Well, after scouring almost every consignment, thrift, and retail store in my city, I finally found my dream coat. It's a nice cool cherry RED, knee length, and perfectly fitted, with a belt, a single row of buttons, and a simple collar. It's the coat on this page, in red:
http://www.rw-co.com/collection/details.cfm?id=395

I'm going to get a buckle for the belt at my local sewing store.

I've wanted a red coat for at least 8 years and have never found the perfect one. I'm so happy! It cost more than I had budgeted, but some money that just came in from consignments made up the difference. Yay! Plus, the coat came with a free purple wool scarf.

I also ended up going back for the black cropped wool jacket I mentioned in an earlier thread, which was at a consignment store. So now I have two fantastic winter outerwear pieces, one casual and one a bit more dressy.

My camera is on the fritz, otherwise I'd post pictures.

I was also given some money as a graduation gift, which I used to buy 2 pairs of much-longed-for princess-cut cubic zirconia 4mm stud earrings, one pair set in white gold and the other in yellow. I found them at Winners for a quarter of what they normally cost, so I was also able to get some leather gloves and a cute hat. I'm all set for winter now.