I love it & think a true raincoat, that is stylish is a great thing to have. I'm sorry about all the family stuff you've had to deal with.

I think it looks great! I just bought this coat in the olive green colour and I love it.

http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/.....on-vivant-

Rae, I think the jacket looks fantastic on you. It's not overly gearish at all. I honestly can't tell a big difference between the XS and S, looks wise, so I think you need to go with whatever will allow you to move around and be most active. Being able to layer with a fleece would make this even more versatile.

Fill this wardrobe hole without guilt! For whatever it's worth, I bought a similarly styled jacket from Lole and it's quickly become a workhorse for me. It dresses up for work, but it's not too precious to wear on my parents' farm, which is very important to me.

Ceit, we're raincoat twins. I have that one in tomato red. I posted it here months ago and it got the thumbs up from Angie. It's such a useful item. I love the olive colour.

Rae, I think if this one fits you, and it sure looks like it does, it's totally worth keeping if you're ever out in rainy weather. Real rain calls for more technical outerwear. I've only worn my raincoat a dozen or so times this year but every time I've worn it, I've NEEDED it.

This is a gear coat? It looks fabulous on you! Yes, keep and sell your wool coat. I think I know what you're talking about when you say that wool is more "in your face"--that it's an all-out winter coat (which can look funny in SoCal), whereas a trench is seasonless--even if it's just as warm or warmer than wool.

I would go for the larger size for comfort. Have you tried it on over a leather jacket or a blazer? I could really see you wearing this to work because you will love it so much. <<<hugs>>>

Thank you for the continued wisdom! I am keeping the small. DH thought it was silly to have 2 raincoats, but he did agree that the small looks better. The shoulders allow for more movement, and historically my shoulder measurement doesn't change much with weight fluctuation... more my waist/hips/thighs.