THE SAVVY SHOPPER: coats

Showing posts with label coats. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Dior Rose Des Vents Double Sided Coat

Dior's Rose Des Vents Double-Sided Coat is super cute. Hooded and belted, it's 99% wool and 1% silk. Although I'm reluctant to pay $4,500 for the Dior designer name, I love Dior's style and this coat. Luckily I have 2 fashionable alpaca wool coats also made in Italy I bought years ago for a whole lot less and don't need another coat. But a gal can always get into fashion!

If you pine for the Dior wrap coat look, fortunately, there are a few budget-friendly options from other well-known brands that seem to be copying the Dior coat, or perhaps Dior copied them? So you don't have to pay the piper to get the vibe.

Sam Edelman (left) and Karl Lagerfeld Paris (right)

Know that the rose des vents pattern is unique and a signature of Dior. The inspired belted coats lack the pattern and hood and aren't reversible. They are also a wool blend, but still super stylish and a fair tradeoff for a much lower price tag. As Mick Jagger famously sang, "You can't always get what you want." But if you apply yourself, you can sometimes come close enough!😛

Ted Baker

How do you feel about belted coats? I lean towards a cleaner look. I prefer buttons and snaps to a knotted belt closure. When people must fiddle with a belt, often they leave it untied. It's better to tie it in the back for neatness instead of letting it hang loose to possibly get lost.

Dior is always a fun browse for inspiration and quality!

Monday, November 21, 2022

Which Uniqlo Down Coat Should You Buy?

Compare Uniqlo's Seamless Long Down Coat (left) with its Ultra Light Long Down Coat (right). Guess which one I like?

When down coats 1st appeared on the market, I was committed to wool coats, soft alpaca wool to be precise. It wasn't until the launch of fitted-down coats I became interested. The warmth and lightness combined with a slender silhouette sold me ... and I haven't looked back since!

Seamless

Initially, a goose-down coat was considered a casual coat. Nowadays people (me included) think nothing of wearing a down coat over a ball gown to attend galas or over a business suit to the office. With everybody wearing down coats, you don't look dressed down anymore. It's freed me from coat checks too. Weighing next to nothing, I just bring my down coat to my table, lay it either on the back of my chair ... or rolled up by my feet under the table. Nobody ever notices, nor do I have to worry about ruining or retrieving it from an attendant after the night ends. As opposed to searching for a ticket to go stand in line, I can simply head for the exit!

My new favorite retailer for down coats is Uniqlo. The quality, durability, understated style, and price points are unbeatable! Every fall the merchant brings out new styles such as a Seamless Down Long Coat in addition to their classic Ultra Light Down Long Coat. A Hybrid Down coat, a 3rd choice, is Uniqlo's warmest coat.

Which coat is right for you depends on where you live. How cold does it get? The Ultra Light Down is my favorite because of its leaner, lighter, dressier look. In New York City I stay toasty warm in it all winter long. Perhaps on the coldest day of the year, I'll wear an extra layer of merino wool underneath it.

In fact, over the years, I bought 3 Ultra Light Down Long Coats. One about 10 years ago, the 2nd coat in 2020, and this year, a 3rd coat for my mother. Each year, Uniqlo brings them back, and they try to improve them based on customer feedback. The lengths have gotten about 3 inches longer, which works for winter, but note: the coat is not maxi-length, it's over the knees length.

Sadly the 2022 version lost the pocket zippers, which isn't a dealbreaker. The pockets are not shallow, so items shouldn't fall out easily, I just like the extra security zippers provide.

For customers who desire a maxi-length, Uniqlo usually brings out a much longer maxi-length Ultra Light Down Long Coat in the winter. But I like the versatility of the over-the-knees Ultra Light Down Long Coat. Easier to walk around New York City in it.

Uniqlo makes the ultra down outerwear into jackets, liners, coats, and relaxed coats without collars. Their down coats and jackets are their specialty and the apparel piece that got the innovative Japanese retailer 1st noticed in New York.

The best recommendation I can give the coat is ... I keep buying it. I like the looks, the warmth, and its durability. I still wear my 10-old-year ultra down coat, which is above the knees in length.

My mother and I like to go up one size as we prefer our down coats roomy for potential bulky sweaters if we decide to wear bulky styles. The coat is fitted, not boxy so sizing up won't swallow you up.

Since Uniqlo opened its doors, I've never spent more than $79 - $129 (on sale for the lower price) for a long down coat, and you can skip wearing a hat and scarf. All you need is a pair of gloves.

In a single piece, customers are all bundled up without being all bundled up. Lightweight and super warm without the bulk! You can spend $600 - $2,300 for a down coat, but with Uniqlo, there's no need to do so. Like me, my mother loves her Uniqlo Ultra Light Long Down Coat!

Thursday, January 14, 2021

How To Layer In Winter

All images courtesy of LL Bean - usually I must hunt for photos, but LL Bean did the work for me for this blog.

Due to global warming, Manhattanites haven't had long, frigid winters in about a decade. Oddly enough, sometimes we have a 22 degree F day followed by a 52 degree F day in the same week. In the 1980s Upper East Side women wore mink coats from December through April. (I used to shiver as I walked by in my wool coat and scarf! Stylish as it was, I was cold!) The mink has been replaced with goose down coats ... yet more often than not, with wool or goose down jackets! But in places still experiencing polar winds and arctic temperatures, people need to master the art of layering to stay warm and comfortable ... and it's good information for all of us who live in a winter climate.

In researching the topic I learned an interesting fact: Your biggest problem isn't getting cold, it's staying dry ... i.e., not getting too hot and sweaty, which in extreme cold can be a symptom of hypothermia, a life-threatening condition that can strike in 5 minutes as your body temperature falls too low. If you start sweating in extreme cold, you need to quickly shed layers to survive. I didn't know this!😳

So let's learn from the experts the correct way to layer to keep hypothermia at bay. According to LL Bean (and confirmed by other sources), when temperatures hit subzero wear a:

1) Base layer - made of silk, wool or polyester - The 1st layer is designed to keep your skin dry, which helps keep you warm. The base layer wicks (or moves) moisture (sweat) away from your skin as you engage in activity (i.e., move, walk, climb).

2) Middle layer - This is your insulating layer to hold in the heat generated by your body. Select wool, midweight fleece or synthetic fabrics like polyester.

3) Outer Layer - Keeps wind and water out and body heat in. A nylon shell or jacket to fit over your base and middle layers will do the job. Nowadays people tend to wear a puffer coat of goose down feathers with a nylon or polyester shell -- as it works.

LL Bean is headquartered in Maine, and I'm featuring them for this topic because winter wear is their business. Likewise for competitors, Landsend and newer budget-friendly Uniqlo. I think you should always buy products from merchants who specialize the product area, not designers who branched into the market, unless they take the time to truly learn it.

Fortunately, I live in relatively mild winters, or I would have died by now since I have never before researched the right way to layer for winter. Now I realize years ago I didn't wear a nylon 3rd layer ... and that's why I froze! Knowing what each layer does makes keeping warm and comfortable a certainty!⛄

THE SAVVY SHOPPER