I have been looking for a dressy navy pea coat because my old red Zara pea coat and my navy JCrew blazer seem to be heavily in rotation - they are still in reasonable condition, but I would love an upgrade.

On reviewing the NAS Top Picks - the Z&V wool navy skull blazer jumped out at me - with the skull embellishment being a fun detail. However, there are a few points that make this jacket not so great for me:

• Being an accountant, the skull detail is too out there for face to face client meetings which would limit the Z&V jacket to weekends and Zoom meetings where the back is not visible to clients.
• I have never bought Z&V and so could get the size wrong and perhaps the cut of the jacket would not suit my figure
• NAS for Australians means you need to add an extra $65 for delivery plus an additional 10% Australian tax - so the 'bargain buy' soon adds up and returns are an expensive and near impossible mission.

I have been stalking a Max Mara jacket for the last couple of months. What I loved about it was:

• a rare single breasted pea coat
• lovely colour - not a dark navy (although other photos show it to be a bit darker than it looks here online which I would classify as blue rather than navy)
• Max Mara fits me well and the quality is consistently exceptional. Previous items have gone the distance being timeless and classic pieces that are beautifully tailored.

On deliberating, I decided to pass on NAS only to find that my Max Mara jacket was reduced. With free shipping and tax included in the price, there were no expensive additional costs to consider. So whilst it still is an expensive purchase (for me), it is not much more than what I was contemplating with the Z&V when taxes and delivery were added. I hope it lives up to my expectations but if it doesn't the return will not be too difficult to negotiate.

In Finds:
1. the Z&V jacket from NAS
2. the MM pea coat, supposedly 'navy'
3. My old Zara pea coat (about 8 years old), which I like but mainly wear done up because I am not so keen on the double breasted jacket being worn open
4. My much worn navy jacket from JCrew (about 7 years old)