Do I need a parka now that I've moved to a warm climate?

I moved from a cold climate to a warm climate (Northern CA) a couple years ago. I had a gorgeous Mackage down coat with fur hood that I loved, but just didn't need it and couldn't justify it here (was $$ for my budget) so I sold it at a good price.

Last month, I came across this coat on sale for much less than I sold the old one for. I *loooooooove* this coat and it fits me perfectly (a hard feat with bulky coats since I'm 5'0" and extremely petite).

BUT I haven't needed something like this since I moved, and have only briefly traveled to cold climates where my lightweight little down puffer jacket was fine. I suppose I could wear this new parka on an imaginary trip to Scandinavia or something, LOL. And I know I could probably get a cheaper, pretty warm down coat at short notice if I needed it that would be good enough if I had unexpected travel.

Keep or return?!

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10 years ago

Anonymous

This is a hard one because it seems you genuinely love it. You are also only two years into your move/transition so you are likely thinking with your colder-climate rationalization. This make sense. It sometimes takes a while for our brains to catch up to new circumstances.

Do you have family or friends in your old climate that you might visit? If you do, you will want to look your best. When I moved I kept all my winter clothes for a while. Slowly, but surely, as I became comfortable in my new location, I started to discard those cold weather items. You probably will as well. You are not there yet though. If the coat makes you happy and you think you can afford it, keep it.

mica

Active Member

Thank you! I do still have friends in the old climate, but my family all moved to the warm climate too! Hm. I could probably afford to keep it, but hate to see things not being used. Appreciate the input. I suspect I should probably take it back....

MsMaven

Veteran

I take continuing ed classes at Stanford at night. So, during the months from late November through January I often wear my puffer coat. I am sensitive to cold, but I have had some occasions to wear a puffer in SF during a cold spell as well. The wind and the fog can be pretty uncomfortable.

Our winter this year has been unusually warm--even SF is often 10-15° above normal for this time of year. Where I live we usually have several nights of frost, but this year there hasn't been a single one. My sister, who lives 100 miles north of SF in an interior valley, needs cold weather clothes. It typically gets down into the 20s where she lives, but I doubt it this year.

We also go to Chicago nearly every winter for the holidays, and we have family in Salt Lake City, so I do have a week or so a year when I need the warmer coat. At this rate I will never wear it out but I am longing for a new one.

So it all depends where you live, how often you are out at night, and whether you feel the cold.

rachylou

I'm in NoCal too and I live in puffers. Then again, I'm out in the dark all the time - early mornings and late night walking the dog. Used to work in the city too, where the sun don't shine. I also throw them over very thin California clothes... I'm a puffer pusher, lol.

By the time you get to use it, it might already be out of style.
I vote return.

chadya

In this situation I personally would not spend money on an "if" purchase. You may need it or may not, the coat also may sit regretfully in your closet.

Save the money

catseye

You may need it to go to San Francisco in June. I was there one summer and no one warned me about the weather. I was so cold.

JAileen

When we went to evening events in SF in summer, we always wore our wool coats. Also, if you think you might go up to Tahoe in winter, it's cold there, too.

Ginger

Since you say it's really perfect in fit, color, and price, I vote keep. This has been an unusually mild winter (at least for most of the U.S.), so it's not a particularly good measure of your long-term needs. Also, your lifestyle or daily routine may shift, and you find yourself outside longer/earlier/in the wind more than before, and grateful for a warm coat. You don't know what opportunities or needs may come up for travel, either. (I should have been a Boy Scout. Be Prepared is my motto!)

I don't think this one will date particularly, either. It looks pretty classic with fun details (color and fur) without being too far out there.

LaPed

I'd definitely keep it. Never know when you'll find yourself up at someone's ski chalet or such, right?

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Another Bay Area person chiming in to say that if it were me I would probably return, unless you got an astonishingly good deal. When I moved here I had a lot of very-cold-weather stuff, and I found I used very little of it. Most of it I've gotten rid of, or left at my parents' house in the midwest for visits. What I've kept I update rarely, and inexpensively (a mega-sale, or thrifted/secondhand). It took me a while to really follow Angie's advice to buy for your climate and your lifestyle, and spending my money on coats I might wear one or two weeks a year, instead of clothes I can wear all the time, was not the best use of my budget.

But then, you can tell from the responses to this post that people's reactions to cold differ. MsMaven and rachylou both wear puffers, but I find puffers overkill even in the colder Bay Area microclimates and on the coldest days. I prefer heavier layers underneath and a wool coat, which I find more comfortable and versatile.

If you sail, camp or ski my answers might be different, because you can wear it for gear...

Keix

I initially left my puffer coat behind on the East Coast when I first moved to northern California. I changed my mind at Thanksgiving and brought it back, which turned out to be a prescient decision because I've done a lot of travel to upstate New York and Montana (at New Year's!) where I was glad to have it. I haven't ever worn it around home, though.

So, if you think you'll visit colder climates during the winter, and you'll love the design for years to come, buy it. Also consider whether you'd be happy with a last-minute parka purchase... personally I can never find coats on short notice that really make me happy.

DonnaF

I also live in NorCal and run cold. I don't take public transportation or walk around much at night when it is the coldest. But even then, I would be more dressed up. My EB rain repellent gear parka is plenty warm for my needs because I can layer underneath. My most likely visit to colder climes would be to visit my daughter in Chicago, and I figure I could borrow from her. She is slightly bigger, but her coats and jackets will give me room to add another layer than she ever needs!

I think there was a good week or two this season when it was wintery cold -- for here. How were you then? If you wouldn't have worn that parka, you might want to reconsider.

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate all the views and additional data, especially since it sounds like the weather this season has been atypical. I've decided to return -- I do have two other wintery coats, just none as warm as this one. But I've barely worn the other two so I think that's my answer. Time to contemplate spring wardrobe planning!

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