Le Mont Saint Michel: Which Work Jacket Should You Choose?

At Le Mont Saint Michel, several jackets look alike at first glance: the same workwear spirit, patch pockets and a straight button front. Yet they are not chosen in the same way. The pattern, the fabric, the fabric finish, the size system and the intended use change from one model to the next. This guide compares only the pieces actually sold at AURA: the cotton moleskin work jacket, its Vintage Washed version, the Verdadero in double-face wool and the Guino knitted work cardigan. For each model, it sets out what the brand publishes (cut, composition, manufacturing, sizing advice) and what it does not. The full selection is in the Le Mont Saint Michel collection.

In short

• The original model: the cotton moleskin work jacket, sold at AURA as the Moleskin Work Jacket ("La Véritable Veste de Travail" at the brand). Traditional straight cut, fabric woven in France, assembled in Europe.
• The same garment with a worn-in look: the Vintage Washed. Same 100% cotton moleskin, same traditional straight cut and same sizing advice, with a wash that softens the fabric.
• The roomiest cut: the Verdadero, which Le Mont Saint Michel describes as a "slightly roomier and more structured" version of its work jacket.
• The only wool option: the Verdadero, in a 50% wool, 50% polyester double-face fabric. It is the best suited to cooler temperatures.
• The classic French blue work jacket look: the moleskin jacket in Blue.
• Two size systems: numeric sizes (42 to 60) for the moleskin jackets, letter sizes (XS to XXL) for the Verdadero and the Guino. The brand publishes no conversion between the two.

Comparing Le Mont Saint Michel jackets

Cut, sizing advice and manufacturing: the brand's own wording on its product pages. Fabric weight: the figure published by Le Mont Saint Michel where one exists.

Le Mont Saint Michel gives 500 g/m² for its "emblematic moleskin" on the product page of its Pero trousers. The brand does not, however, publish a specific fabric weight for the work jacket.

Le Mont Saint Michel publishes no garment measurements (chest width, shoulders, back length, sleeve) for these models. A measured difference in volume or length between two jackets therefore cannot be established from official data. The only comparative statement the brand publishes concerns the Verdadero, "slightly roomier" than the work jacket.

From left to right: Moleskin Work Jacket in Black, Blue and Light Grey, then the Verdadero in Navy. Same model, same setting, same framing.

Pockets, fastening and details

The models in detail

The moleskin work jacket (Moleskin Work Jacket)

This is the brand's reference 00112MV, "La Véritable Veste de Travail". At AURA it comes in three colours cut from the same pattern: Black, Blue and Light Grey. Le Mont Saint Michel describes a traditional straight cut, with three patch pockets, natural corozo buttons and double felled seams. The fabric is a 100% cotton moleskin woven in France, in a mill that, according to the brand, has kept a traditional craft going for more than a hundred years; the jacket is then assembled in European workshops. The brand describes it as water-repellent, to be washed at 30°C and air-dried. It recommends wearing it all year round, on its own or over a jumper. It is sold in numeric sizes: at AURA, from 44 to 52. Our model (1.80 m, 65 kg) wears a 46.

The Vintage Washed

The Vintage Washed (reference 00113MV) uses the same base: 100% cotton moleskin woven in France, assembled in Europe, a traditional straight cut, three patch pockets, corozo buttons and the same sizing advice as the moleskin jacket. The difference is the finish: a wash that ages the fabric in a controlled way and gives it, according to the brand, a softer texture and the look of a jacket that has already been worn. Le Mont Saint Michel states that the moleskin is very tightly woven in a satin weave and that the jacket can still be machine washed at 30°C. Each piece carries a hand-numbered label. Choose it if you want the look of an old jacket from day one rather than a new moleskin that will age over time. At AURA it comes in black, sizes 46 to 52.

The Verdadero

The Verdadero (reference 14793MV) is not listed by the brand among its work jackets but among its coats and jackets: Le Mont Saint Michel presents it as a wool take on its work jacket, "slightly roomier and more structured". It is cut from a double-face fabric of 50% wool and 50% polyester, with a contrasting cotton canvas pocket and a buttoned inside pocket. The brand specifies a roomy straight cut, dry cleaning, and manufacture in Asia at one of its partner workshops. It comes in letter sizes and the brand recommends taking your usual size. At AURA it is available in navy, from S to XL. It is the jacket in the selection best suited to cooler temperatures, and the one that leaves most room for layering, based on the brand's description.

The Guino, a knitted work jacket

The Guino (reference 12544MG) is a cardigan that the brand describes as a "knitted work jacket". Polo collar, one chest pocket and two patch pockets, a milano knit of 50% merino wool and 50% acrylic, made in Romania. Straight, minimal cut, usual size. It is not an outer layer in the same way as the moleskin or wool models: it is the option for the codes of the work jacket in a knitted piece.

Moleskin, Vintage Washed, double-face wool: what changes

Textile moleskin has nothing to do with leather or any animal material. It is a very tightly woven cotton fabric, in a weave close to satin, which gives it a slightly lustrous surface. Le Mont Saint Michel describes it as windproof, slightly waterproof and water-repellent, and calls its own moleskin "the thickest on the market". That is the brand's claim, which we cannot compare figure for figure with other moleskins. On its fabrics page, the brand associates moleskin with autumn and spring; on the jacket's product page, it presents it as a piece to wear all year round, on its own or over a jumper.

In practice: between the plain moleskin and the Vintage Washed, the fabric and the pattern are the same; only the finish changes. The first has a firmer hand to begin with, the second is softened from the start. The Verdadero belongs to a different family: wool makes it the warmest piece in the selection, at the cost of more demanding care (dry cleaning). Le Mont Saint Michel does not publish a fabric weight for the Verdadero or the Vintage Washed.

How does Le Mont Saint Michel fit?

There is no single answer for the brand: it depends on the model, and above all on the size system it uses.

Moleskin jackets: numeric sizes

The moleskin work jacket and the Vintage Washed are sold in numeric sizes, from 42 to 60 at the brand. That number is not a suit size. Le Mont Saint Michel gives two rules: in Europe, take your usual suit size and subtract 2; in the UK and the US, add 8 to your size. Someone who wears a UK 38 suit will therefore take the jacket in a 46.

Conversion calculated from the two rules published by the brand. At AURA, the moleskin jacket is available from 44 to 52 and the Vintage Washed from 46 to 52.

Verdadero and Guino: letter sizes

The Verdadero and the Guino come in XS to XXL, and in both cases the brand recommends your usual size. The Verdadero is described as a roomy straight cut: the volume is intended, not something to correct by sizing down.

Can the two systems be compared?

No, not size for size. Le Mont Saint Michel publishes neither a conversion between its numeric and letter sizes nor garment measurements. A 46 in moleskin and an M in the Verdadero therefore cannot be compared directly. The only official comparative information is qualitative: the Verdadero is a little roomier than the work jacket.

How to choose your jacket size

For the moleskin jackets, the official method is the simplest: start from your suit size and subtract 2 (or add 8 to a UK or US size). To check a choice, or for the Verdadero, the most reliable approach is to measure a jacket you already own and that fits you, laid flat:

1. Chest width: armpit to armpit, jacket buttoned.
2. Shoulders: from one shoulder seam to the other, across the top of the back.
3. Back length: from the base of the collar to the hem, at the centre back.
4. Sleeve: from the shoulder seam to the end of the sleeve.

As the brand does not publish these measurements, compare them with the AURA team before ordering if you are between two sizes. Keep the intended use in mind too: the brand suggests the moleskin jacket on its own or over a jumper, and describes the Verdadero as roomier.

Which Le Mont Saint Michel jacket should you choose?

For a traditional work jacket

The moleskin jacket: the brand's historic model, in a traditional straight cut. The Blue colourway is closest to the classic French blue work jacket; the Black and Light Grey are exactly the same garment.

For a worn-in look

The Vintage Washed: same pattern and same moleskin, but washed and softened from the start.

For a roomier cut

The Verdadero, which the brand describes as slightly roomier and more structured than its work jacket.

For cooler weather

The Verdadero, the only wool jacket in the selection. Moleskin is a fabric the brand associates mainly with autumn and spring.

To wear all year round

The moleskin jacket, which Le Mont Saint Michel presents as a piece to wear all year round, on its own or over a jumper.

For a knitted alternative

The Guino, a work cardigan in milano knit, with the patch pockets of a work jacket.

Le Mont Saint Michel and the French work jacket

The brand was founded in 1913 in Pontorson, at the foot of Mont-Saint-Michel. The brothers Louis and Henri Ariès set up a workwear workshop there for labourers, craftsmen and farmers in Brittany and Normandy. The cotton moleskin jacket was one of the pieces that built its reputation for "hard-wearing" clothing between the 1920s and the 1970s, alongside school smocks and corduroy trousers. In 1998, Alexandre Milan, from the family behind the Tricotages de l'Aa knitwear company, relaunched the brand and opened it up to more contemporary fashion. Its design studio is now based on the historic Monthorin site in Brittany and draws on the brand's archives.

The work jacket remains at the heart of the range. According to the brand, its fabric is still woven by the same mill in France, the jacket is assembled in Europe, and each one carries a hand-numbered label. That is what sets the moleskin jacket apart from the brand's other pieces: Le Mont Saint Michel is a French brand, but not all of its pieces are made in France.

Manufacturing: model by model

Le Mont Saint Michel jackets available at AURA

The current selection, with available sizes, is in the Le Mont Saint Michel collection.

• Moleskin work jacket: Moleskin Work Jacket Black, Moleskin Work Jacket Blue, Moleskin Work Jacket Light Grey
• Vintage Washed: Moleskin Vintage Washed Work Black
• Verdadero: Verdadero Double Face Jacket Navy
• Guino: Guino Work Cardigan Grey

To compare with other work jackets in the AURA selection, see our French chore jackets page. Le Mont Saint Michel pieces are available in our Rennes store and online, with delivery across France and Europe.

Frequently asked questions

How does Le Mont Saint Michel fit?

It depends on the model. The moleskin jackets use numeric sizes: the brand advises taking your usual suit size minus 2 (or adding 8 to a UK or US size). The Verdadero and the Guino use letter sizes, in your usual size.

Does Le Mont Saint Michel run large?

The brand gives no general rule. On the moleskin jackets, the label number is offset by 2 from your EU suit size: a 46 corresponds to an EU 48 suit (a UK 38). The Verdadero is intentionally roomier, and the brand still recommends your usual size.

Which Le Mont Saint Michel jacket should I choose?

The moleskin jacket for the historic model, the Vintage Washed for the same garment with a worn-in look, the Verdadero for a roomier cut in wool, the Guino for a knitted version.

What is the difference between Le Mont Saint Michel jackets?

The moleskin jacket and the Vintage Washed share the fabric, the cut and the sizing advice; only the wash differs. The Verdadero changes fabric (double-face wool), cut (roomier), size system (letters) and place of manufacture (Asia).

What is a moleskin work jacket?

A jacket in textile moleskin: a dense cotton fabric, very tightly woven in a weave close to satin. It is neither leather nor an animal material. Le Mont Saint Michel describes it as windproof and water-repellent.

Are Le Mont Saint Michel jackets made in France?

Not all of them, and not entirely. For the moleskin jackets, the fabric is woven in France and the jacket is assembled in Europe. The Verdadero is made in Asia and the Guino in Romania. The brand is French, with a design studio in Brittany.

Where can I buy Le Mont Saint Michel in France?

At AURA, in our Rennes store and online at aura-estore.com, with delivery across France and Europe.