Most fashion labels make a coat because a collection needs one. Creenstone coats exist the other way round: the Dutch label makes outerwear and very little else, and everything in the range is a coat, a jacket or something to keep the rain off. That focus is the whole argument for the brand, and it is worth understanding before you spend on one.
The brand describes itself as having "25 years of experience" in outerwear, and says it believes in "high end design, but we never compromise performance". Those are its words rather than ours. What we can tell you is what the coats are actually like to handle, to fit and to live in, because we sell them.
At a glance
- Creenstone is Dutch, and makes outerwear almost exclusively
- The range splits into weather coats, quilted and down styles, and wool
- Cut through the waist rather than straight, so most styles take a belt or shape well without one
- Continental sizing, usually 36 to 44, which is not the same as a UK number
- Hoods and inner layers are often removable, so one coat covers more of the year
- Check the care label before the first clean, particularly on anything down-filled or technical
- What Creenstone actually is
- Choosing between the styles
- Fit, and where the sizing catches people out
- Looking after it
- Frequently asked questions
What Creenstone actually is
A specialist. Walk through the range and there is no dress, no knitwear, no handbag. Coats, jackets, rainwear, and that is the list.
Specialising does not automatically make a thing good, but it changes what a label spends its attention on. A house that makes forty coats a year is solving coat problems: where a hood sits, whether a sleeve lets you drive, what happens to a hem when you sit down. A house that makes four is mostly solving how the coat photographs.
You see it in the small decisions. Detachable inner panels rather than a single fixed lining. A hood that is shaped rather than a flat piece of fabric sewn to a collar. A back pleat that lets the coat move instead of pulling across the hips when you walk.
Choosing between the styles
The range divides into three, and the right one depends less on taste than on what you actually do in the day.
- Weather coats and trenches. The everyday answer. A hooded trench with a removable quilted layer is the one coat that covers October through to March in this country, because you take the middle out when it warms up rather than buying a second coat.
- Quilted and down. Warmest, lightest, and the ones that pack down. Better for cold, dry cold than for horizontal Dorset rain, and the long lengths do far more than the short ones.
- Wool. The smart option, and the one to buy if the coat mostly goes over tailoring rather than over jeans.
If you are choosing your first one, take the weather coat. It is the least glamorous answer and the one that gets worn four times as often.
Worth saying plainly: we hold a small Creenstone edit at any one time rather than the full range, and the new season's coats land in stages. The Creenstone page is the live picture, and the wider coats edit sits alongside it.
Fit, and where the sizing catches people out
Creenstone uses continental sizing, so you are looking at 36, 38, 40 rather than 10, 12, 14. That is the first thing that trips people up online, and it is the reason a coat arrives either swamping you or straining across the back.
Three things to check, in order of how often they go wrong:
- The shoulder. A coat is fitted from the shoulder and nothing else rescues it. The seam should sit on your shoulder bone. Too wide and the whole coat hangs backwards.
- Room for what goes underneath. A coat that fits beautifully over a shirt is a coat you cannot wear over a jumper in January. Try it on over the thickest thing you would realistically wear.
- Sleeve length with the sleeve down. People check sleeves with their arms by their sides. Reach forward for a steering wheel and see where the cuff goes.
If you are between two, ring us on 01202 767888 before you order. Coats are the worst thing to guess at and the most annoying thing to send back.
Looking after it
The care label on the coat is the authority, and it is worth reading before the first clean rather than after. Outerwear covers a wide range of constructions, and what is right for a wool coat is wrong for a down-filled or technical one.
The general points that hold across most coats: clean less often than you think, hang it on something with enough shoulder to support the weight rather than a wire hanger, and store it somewhere dry with room around it rather than compressed between other things. If a coat has a removable inner layer, take it out before storing.
Anything beyond that, ask us or ask a cleaner who handles outerwear. We would rather you rang than guessed.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Creenstone from?
Creenstone is a Dutch label. Its business is based in the Netherlands and it specialises in outerwear, which is almost all it makes. The brand describes itself as having twenty five years of experience in coats and jackets. If you have seen it described as German somewhere, that is not right, and it is a confusion worth clearing up because the two have quite different traditions in outerwear.
What size Creenstone coat should I order?
Creenstone uses continental sizing, typically 36 to 44, so the number will not match a UK dress size. Fit from the shoulder first, because that is the one measurement nothing else compensates for, and allow room for the heaviest layer you would genuinely wear underneath. If you are between two sizes, ring the boutique on 01202 767888 and we will tell you how that particular style comes up rather than guessing from the brand as a whole.
Which Creenstone coat is the most useful if I only buy one?
A hooded weather coat or trench, particularly one with a removable inner layer. It covers autumn through to early spring because you take the quilted middle out as it warms up, rather than needing a second coat for the shoulder seasons. Down and quilted styles are warmer but have a narrower window, and a wool coat is the better buy only if it will mostly go over tailoring.
How should I clean a designer coat?
Follow the care label on the coat itself, and read it before the first clean rather than after. Outerwear varies enormously in construction, and what suits a wool coat will not suit a down-filled or technical one. As a general rule most coats are cleaned far more often than they need to be. If you are unsure, ask us or use a cleaner who regularly handles outerwear.
Do you stock the full Creenstone range?
No. We hold a curated edit rather than the whole collection, and new season stock arrives in stages through the year, so what is on the website is the accurate picture at any moment. If there is a style you have seen and cannot find, ring the boutique. We can often tell you whether it is coming, and we are in the shop to look at what is actually on the rail.
Written by No19 Boutique
No19 Boutique curates European designer womenswear from 19 Westbourne Arcade in Bournemouth, chosen for quality, cut and considered design. The team knows the brands properly and will tell you honestly what suits you, in store and online across the UK.