Ripstop Makes Ripping Car Coat

Trust SEH Kelly to seek out new and exciting ways to use British fabrics. To boldly go where no clothes maker has gone before.

This time they're using a plain-weave ripstop aramid (aromatic polyamide) fabric — by AW Hainsworth of Yorkshire? — which is typically used in specialist protective clothing for the emergency services.

Parachute material

Ripstop is a high-density fabric that is reinforced with a  crosshatch of thick threads. It is extremely lightweight, waterproof (and quick drying), windproof and hard-wearing, but also breathable. It was originally developed in the second World War as a replacement for silk parachutes.

Great utility yet timeless elegance

SEH Kelly have taken this utilitarian fabric and have created something not only of great utility, but with a timeless elegance. The Car Coat in sand-coloured ripstop has classic written all over it — not literally, of course.

Zoom in and you see an expertly cut collar, horn buttons, a well-positioned 'curtain' protecting some decently-sized pockets.

Zoom out and then back in again on the inside — without getting dizzy — to witness bound seams and extra layers of protective ripstop. They haven't stinted on the protection.

Near-miraculous

Due to the near-miraculous properties of the fabric, SEH Kelly advocates the coat as a year-rounder. The qualification being the addition or removal of layers as the climate dictates.