On to the category of coats! Here are four that I recently reevaluated. All are not really styled, just thrown over my yoga outfit. Interesting to see which ones NEED to be styled and which don’t.

Black dress coat from COS: this was bought to solve the conundrum of winter outerwear for formal events. (Of course, right before Covid, so it hasn’t been used much.) Black taffeta fabric fashioned into a clever self-tie in front. Looks fine over casual clothes too and sometimes I wear it as a raincoat because the fabric has a coating. I wouldn’t buy it again because it’s a little small in the shoulders. But it works well for its purpose (non intrusive, non clashing outerwear for dressy events).

Beige hairy coat from Cos. The ridicule I have endured while wearing this coat has only made me love it more (“you look like a yeti!”). I think this may be my version of a faux fur. It does need to be brushed to keep it looking good, much like a pet! I like the cocoon shape and it fits well over other items. When I bought it, I considered it “formal” because it is not gear. But I’m trying to learn how to better evaluate non-gear levels of formality. I think this is actually a casual coat, looks good over jeans or yoga gear for that matter. Do you agree? Casual?

Ok now for these next 2 I need feedback:

Next up: a Very Loud coat from J crew collection. Bought to cheer me up when Covid first hit. It reminds me of a dress my best friend owned in high school, so that makes me smile. But it is SO hard to style. Not only the very bright and very large scale pattern; the cut also tends to make people say “nice housecoat!” So while I kinda think of it as a pretty Easter coat, it seems that it also has a sort of “workwear or shlumpy robe” vibe??? The quality is just gorgeous on this one, the whole thing feels like grosgrain ribbon and the interior finishing is beautiful. I even had the sleeves specially tailored to 3/4. But what does this coat do for my wardrobe, functionally???

Last:
A cream cotton coat with a fun pink and red abstract pattern, COS. Again, gorgeous quality but dubious functionality. The colors make it challenging to style (over cream or pink, too matchy; over blue or black, no relationship; and I don’t like green and pink together). The length is a bit short for my preference. And it’s neither warm, nor waterproof, nor wind proof. Essentially it’s like adding a poplin shirt, in terms of warmth. Here again I bought it thinking “dressy” but I’m starting to think it’s meant to be “sporty.”

Any ideas on these last two? What are they FOR???