Halogen Trench Coat - YouLookFab Forum

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Halogen Trench Coat

Anonymous

I really like this trench coat. I like it for SO many reasons. It is my signature color. It is my happy color. I like trench coats because they serve a myriad of style goals.

I am not going to buy it though. Here are the questions I posed to myself in my decision making process.

(1) Can I pay cash? Yes.

(2) Would this purchase be a duplicate of an existing wardrobe item?
Sadly yes. I already own a great trench coat. It is full length and totally weather resistant. It is brown. Not anywhere near my happy color. I wear a big pink cashmere scarf to add some color to the brown. It is a workhorse in that it stands up to cold weather as well as rain. I wear it nearly every work day during our brief winter months.

(3) If I bought this item, would I be ok with the fact that the brown trench coat would likely not be worn at all? I would be ok with this if I was replacing the brown trench coat (not adding in a new wardrobe item that is clearing duplicate).

I can't rationalize buying the Halogen trench coat at this time. The color is seductive, but I am going to have to pass.

What about you? Do you have a hierarchy of questions you ask yourself before making a purchase?

Halogen Detachable Hood Trench Coat (Regular & Petite)

$198.00 $129.90

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22 replies

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Joy

Veteran

Ask yourself another question. Will I be likely to find this coat in my happy color when I am ready to replace the brown? If this is the coat to rule them all (a shopping question I ask myself) maybe you should rethink your decision.
I ask myself questions about the color, fit, my lifestyle (where I will wear it), price I'm willing to pay/probable cost per wear, and how it fits in with my style goals. I also ask what I would wear if I didn't have the piece I'm considering. Often that's the most telling question.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Although these are good questions Sterling, I actually don't think this is a substitute for your brown trench coat. I also agree with Joy's reasoning.

gryffin

Veteran

Sterling - interesting analysis and you certainly know yourself. Kudos!! I'm interested in your particular question because I have two black trenches - one a fabric full length and one a short car coat length. For me they are not redundant at all. In fact, I love my long trench but I felt so inappropriate wearing it spring, cool summer or early fall. Too much fabric - seasonal conflict. So I actually purposely bought the Calvin Klein short trench similar to yours above. I wear that trench cooler seasons and my long full length trench in cold weather. That works great for me. To me this is a warm weather trench and could play nicely for seasonal shift but only you know. But kudos again to your thoughtful responsible analysis. The key certainly is know yourself and your needs and I'm in awe of your ability to do that!!

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Anonymous

Joy has some great questions.

Are you happy with the brown coat and say, a bright pink scarf?

Whoops! It looks like you do this already!

Well, I think the wardrobe needs statement pieces and workhorses. The pink trench would be a statement piece, I would guess. So I guess the question is whether you want the pink trench to be your statement, or whether you'd rather use your money on a different statement piece.

Diana

Veteran

In my opinion, the brown and pink coats are not interchangeable. The pink may be your happy color, and you may want to wear it all the time, but the truth is that I am sure there are colors in your closet that need a neutral coat. I have a black trench and a red one, and they both get worn. If I ever found a good teal one, I'd add that in a heartbeat. You don't want a statement coat every day, after all. So I think you'd wear both; the question then becomes, would you be happy with wearing each for half as much time?

Joyce B

Veteran

It's a lovely coat in a great color. The only thing is, it's a little bit short so it may not work with dresses or skirts other than pencil skirts.
I agree with Joy in the sense that if you do not buy it, will you feel like you missed out?
I like the questions you asked yourself,
I will add some of those to my repertoire.
I also ask myself, will I wear it, what will I wear it with, how often, do I really need it and do I already have something that fits the bill.

rabbit

Veteran

I have an olive trench and last year I added a tomato red trench. I live in the rainy and mild PNW and have been very frequently wearing the red trench when I can because it's a bright spot in all the green and gray and does work with neutrals underneath it and several prints. But the olive trench is still getting worn quite a bit because it's a more universal neutral.

Trenches are four season heavily worn jackets in my closet, so your mileage may vary on how much use an additional trench would get. For example I'm reluctant to buy more than one leather jacket because there aren't enough non rainy days for me to justify it to myself

Anonymous

I live in the southeast. Our winters are very limited. I rarely wear coats in the spring or summer. On occasion I might wear a coat in the fall.

It is not that I don't wear something as I run out of the house, it is just that a simple cardigan or blazer works perfectly for our weather and my life style. I can't rationalize owning two trench coats ... even though there is an argument for the brown and the pink serving different purposes. The brown is utilitarian. I doubt anyone on YLF would consider it a style statement. But I only wear it walking from the car to the office on work days.

Joy -- that is a great comment. When I pass up a purchase, I never think of it as an opportunity lost. I always assume there is something better in my future. It may not be the exact color, but in some way it will be better. This really helps me in my decision making because if I didn't believe it (and practice it), I can't imagine how bloated my wardrobe would become.

One final note. We don't necessarily wear a lot of coats in the southeast. At least, I don't. I have three coats that have not even been taken out of storage this season (two are very heavy coats and the third is a blazer).

Nebraskim

Veteran

I understand your reasoning, but.... My thought on having a happy-color coat to augment a perfectly serviceable, functional, hard-working coat is: sometimes you just need to feel the happy that color can bring. After a long period of gray, wet and cold, a bright coat might really be what you need to bring yourself up to face one more dreary dreadful day. I have a really bright hot pink ski jacket that's probably 10 or more years old. It has an orange lining. I bought it on deep sale from Lands' End; I suspect it was on sale because it is hot pink and orange. I wear it often because it is warm enough and because it is happy. It gets a lot of compliments or comments (There is a difference; a comment is "wow, that coat is really pink." A compliment is "wow, I like that pink coat.") Either way, that coat stays in my repertoire because despite its color, it does function well. Some days, I just cannot face my predictable boring but warm and functional black puffer.

Sheila

Veteran

Too funny Sterling as I was looking at this coat this morning. I too, LOVE the color - LOVE it !

My checklist went like this :

1. Could I put this on my credit card ?

YES

2. Do I love the color ?

YES

3. Do I have something similar ?

Well, I coral- ish jacket longer, straighter but without the hood. Getting faded though- hate the buttons.

4. Does it have a belt at the waist ?

Yes it does - So sadly NO GO.

Like the blazers- the belted waist means not suitable for me at least.

I do agree with the others... a brown long trench is quite a bit different from this. The color is just so FUN... you are right.. and HAPPY.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

My reaction was the same as Nebraskim's. I love that you're being practical and thoughtful about it. But I do wonder if there might also be room for the happy color trench in your life. Do you have enough wearing opportunities during the year that would make it worthwhile? It sounds like you get a lot of wear out of the brown one, so maybe it would be good to have a second, even if it is not the one coat to rule them all.

BrieN

Veteran

I can't advise you on the coat as decision making is not my forte.

To answer your question though, yes I definitely have a set of questions I ask myself. I am at a stage where my closet is truly very empty and many of the items I do own don't suit me anymore (or never did). I feel as though I have a lot of catch-up shopping to do. I need to make economic decisions with each purchase as well -- e.g. do I want this OR that, as I can't have them both. Right now each purchase has to actually be on my list of items I need. And this forum has been invaluable in highlighting the wardrobe "workhorses" that my closet is missing. My purchases at this time need to be totally different from things I already own. So for example I just purchased my first pair of skinny jeans; they have expanded the outfits I can put together dramatically. I loved the $200 pair I tried on at Nordstrom, but went with the $30 pair from GAP as I still have a lot of purchases to make and a budget that isn't expandable.

Anonymous

You are very wise, BrieN. So very wise. Good luck going forward.

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

I appreciate your decision process and your ability to articulate it so clearly. I also thought you might be missing an opportunity, as others noted above, but given your climate, I can see how it might not be so. If you lived in the Pacific Northwest, as Rabbit and I do, this lovely pink coat would be such a welcome alternative, during our 9-plus months of trench-wearing weather!

goldenpig

(website)

Veteran

Ooh, get it! The pink one is so much happier than brown! No comparison!

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I should ask myself these questions but only come close with retail purchases. With second hand it is: how likely am I to ever see this again? how likely am I to be able to sell it? Which may explain why my closet continually fills up and is very "interesting" :).

Anonymous

Well done, Sterling! I applaud your resolve and reasoning. Even if you lived someplace where you could wear a lot of trenches, we all have our own thinking on wear. I love your idea of wearing a pink scarf with the existing brown coat (a scarf in that vibrant pink would make a standout combo). Plus, when the time comes to replace the brown coat, styles will have changed slightly. Small details like lapels and collars will be different, and whatever you buy then will be more current than what's available now.

An item in a happy colour is really only happy if the whole decision feels that way.

Here's to mindful purchasing!

April

Veteran

I am definitely in the camp of, "if your happy color is something that doesn't come along every day, items you find in that color deserve different rules." If your happy color was black (as it is for many people, and I am often one of them), you could pass on as many items in that color as you want, because there will always be another one right behind it.

Now, if your happy color is azalea pink, you need different rules for items you find in that color, because it could be a looooooong time before you meet up with another.

Which means I'm saying more or less exactly what Joy said, and Angie seconded, and others have pointed out as well. Yes, you already have a trench. No, it is not the same as this item, because that trench is a serviceable brown, whereas this one is YOUR HAPPY COLOR.

Not saying you should take the plunge, because only you can decide what you need right now. Just saying that you should evaluate the Halogen trench under different guidelines than the ones that made you buy -- and great wear from -- the brown one.

This coat would be more like a necklace. No one in the history of the world has ever "needed" a necklace, but if a necklace came along that made your heart sing, it would be worth another think. A coat in an uncommon happy color is, I think, more similar to a beautiful necklace than to your brown trench. One serves an important utilitarian function; one is only about the joy it brings.

JAileen

Veteran

I always worry that I won't find that item ever again. So now I have at least a half dozen pairs of grey boots.

Sal

Veteran

I love this coat too.

There are plenty of reasons to get the coat and plenty of reasons not to. Neither will be a disaster - you can afford it and you love it, but on the other hand, there will be others, and you don't need it.

I go through these sorts of rationalisations often - especially as I am trying to make my budget go a long way this year.

lyn67

Veteran

I may be the only mare here but can so relate passing on this particular clothing item(a colored trench) even if is your happy color, Sterling! Thus I also have my happy colors and my reasoning is completely different, I decided long time ago I will stick with my 2 basic neutrals (black and white) when it comes to coats. For me, wearing a color on my outerwear would act really overwhelming and drastically limiting my actual outfit of the day. I do dress mainly for my office but am also a low contrast girl, so I know I have to take care wearing colors, but if wearing some, I would really prefer to use them in my actually worn outfit not only on the outerwear which is only for my car drive and some minimal errands&shopping.

Anonymous

Thank you for all your comments. The pink trench called to me every time I clicked on the blog page. Then I found this link and made my final decision.

http://distantfrancophile.com/.....ench-coat/