They may not be the most stylish items of clothing but now that temperatures have seriously start dropping, wearable hooded blankets – oversized, fleecy garments somewhere between a blanket and a hoodie – are a must-have for the home, whether it's working from home or snuggling up on the sofa at night; they may even help to reduce your heating bills.
Oodie is arguably the most famous make of hooded blanket, offering a huge array of fun designs, but more recently other brands have also started to prove popular, including Kuddly and Snuggly, plus big-name retailers such as John Lewis and The White Company also do their own.
I've tried out 13 different ones in total in a bid to stay warm at home, returning them all apart from one, which came out in top for me in terms of warmth, comfort and design...
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Laura Mulley)Pros
- Incredibly soft and warm
- Comes in loads of colours and designs
- Large pocket on the front
- May help to reduce bills by reducing the amount of time you have your heating on for
- There's usually a money-saving deal on
Cons
- Not particularly stylish
- Only comes in one size (6XL)
- Quite expensive at full price for an item you only wear at home
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Laura Mulley)I resisted buying on of these for ages on the grounds of style (or lack of), but once you've tried on, there really is no going back – and it turns out that, in my opinion, Oodies are the market leaders for a reason. It was the best one I tried – and, even better, they're currently all half price, down from £65 to £32.50.
What I liked most was perhaps the obvious: just how incredibly soft, snuggly and warm Oodies are, and keep me warm and toasty when working from home. At their 6XL size they really do feel like wearing a fleecy blanket. Oodies also feel high quality compared to some of the others I tried on; not sweaty or static. They wash well (although do fill up the whole washing machine!) and, unlike some, can even be tumble dried.
Oodies also win points for the sheer number of designs they come in, from food and animals to cartoon characters and star signs – although aside from the plain coloured ones, most do have more of a childish, cartoony style (this space print one was about the most 'grown up' I could find). This makes them great for gifting, if you're starting to think about Christmas shopping.
One other that has made its way into our home is Kuddly's Black Sherpa Hoodie Blanket, currently reduced from £89 to £29; my boyfriend likes it for its simple black design and sheepskin-effect fabric.
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