On Coats (Again)

Sale PSA: A simple and loose cotton minidress from Madewell, now 60% off, ruffled sneakers from AGL, now 40% off, simple leather espadrilles from Everlane, now $74, and the fluffy yarn fleece jacket from Uniqlo, now $25 for a limited time.

How were your weekends? I’m writing the last bits of this post right now on Monday morning. Distance learning is killing me!

Anyway. Recently, I managed to purge some coats from my closet. I was very proud of myself. I sold one, sent two to The Real Real, and donated another. Was patting myself on the back about all the empty closet space (outerwear does take up LOTS of room)…only to find myself these last few weeks thinking about fall wardrobe…and how much I’d like a nice new coat for fall! To stop myself (OK, I have allowed that I will get one more this season, but you know, this season ahead shall be LONG and stressful so I must bide my time) I decided as a delaying tactic to share some of my favorite coat brands in my closet and how my experiences with them have changed over time.

Max Mara: I love Max Mara. Who doesn’t? Some of my all time favorites are still from Max Mara, including one short black jacket that’s more than a decade old. But lately it’s been hard for me to see the value in some of their coats. Don’t get me wrong, I can see the QUALITY in their main line – but $4K (and above? And now they have so many diffusion brands (S’ Max Mara, Weekend, SportsMax, etc) that it kind of confuses me because the styling can look very similar. For example: the gorgeous Manuela. So beautiful, so classic, (and not even the most expensive coat the brand has, by far). But then this one from their Weekend line is a fraction of the price, and okay, the material isn’t camel hair, but still looks quite good, etc etc. For many pieces, I find it hard to understand/justify the prices charged. And of course, if you’ve ever checked out the prices at a Max Mara boutique in Europe…it’s even harder to go back to US prices. The retail prices in Europe are literally half off.

J.Crew: I actually think J.Crew is underrated as an outerwear brand. Due to its ah…less than stellar management over the years it seems to have kind of gone from the “American classics” perception to more of a fast fashion one…which is sad because they still make a lot of great items. I think their coats are always well priced, well done, have nice details, and can usually be found at least 40% off if you wait a little bit. One of my favorite coats is from J.Crew (maybe from eight or nine years ago). They have a GREAT green shade this year. I have a thing for green coats.

Theory: The OG of making this style coat above (the Clairene) and still does the best iteration, in my opinion. Wait for a Friends/Family sale to get this one since it always qualifies! Actually I just realized it is on sale at Theory now, for their friends/family, and at Saks, too! BUT the one downside of Theory is that at full price, I definitely feel that it is too expensive…and for similar/better quality and at lower prices, I’d check out:

The Curated: I reviewed their classic coat earlier in the year and still am very happy with the purchase. They recently came out with a size XXS which is a great option for petite ladies. I kind of like mine though, it is nice and comfortable and oversized and I like having the option to wear thick sweaters underneath without feeling encumbered at all.

What are your favorite coat brands? Any specific ones you’re picking up for fall?