The winter coat I bought back in... oh... was it 1996? 1997? has finally reached the point where it looks like it belongs to a homeless person. (One with access to laundry facilities, at least.) It wasn't that bad at the beginning of the season, but the tears where the pocket corners join the jacket are getting ridiculous, and the cuffs are showing their age too.
A friend admonished me, for goodness sakes, not to buy a men's coat. She offered to take me shopping, but I had already arranged with my dad, since then it would be a Christmas present from him. (Actually, it was because I remembered seeing a nice selection at some places he took me before, and which were awkward to get to by bus... plus the possibility that the coat might become a Christmas present.)
Saturday I bought a ladies coat, although I had some misgivings. It was very fitted, and I'm not used to having winter coats being fitted. The salesperson convinced me that you don't *want* a lot of extra room, because then you had to heat all that air. However, there was *no* extra room, even though the coat was XL. I got several second opinions on Sunday, and decided that I wasn't going to be happy with the coat.
Today dad and I returned that coat, and went shopping in the men's department. (Sorry R!) I now have a men's size L down jacket. (M might have fit, but they were out of Ms, and S was definitely too small.) Dad and I were debating who I looked like more... I said the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, but dad said the Micheline Man. (After googling the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, it turns out he was fictional fictional, for Ghostbusters. I guess my dad never saw that movie.)
There were some nice looking coats in the women's department that fit, but they had polyester outer fabrics that were attracting dirt from well over a foot away (dad tested using a scrap thread he pulled off one), and, in addition, the fabrics didn't feel that durable. Why is it that only men are expected to need practical outerwear? *sigh*
Tomorrow, you may laugh when you see me, but I shall be warm. (Hmmm... I wonder if I'll still fit in a single bus seat?)
5 comments:
I was just telling someone yesterday that I will not be a slave to fashion if it means sacrificing warmth.
Stay-Puft, I swore was a marshmallow brand when I was a kid and then came Ghostbusters, and now Stay-Puft is again a marshmallow, although caffeinated. Lands End, as does LL Bean both have nice womens coats that are warm (they have temp guides) and aren't "Puffy"
My "Michelin Man" coat is from Land's End. It's not as puffy as it could be... but in end, you can fashionable or you can have warm... you can't have both!
I must say I find the temp guides on Land's End useful from a relative standpoint but not so much from an absolute standpoint. (I wouldn't wear my "WARMER: -5° to 15° F" Squall jacket in anything lower than 40 -- it's my spring-and-fall jacket.)
I'm actually having zipper problems with my current Land's End parka. It's annoying because it seems absurd to replace a perfectly good jacket over a zipper, but I don't think I'm a good enough seamstress to replace it myself and I'm pretty sure that paying someone to fix it would be more expensive than buying a new coat.
There's no Lands End or LL Bean locally, and I have a hard enough time finding clothes that fit my somewhat odd shape that I'm not generally willing to order clothes online.
Bethany: you might want to ask a seamstress, in case it's cheaper than you expect. It probably also depends on how well the rest of the coat is holding up, and how much you like it.
I think your new coat looks great. (I am not a fashion plate, and I second your comments about ladies' coats not being practical. Why? I want WARM.)
Bethany, I've had zippers replaced in coats for MUCH cheaper than a new coat. And I liked the new zipper better than the old one.
H
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