You’ve gotten lots of good input and I’m enjoying reading the journey.
I agree that the plaid actually seems more versatile than a solid brown. it can be both the statement, since it’s outerwear, or more the neutral, as seen in your red and cream outfit.
I think you are on good track to do a lot of tryons with many colors ( in different items- tops, bottoms, scarves.) and see what are your faves. It’s likely you will have more options than you can wear in one season! If you have some favorite colors that work great with your coat & you see yourself wearing more than chocolate browns, then go in that direction rather than matchy.
I think the least useful items would be solid dark brown pants or top- just not really that exciting when coat covers much and a little harder to do textured browns when coat has pattern & texture. Whereas rich brown boots , in a different style, add a contrasting texture plus different gives a very different look from cream but go with the same other colors plus black. But, don’t force that- might not find for even a year or 2 , the HEWI for comfort style & quality.
Same for handbag- whether picking up the browns, cream or a warm contrast color that works with your other colors, the handbag is worn “ against” the coat & so has impact. But you might not know at first which of those colors is most versatile- it’s not always the matchy one.
I think the best thing is you have lots of SYC options to “ wear now” so you can start having fun right away and not feel pressured to shop.
