Dark by four

Four o’clock

In the middle of a British winter the sun sets before four in the afternoon. By the time most of us leave work, the station or the school gate, it is already dark, and we walk home in whatever we wore that morning: a grey coat, dark trousers, a navy jumper.

Reflective clothing exists, of course. But almost all of it is made for running, cycling clubs or roadworks: bright colours, broad tape, a sporty cut. We could not find a coat to wear to the office that also had a little reflective detail in it. So we started making one.

Why we hide it

We wanted clothes that look like clothes. The reflective part should be one quiet line you only notice when you are looking for it, the kind of detail a tailor might add, not a stripe that announces itself. So we set it where a trim would normally go:

• Piping. A 4 mm reflective piping sewn into a seam: the back of a collar, the edge of a pocket flap, a yoke across the shoulders.
• Yarn. One strand of reflective yarn knitted through a jumper, a cuff or a beanie. It reads as a grey fleck.
• Turn-ups. A fine diagonal stripe printed inside the trouser hem, which only shows when you roll it up.

Every piece carries one of these, so they work together: a beanie, a coat and a pair of trousers share the same line. Our head-to-toe outfits show where it sits on each.

Day view and flash view

Every product has two main pictures. The daylight view shows the piece as you will see it most of the time. The flash view shows the same piece when a bright light falls on it, so you can compare where each one reflects and how much. Use the Lights off switch at the top of any page to see the whole shop in flash view; the site remembers your choice on this device.

What it is not

QUELNAVI is everyday clothing. The reflective details only shine when light falls on them, such as car headlights. They are a design feature. They are not designed, tested or certified to make you visible to drivers, and they do not replace a high-visibility vest, bike lights or other visibility equipment. Read more on our product safety page.

How we make it

We design every piece and have it made for us by specialist clothing manufacturers. Sizes are unisex, from XS to XXL, with UK and EU equivalents on each product page. We sell online only, in pounds, euros, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian kroner, Swiss francs and US dollars.

Questions or ideas? We read everything at support@quelnavi.com.