A Letter From Eleanor · Co-founder of Merlow London
Merlow London · October 2026
For 15 Autumns I Watched Women Hide in Grey Jumpers. Ursula Is the Sweater I Chose So You Never Have To.
On the six things I insisted on when we chose Ursula, how she compares to the jumpers already in your wardrobe, and why she is £44.95 during our anniversary.
Ursula, worn the way I wear her: loose trousers and a little silver.
I am Eleanor, and in 2011 my sister Sophie and I started Merlow London with one stubborn belief: no woman should ever have to choose between feeling comfortable and looking beautifully dressed.
Every year around this time, the same thing happens. The first cold morning arrives, and out come the jumpers. And almost every one of them falls into one of two piles.
The first pile is warm and safe: grey, beige or navy, shapeless, the kind of jumper nobody ever notices, including you. The second pile is bold and colourful, and somehow made for a twenty-year-old. I never accepted that a woman our age had to choose between disappearing and dressing like her granddaughter.
Ursula is my answer, and she is the one I am wearing myself as I write this, over black trousers on a cold October morning. When Sophie and I were putting together this autumn's collection, I had a list, and I was not going to give up a single point of it. These are the six things I insisted on.
1Colour, but grown-up colour.
Rich olive, warm mustard and black, laid out in bold diagonal blocks. It is colourful without being loud, and it goes with the jeans, black trousers and boots already in your wardrobe. One piece, and the outfit is done.
"The olive, mustard and black look so good together. Different without being too much, and surprisingly easy to wear."
2A diagonal button placket that starts conversations.
Sophie was not sure about this one. I insisted. Four chunky black buttons running on a diagonal, right across the colour blocks. It is the detail that turns a jumper into something people ask you about.
The buttons Sophie said were too much.
"Those diagonal buttons get noticed every time I wear it. I've already been asked twice where I bought it."
3Warm, without the bulk.
A soft, textured knit that keeps the chill off on a cold morning walk, without the chunky weight that adds a size to your silhouette. Warm enough for the school run, comfortable enough to keep on all day.
"Warm enough for chilly days, but never heavy or bulky. It feels beautifully soft as well."
4A shape that holds all day.
Most knits look lovely at nine and have stretched into a sack by three. Ursula has a structured, tailored cut, so she sits neatly on the shoulders and keeps her shape from breakfast until dinner.
Neat on the shoulders, still neat at the end of the day.
"It sits beautifully and keeps its shape all day. Really flattering without clinging anywhere."
5Every size from S to 3XL.
This was the point I would not move on. A beautiful sweater should not stop at XL. The woman in a 3XL deserves the same Ursula as the woman in a small.
"I'm a 2XL and it fits exactly how I hoped. Comfortable and roomy without making me look bigger."
6An honest fit, so she arrives right the first time.
Because Ursula is structured, she has little stretch. That is exactly what keeps her shape, but it means one honest note from me: if you are between sizes, choose the larger one. I would rather tell you now than have you send her back.
"I went one size up and I'm glad I did. It gives me just the right amount of room without looking oversized."
Ursula, against the jumpers you have been buying
You can find an autumn jumper for around £45 almost anywhere. I know, because I have bought a great many of them. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
- Grey, beige or navy, so you disappear
- A plain front with nothing to notice
- Chunky and bulky, adds a size
- Stretches out and sags by the afternoon
- Stops at XL
- Olive, mustard and black colour blocking
- A diagonal placket with chunky buttons
- Soft textured knit, warm without bulk
- Tailored, holds her shape all day
- Every size from S to 3XL
I refuse to sell a jumper that asks a woman to choose between staying warm and looking like herself. That is the whole reason Ursula is in our collection.
Why Ursula is £44.95 right now
This year, Merlow London turns 15. Sophie and I talked for a long time about how to celebrate, and we kept coming back to the same answer: with the women who made these fifteen years possible.
So for our 15th Anniversary Sale, Ursula is £44.95 instead of £130. And when you choose more than one piece, you save even more, taken off automatically at checkout: 10% extra on 2 pieces, 15% on 3, 20% on 4 and 25% on 5 or more. So Ursula with a second piece at the same price comes to £80.91 for both.
The anniversary prices are only here for a limited time. When the celebration ends, so do they.
If fifteen years of Merlow London have taught me anything, it is that a woman who tries Ursula once starts looking at the rest of the collection with different eyes. That is the quiet bet I am placing in writing you this letter at £44.95.
"This is the jumper I keep reaching for when I want to feel put together without trying too hard. I wear it with black trousers and boots, and nearly every time someone comments on the colours or those unusual buttons."
Folded, tagged and ready to go out to you.
I am genuinely proud of Ursula. She is everything I was looking for all those autumns, and I hope she becomes the first thing you reach for on a cold morning. Delivery is free across the UK, and you have our 30-day money-back guarantee. If she does not make you feel wonderful, simply send her back.
With love,
Eleanor & Sophie 🤎
Ursula · Colour-Block Knit Sweater
- Olive, mustard and black colour blocking
- Diagonal button placket with chunky buttons
- Soft textured knit, tailored fit, S to 3XL
- Free UK delivery & 30-day money-back guarantee
Choose more and save: 10% extra on 2 pieces, up to 25% on 5+.
See if your size is still availableAbout the writer. Eleanor co-founded Merlow London with her sister Sophie in 2011. Fifteen years on, she still chooses every piece in the collection with one question in mind: would a woman feel both comfortable and beautifully dressed in it?
This is a personal letter from the founders of Merlow London. Anniversary prices are valid for a limited time and while stock lasts.
15th Anniversary Sale