Here goes Michelle, I apologise in advance if my analogies cause further confusion.

I will start with the collars, its possible to compare the collars on the first two coats to a mans button down shirt. The coats button all the way up to the clavicle and the collars are up right and not over sized. The peacoats collar is more decorative, the coat buttons up to about three inches under the clavicle, the collar is wider and shaped more like those on a mens blazer.

In terms of length, coats one and three would just cover the bottom, where as the second coat would come to mid thigh.

It is important to note that coat three is double breasted, two rows of vertical buttons, which is more difficult to wear if you have a fuller bust.

With regards to colour the deep berry is a warm red and would look stunning on you. Heather grey is several different shades of grey woven together to form a mottled effect.

I hope these explanations are of some help Michelle. I personally think you would look lovely in the swing coat.

Swing coats flare out toward the hem. This particular one is fitted through the torso, which is nice. Some flare right from the shoulder and can get voluminous.

Car Coats are more of a length than a style, I think- above the knee

Pea Coats generally have a notched collar and double row of buttons down the front.

I like the rich red for you- it looks liek a cooler red, which will go well with your wardrobe.

Heathered colors just means that there is a mix of tones, rather than one solid color. For charcoal heather, you would expect to find the individual fibers to range from a very dark gray, to a very light gary and maybe bits of black or white tossed into the mix. From far away, it will look like a solid darker gray, but up close you will see the varied colors.

I think of car coats this way: they are long enough that the back fabric covers your whole dupa when you sit down in the car. :)

I always thought car coats were the length of the pea coat - for exact opposite reasons as what you state, Kristen: you don't want to be sitting on your coat, because that can be annoying in a car (bunches up, or strangles you). I wonder where I got that idea? At any rate, this car coat looks knee length to me? It's a very nice coat.

Michelle - the swing coat is a perfect red for you. The color of the pea coat is gorgeous too and would be very pretty on you! The charcoal would be the "safe" choice - I vote for the red or blue instead.

Wow, Julie and Khris – wonderful descriptions!

Michelle, I still feel you need a revere collar, wing collar or tailored coat collar. These are collars that shape into a V. The shirt collars on these coats aren’t going to be that flattering. The model wearing the red swing coat has popped her collar and folded down the centre fronts precisely because the collar as is, is no cigar.

Thank you so much, everyone. Your detailed descriptions just saved me time and money and spared me unnecessary disappointment and frustration. Retailers should seriously hire people like Khris and Julie to write their online descriptions for them!

Angie, your advice has never let me down and I'm not about to start ignoring it now. :) V-effect collars it will be.

I hope to continue offering sound suggestions, Michelle. Thanks for taking them to heart. Bring on the coat styles once you've found potential candidates.

Michelle,

I was just reading another coat thread that Boof had posted, and she put in some links to some really beautiful coats - one in particular jumped out at me, from Talbots.

So, went off to Talbot's Woman section of their website, and there are *two* coats there that I think might be real contenders - no expert here on the shape or type of collar that would work on you, we'll have to see what Angie thinks, but here's a couple of extremely nice coats to consider:

In the midnight, raven or red berry colour - I'm partial to the midnight for some reason. The raven is a close second and the red berry would be my third choice. "Raven" is a very dark teal colour. Anyway, here's one possible coat:

http://www1.talbots.com/online.....e=cat70012

Here's another, in either Red Berry or Night:

http://www1.talbots.com/online.....e=cat70012

I just remembered that my Mom ordered from Talbots Woman a few months ago - ordered two different trench coats and *loved* them. I know there wasn't a Talbots Woman in Vancouver - so she ordered online. I'll have to ask her how bad the customs/duties were. I think she said it wasn't too bad. Meanwhile, she ordered one trench coat, and was so pleased with it that she turned around and immediately ordered another one, in a different colour, once it went on sale.

Also, I see that Talbots says you can return to any store. Now, it might be well worth a phone call to see if that includes their Canadian stores. I know they have regular Talbot's stores in Canada, just not necessarily the Woman line. It might not hurt to ask if your local Talbots could order in some coats for you to try on. You never know!

I also went looking to see if Holt Renfrew had anything, or the Bay - but these retailers don't seem to have their online shopping set up at all. Very disappointing. I looked at Sears Canada website, and it was 'ho hum' in terms of coats.

Meanwhile, there's a very good plus-size store in Vancouver called "Fashion Addition" that I managed to get my Mom going to - they have some really nice things. I believe they also have stores in Calgary, but once again - the website isn't set up for online shopping.

Ok - enough of my rambling - just wanted to throw in those two coat possibilities :)

I just went looking some more - and it turns out the Talbots store at Yorkdale mall has the Talbots Woman line? It appears that the store at Bloor St. West does too. Something to file away for future reference :)

I know they do have good sales every now and then.