wouldn’t be lost in the crowd wearing this beauty! Sometimes, I wish I’d gone for the more subtle black version (but there weren’t any in stock, so it’s a moot point!), which would be more wearable, but then again, if you want to make an impact, this is certainly the go-to coat! Check out those beautiful pleats on the skirt, and the pretty pom-poms! The fabric has a gorgeous texture to it, and although the coat is very heavy, that makes it all the more snug for cold weather.

I thought I’d give you some behind the scenes info on taking this photo too. I employed a technique called ‘faith in humanity’, which involves setting your very expensive DSLR camera on timer mode in the middle of central London on a Saturday, and then running off so you can get as much of your body in shot without risking a heart attack. I also used another technique called ‘looking casually at buttons pretending to be doing important stuff’ which is useful when someone starts hanging around near you and looking suspiciously like they’ve mastered the art of ‘nicking someone’s camera when they’re taking photos of themselves in public by leaving their camera on the side’. Just a little insight there, in case you guys were students of photography like myself. (Please note, I have no idea what to do with my camera yet other than timer mode and no flash mode… But I am learning many techniques, which I am happy to humbly share with you!)

* My hair styling session at The Powder Room was complimentary for the purposes of revew on my blog – I’ll be posting a proper write-up later this week!