I've always had a wool walking coat, but this year I tried a fleece pea coat. It's great and I wear it often, but I found myself missing the extra length and warmth of a walking coat. I've had to pull out my down parka earlier than I'd like! I also bought a very functional poly-filled coat just to have something between the fleece pea coat and down puffer, to take me through to December. But I can't bring myself to wear it anywhere but my backyard; it just looks so sloppy and dull.
I've been casually on the lookout for a wool coat but have the itchiness problem. I usually wear a scarf to keep the itchy collar off my neck, but it still takes a lot of searching to find one that I completely can't feel through a scarf. Yesterday I found this Dawn Levy coat at TJ Maxx, for about 75% less than that Nordstrom price tag. I can afford it, but it is still more than I've ever spent on a coat. The two reviews on Nordstrom are good, but I've never heard of this brand and don't know anything about it. FWIW, my coats for the past several years have been almost all from Land's End.
The boucle knit, or maybe the high poly content, keeps the neck from itching. It doesn't bother me AT ALL, which is my #1 priority in choosing a coat. I like the way it fits, I like the way it feels (not cheap!), I like the cutaway front. I'm pretty sure I'm keeping it, but want some very savvy and critical eyes to take a look. I can live without this coat because it's just about parka season, but this type of coat has been a staple for years. The only reason I replaced my first-ever one after years of use was because I had gained too much weight and couldn't close it anymore. The only reason I'm replacing now is because I lost weight and my current wool walker looks ridiculous on me. (Yeah, kicking myself for finally donating ALL my coats last year -- it had been a couple of years since I could wear them and had lost hope of ever fitting into them again…)
My too-large wool coat is 80% wool, 20% nylon. This new coat is 57% poly, 29% wool, 14% acrylic. Will that be good enough for Nov-Dec in New England, and again in the spring? I wear a wool coat in 30-50F temps; any lower and I move into my down parka.
I am most happy at the thought of keeping, but really need to know if this is a frivolous purchase. Does this coat fill the wool-coat need?
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