I've been on a quest to find a nice camel wool coat. I used to have this camel wool coat that I wore all the time for the last 15 years and the lining was all shredded and the sleeves were all worn. It was a little too big for me (now that I am used to wearing things more fitted) so instead of trying to repair it, it ended up being donated (sniff, sniff...). So in my mind I just HAD to find a replacement camel coat since I wore the other one so much.

Chapter 1 was the Helene Berman camel wool cape. I did use it to post a few pics here but never actually wore it outside. It's just been sitting in my closet unworn with the tags, because it's a little hard to style the cape especially with my flared midi skirts (too much volume). So I recently returned it to Nordstrom.

Chapter 2 was the camel Mackage Tessa coat that looked so fab in the NAS catalog but it ended up being too thin (unlined) and wrinkly and ill-fitting. So back that went.

So here's Chapter 3 in my ongoing saga. I really liked the look of Angie's J Crew Metro coat in her blog post--I love the fitted and clean lined shape. So I ordered one in camel. But now that it's here I'm not so sure about this one either. I like the shape, but the fabric is kind of stiff and not soft to the touch at all. And the pockets are not in a convenient angle/position to stick your hands into. And I'm still not sure that camel is a good color for me...it's very close to my skin color and tends to wash me out as you have all pointed out before. So I'm thinking of giving up on the camel coat quest. What do you think--keep or return on the J Crew coat? And should I forget about camel coats or keep looking for the perfect one?

So here are two alternatives that I found in non-camel colors. One is a rust colored coat by Ellen Tracy. It was also one of Angie's picks in her coat list. I like it because it's midi length and it's soft (wool and angora blend) and I think the color works well on me. On the other hand, the lapel is a bit wide and I'm not so keen on the prominent stitching. And the belted style makes it a bit more casual and bathrobe like. And because of the V neck, I'll have to make sure that what I wear underneath goes with the coat (no zipping/buttoning all the way up) so it doesn't look sloppy. But overall I like it a lot, what do you think?

The last one is a brown puffer with faux fur trim on the hood. It hits above the knee. It's from Land's End. I've also thought about going with a white/cream puffer coat instead of the brown if the brown is too dark on me. It looks like it'll keep me pretty warm.

All three of these coats are on sale. Are any of these keepers or should I keep looking?

1-2. J Crew Double Cloth metro coat in heathered camel, size 4.
3-5. Ellen Tracy Belted Notched Collar coat in rust, size 4.
6-8. Lands End Luxe Down Coat in spice brown, size S.