The sky was cloudy when I woke up, so I knew it'd be a perfect day to wear my diy'ed cashmere sweater with cloud elbow patches. Before I got dressed I checked the weather report, which promised a high of 55 F/13C, so I paired it with these cotton/nylon trousers and felt a bit early 20th century/nerdy (in other words, perfect, lol). To run errands, I popped on my grey oxfords (not pictured) and didn't bother with a coat as I didn't want to have to carry it in overheated stores...little did I know the polar vortex was headed this way. By the time I finished my errands a couple hours later, the temperature had dropped almost 20 degrees (10ish C)! I would have frozen, despite the cashmere. But luckily, I had a new coat with me, which I bought because the last of my errands was thrifting (not really an errand obviously, just a treat after everything else).

Ever since I wore my classic trench for one post and got feedback saying it wasn't quite right, I've realised that it must not be 'my' trench. After all, I take any excuse possible to pull out my wool coats, because I love them all, but I certainly didn't wear that trench 'just in case' it would rain. So when I saw this coat at the thrift store today, in a wonderful taupe shade, I decided to try it on. Clearly, I liked what I saw! What I love is the subtle hints of 19th century to it: when I tie it with the belt in the back, it gives it waist shaping from the front that reminds of late Victorian dresses. And of course the cape bit makes me think of great coats. Surprisingly enough, although it's quite long, I don't feel overwhelmed by it either! I've included several photos: 3 from the front of various ways to wear it (I'm partial to the first 2), 1 of the back with its dramatic cape thing, 1 from the side, and a close up of the pretty buttons and collar. I've included this many so that you guys can tell me if I need to return it: my Goodwill allows exchanges if not returns, so it is possible to send it back. I hope I don't have to though, as just wearing it for the photos had me prancing around in delight, it has a zip out wool lining that makes it even more flexible, and I'm going to need a trench when I move north, and I rarely come across ones that fit in thrift stores. With all that in mind, I'd say as long as you guys consider it a 7/8, I'll keep it!

When I brought it home, it had lost 2 of the front buttons. Luckily, there was 1 on each sleeve, so I just performed a little button reassignment. I have a few options of button pairs to do the sleeves in, but I'm leaning towards tortoiseshell ones right now. I safety pinned the sleeve cuffs where the old buttons held them in place: I'm not sure I like the kind of crumpling going on due to tighter cuffs, so should I sew the new buttons on further out to to make the cuff width closer to the sleeve's (the sleeve length is perfect, which is miraculous in and of itself)? Or is that just how it's supposed to look? And speaking of tweaking, there are some small shoulder pads that I could easily remove by opening a bit of the lining and stitching it closed again. The shoulder pads are in the same place as my actual shoulders, they're just a bit squarer (my shoulders are broad but sloping), so I don't know if they look funny or not.

So there you have it: a potential upgrade to my current trench. Do let me know if you see any major problems with it, despite my enthusiasm. And if you have an opinion, definitely weigh in on the sleeves & shoulder pad issues! Comments welcome on the outfit too of course; I styled it quite similarly to its first outing, just different trousers, and I added my bee in the middle of the collar (which I swear likes to ruffle just in time for photos to mock me; looking down now it's laying correctly; the symmetry issue might be more permanent, so I'll trim down a side of the collar if necessary). Apologies for the photobombing, just wanted you guys to see enough of the trench to be able to give a good opinion!