Macy's Black Friday Specials To Beat the Cold

Style Republic

I'm biased: Macy's is my favorite department store in New York City. It's where I go first and where I score the best bargains for designer and quality goods. I'm in heaven when browsing inside Macy's. There's always a wide selection of whatever merchandise I need. Apparel, shoes, home goods, jewelry, you name it, nobody offers better sales than Macy's. To boot, there are Last Act racks on many floors where among other articles, I got fully lined cashmere blazers for only $14!

Macy's Black Friday Specials are on. If you want to buy exceptional holiday gifts for family and friends at a fraction of the usual cost, be sure to start your shopping for big savings now. The following are 8 Black Friday Specials to Beat the Cold for under $50: (available in several colors)

1) Style Republic - 100% Pure Cashmere Women's Ribbed Cuff Beanie - Why settle for acrylic, nylon, or rayon when for the same moola you can get super soft and warm cashmere hats and scarfs? Cashmere feels so fine against the skin, it's the warmest fabric, and it lasts years longer than manmade materials.

2) Club Room Cashmere Crew-Neck Sweater, Created for Macy's - Classic and practical menswear. They'll last for decades.

3) On 34th Women's Sweater Blazer, Created for Macy's - It's polyester so you can mindlessly machine wash and cool dry it. As an alternative to a sweater, a blazer is a versatile piece that can be casual or dressy while keeping you warm. At times I like to wear a blazer for its pockets especially if not wearing a jacket. 

4) Charter Club Women's Packable Hooded Puffer Coat, Created for Macy's - Puffer coats are very popular nowadays. Lightweight and machine washable, I own a jacket-length puffer coat for fall and early winter before it gets super cold, and a goose-down long puffer coat for January and February. Last year I bought a long puffer coat for my mother too. Although puffer coats weigh next to nothing, they are as toasty warm as animal furs and by far more budget-friendly. A jacket-length puffer coat is perfect to keep the chill at bay without layers before the temperatures drop to freezing. 

5) Hawke & Co. Men's Quilted Fleece-Lined Hooded Puffer Jacket - Wow a puffer jacket for men for under $40 … cheaper than the women's and boys! Once you get to Macy's you'll have choices galore to get the right price, fillings, and style for you!

6) Karen Scott Women's Zip-Up Zeroproof Fleece Jacket, Created for Macy's, 7) Karen Scott Petite Princess Seam Zeroproof Zip Front Jacket, Created for Macy's 8) Tommy Hilfiger Women's Faux Sherpa Full-Zip Hoodie - To be honest, I don't have fleece in my wardrobe, but fleece hoodies and jackets are in vogue right now. Fleece is soft, cozy, inexpensive, and easy to machine wash and dry which might explain its frenzy. Suitable for kids to wear in school or keep in a locker, or adults to take to a gym without worrying about babying it. At $15 - $18 you couldn't buy the fabric and zippers to make it yourself any cheaper!

As long as Macy's is running these amazing sales, I might do a few more of these holiday gift guide blogs! Macy's could be your one-stop retailer as it often is mine!

This blog is not sponsored. How could a Savvy Shopper, not adore Macy's! It's good I don't live next door or I might float in too often for retail therapy. When you actually need something, the telephone associates give you great advice too.♥♥♥

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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!

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Retailers Are Selling Fleece Jackets

Uniqlo specializes in innovative outerwear.

All of us have a personal everyday style of how we see ourselves and sometimes what makes us feel like a million bucks wearing it. I'll tell you mine, and you can tell me yours. One day as I exited my Manhattan apartment building, a kind neighbor in his 70s said, "You're always dressed up and look so nice!" I was surprised and flattered by his compliment. The truth is I wear a t-shirt in some form; slacks or leggings; and a cardigan nearly every day from the fall to the early spring. In the summer I wear lots of casual dresses (some a fit and flare t-shirt style) that can be machine washed and dried, paired with flats or nice sneakers. Nothing fancy, yet coordinated basics.

Photos: Uniqlo, one of my favorite retailers for quality basics

So now we're entering the fall and winter seasons and what I see retailers (such as Macy's, Kohl's, Uniqlo, and Old Navy) selling are warm fleece jackets. Uniqlo designs them to be windproof and toasty warm. I'd never judge another person who favors fleece outerwear -- different strokes for different folks -- but you'll never see me wearing it. Fleece looks too casual for my liking. My personal style tends to be what gets called casual smart. Whatever I put on in the morning, I like for it to carry me through the entire day to avoid the hassle of changing attire (other than for a gala event), so I buy clothing like slacks, dresses, and jackets that can be dressed up or down with a simple change of shoes and/or perhaps by adding a scarf or piece of jewelry. 

The end photos are from Unqlo and the middle photo is from Kohls.

Although there's nothing wrong with fleece, per se ... it's too casual and too limited for my personal style. I don't feel dressed up enough (or casual smart) in fleece, and I'd also have to buy another jacket for a night out on the town. I'd rather invest in a multi-purpose wardrobe including outerwear. It means one jacket I never get tired of wearing that makes me feel like a million bucks every time I put it on, plus it carries me through an entire day into the evening.

Uniqlo and Pendelton at Macy's

But I'm just one person, one opinion. Fashion is a matter of taste. Fleece is in vogue! Would you buy a fleece jacket or coat?

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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!⛄

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