Coat

[plumtreeblossom]

Lately, even though it hasn't been very cold, I've found myself needing to wear my heaviest winter coat, two pairs of socks, gloves and a hat. This leads me to wonder what I'm going to do when it actually gets cold for real. My current heaviest winter coat is a beautiful, long wool street coat, but I can't do much layering under it, and I'm thinking it needs to become my November and March coat, and something warmer needs to take over for the deep winter months.

I want something just like this in black. I don't care if it's ugly, warmth is more important. While I could afford to invest the $179 for the L.L.Bean coat if I cut corners elsewhere, I'm thinking I should check around locally for stores that might have something similar for less.

Any ideas?

Comments

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Betcha you can find a long down parka locally for cheaper, yeah. Bean's are good quality, but you don't have to have top of the line just to be warmer!

I recommend Burlington Coat Factory. I miss their Porter Sq location.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I do, too! It was great having a store like that in the neighborhood.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Having a good warm coat is priceless. I got a LLBean one, just like the one you linked to (mine has no fur - the last year they made it without fur) and it's a godsend. I got the "thinsolate" version, it doesn't make you look as much like the Michelon Man.

You also need good boots. The best thing about that coat is that you can hook up the hood and be toasty comfy in a blizzard waiting for the bus, and if you open the coat you can handle temps into the high 40's. Heck, with good boots you can stand in a ankle deep pool of slush/water in a blizzard and be oblivious to the elements.

What I'm saying is don't skimp on the outerwear. You might want to check out Sears for their Lands End line, it's comparable in quality to LLBean.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've had a run of bad luck with boots and need to find a pair that are truly waterproof. Three pairs in a row have promised to be waterproof but weren't. If I can save money on the coat I can get better boots.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

I went to landsend.com and found a long coat for less than $120. Seems to be a sale. For boots, the LLBean "Wildcat" ones at $99 are excellent. One thing about LLBean, if the boots ever leak or crack, even if they're years and years old, you can return them and you'll get another pair. So essentially, you buy one pair of boots and they will last you a lifetime.

[gilana]

I don't know for sure if they carry what you're looking for, but you might check Hilton's Tent City -- they tend to have good prices.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I'll check them out! Thanks!

[cutieperson]

Land's End has a similar one for much less.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Thanks much! That site provided several options that I'm now considering. :-)

[cutieperson]

you're welcome!

fwiw, i just bought the Delancey coat from them and quite like the fit. it's warm & cozy without feeling like i'm wearing a comforter. but i haven't been able to put it to the test in cold temps yet, and it doesn't have quite the intense temp rating that the one i linked to does...

[http://users.livejournal.com/urban_faerie_/]

I got one like that in black last year and I don't care if it isn't stylish. It keeps me from freezing to death. I'm actually more likely to go out on cold nights now because of it so to me it's worth it.

Sadly though, mine was North Face and $300. Again I think it was worth every penny and I was working when I bought it so I considered it my xmas gift to myself.

My advice would be to not dip below LL Bean or Land's End in quality. You get what you are paying for. You pay more for the thicker down. You could get a cheaper coat but it would have less down i.e be less warm so you are paying for the (ugly) style and not the warmth.

Mine is 800 fill down.

If you ask me, $178 is actually on the cheap side for a jacket like that with real quality down. If you can at all justify it with your finances at the moment, I'd say do it.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I found one on the Land's End website for $127, and I'm just about settled that I'm going to get it. The one thing I have to do first is go to Sears and see if they have it in-store, in which case I could save the shipping costs. But yeah, I want a coat that truly keeps me warm. This one has goose down fill, which will be interesting since I've never had a down coat before.

[http://users.livejournal.com/urban_faerie_/]

ooh! good shopping-fu! you are gonna love goose down. sometimes i wish everything i own was made of it!

[kencf0618.livejournal.com]

Army-Navy Surplus is your friend.

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

I have a short goosedown parka that I bought at Marshall's. It is ONLY good for the coldest days, too warm otherwise. I paid $49.95 for it, hood and all. It can convert to a sleeveless vest with a few snaps. I wore it outside in the blizzard of January '08, I think it was, and stayed out for over five hours, walked all over town, took about 80 photos and never felt a chill. I am ALWAYS cold, so that is really saying something about that down jacket. It's also very nice looking.
Boots? Waterproof? I swear by Wellingtons - they are rubber and leakproof, but not exactly high fashion - however, they do get the job done. When I am out in cold weather, warm and dry feet are essential. Oh, yeah, and I add a pair of fur-lined leather gloves and a ski cap.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Ooh! I went to the Wellington's website. They're perfect, but where do you buy them in the US?

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

LL Bean has them for $59, all rubber, nylon lined. They have two styles, solid color or funky prints. This is about as good a price as I could find for rubber boots of the Wellie type.

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

I'm a little concerned that you're THIS cold THIS early. Have you had your thyroid checked lately?