Cotton Blend Country Parka with Stormwear™

PROS: Very smart and stylish; gorgeous, rich colour; love the fabric; beautifully made as always. Small CON: the usual size we go for online was so big had to find local store to change and finally took 2 sizes smaller than we would normally! Slightly larger CON but still acceptable: wish it was possible to completely remove the hood as it makes the neck feel rather bulky.

In common with other shoppers who bought this coat, I found the fit ti be bigger than anticipated. I initially had to exchange a Large to a Medium. It is a warm and comfortable coat and has the advantage of having a hood that rolls up in to the collar. A minor niggle about a personal preference in terms of pockets is the 2 small external pockets high on the chest. Not easy to access and not a useful size. I am also not a big fan of the diagonal internal pocket but I could have got used to it. I got my exchanged coat on 2/2/17 and have worn it about twice a week since then.. On 1/3 I was fastening my seatbelt in the car when I noticed a tear on the top inside corner of the left hand pocket. Cursing myself for being careless with a new coat I looked at the right hand pocket to find that it too had a tear in the same way as the left hand pocket. Beyond coincidence in my view so I looked at the other reviews on this site to find that a number of others had the same problem. I went to my local M&S to show them the coat and although I contemplated an exchange, I decided to get a refund. All in all, a nice product but poor quality with the pockets.

This is a lovely jacket with a fatal design flaw. The large exterior pockets are only sown onto the (thin) external layer of the coat, not through into the lining. After only a few uses, the tops of both pockets pulled off the coat - in one case, ripping the coat itself (so not mendable). I had put nothing heavier in the pockets than a paperback book or a pair of gloves. Fortunately M&S gave me a refund, but it was a real disappointment. An almost-identical jacket I bought from M&S about four years ago is still going strong - despite much heavier wear, including on the pockets! If you do buy it, my advice would be: don't use the pockets - or sew them properly.

A good quality garment - nice colour, feel and fit

I bought this coat last week before the "big freeze" so ideal timing. Very warm and sized right to wear a couple of layers underneath if required. Advice from other reviewers was correct - if you are LARGE. MEDIUM size will suit, which it has. Haven't yet been rained or had to use the hood, so can't comment on water-resistance. All round good coat - especially when I got 20% off with the promotion.

I was looking for a waterproof, well made, damage proof replacement for an older garment. It needed to have plenty of pockets including an inner zipped pocket for phone and wallet. It also need to have both button/stud and zip front closing with a storm collar and stow away hood. The Country Parka with the Stormwear trademark met all of these requirements, had an adjustable waist cord to accommodate extra clothing, and outside pocket space for maps etc. It was the right colour and I am pleased with it. The only slight criticisn I have is that the two main external pockets which have button closing flaps at each corner means that anything bulky tends to leave the curved pocket flad revealing the top of the contents. I would have preferrred zips with covering flaps, this is however a matter of style but in a hurry, the buttons are harder to undo. I have yet to use the Parka in rain, but in cold weather the inner padding is adequate, It is smart and cosy, and I consider it to be a good purchase.

I bought medium, which is my normal size. The sizing seemed more like extra large.You do not do a smaller size in long and. tall so had to be returned for a refund.

Great fit, exactly what I was looking for. Typical M&S Quality 5 Star item.

buy again that good coat a star

Good points: 2" longer is good length for me (6' 3"); practical pockets; nice feel; press studs instead of velcro - hooray! Bad points: Large (42" chest) shoulder width more like 44" and body felt and looked more like a 46". Am returning and trying a Medium.