Nicholas Daley Smock Parka

A parka is a cold-weather garment by definition. It was developed by Arctic peoples, adopted by armies for the same reasons, and every version since has been built around trapping heat: a long body, a heavy shell, and usually a lining that adds more. Cutting one in linen is close to a contradiction in terms, and it is the reason to look at this.

Linen is a bast fibre taken from the flax stalk. It conducts heat away from the body rather than holding it, moves air better than anything else worth wearing, and creases the moment it is asked to bend. What it gives a parka is the silhouette without the function, which sounds like a criticism and is not. The parka’s shape, long and loose and pulled over the head rather than opened down the front, turns out to be a very good shape for heat once the insulation comes out of it.

Against that, curved panels of waxed cotton, which is the house signature and the hardest cloth Daley uses. They are cut as curves rather than as the straight panels on the trousers, which is considerably harder to sew and much quieter to look at. The pockets are mixed, some patched on and some welted in, which is unusual on one garment and reads as somebody thinking about each pocket separately rather than repeating a decision down the front.

Why we selected it

We took this because a summer parka is a thing almost nobody makes and because the curved wax panels are the best version of that detail in his work. It also shares its cloth with the Fonte Tailored Jacket and the Wide Beach Short, which is the closest this house comes to offering a whole summer at once.

A panel of waxed cotton somewhere unexpected is the most consistent Nicholas Daley signature there is, and on the Smock Parka it is cut as a curve rather than as a straight panel.

Materials and construction

Body one hundred percent linen. Lining one hundred percent cotton. Made in England. Smock cut, curved waxed cotton contrast panels, patch and welt pockets. Colours: Oatmeal and Beige.

A welt pocket is cut into the cloth rather than applied on top of it and finished with a narrow bound edge, which is the more difficult of the two treatments to execute. Having both on one garment is the detail worth noticing.

Fit notes

A smock, so it goes over the head rather than opening down the front, and it is cut loose because that is the only way that construction works. Linen relaxes noticeably across a day and returns with washing, and the cotton lining keeps the body hanging away from you rather than clinging. Take your usual size. This is not a garment to size down.

Styling

Over the Aloha Shirt with the Wide Beach Short in the same oatmeal and beige, which is how the cloth was meant to be seen. Over a plain tee with the 70’s Trouser in navy linen. Oatmeal takes anything plain and will not take a tartan.

Care

The waxed panels govern the whole garment. Do not machine wash, tumble dry, or dry clean it, because all three strip the wax out of the weave and the linen body cannot be treated separately from panels sewn into it. Sponge the waxed sections with cold water only, dry flat away from heat, and tell any cleaner about the wax before you leave it. Our fabric care guidance covers the rest, and this is one of the pieces where the exception matters more than the general rule.

Related pieces

The Fonte Tailored Jacket and the Wide Beach Short are cut in the same oatmeal and beige. The Wide Leg Cargo Pant in green linen is the linen trouser, and the Utility Waistcoat in mustard and yellow check the linen layer. Everything we carry from Nicholas Daley is listed together.