“I love great coats, and I pay a lot of attention to them and own a lot of them.” — Garance Dore
In Southern Indiana, we experience every season (sometimes in one day!) and — with the exception of wildfires and hurricanes — endure just about every calamity that nature can throw at us. I personally like the variety in temperatures and look forward to pulling out the next season’s wardrobe — especially my cute winter coats. That’s right, coats. Plural. Not one. Not two. I’ll quit counting here because I actually have numerous coats hanging in my closet. And it’s not because I’ve changed sizes and keep holding on to the old ones, rather, I need different coats for different days to protect me against the variety of elements. Oh, and they must be appropriate/fashionable for different occasions.
Think about it, I can’t possibly wear the same coat for 30 degree days that I do when temperatures are in the 40s; and it would stand to reason that I don something heavier/warmer when the temperature is in the 20’s. Not to mention that I need something different for snow/rain, and I like to have both casual and dressy for the aforementioned temperatures/weather patterns. Pretty sure an all-purpose-suitable-for-every-occasion-and-temperature-and-still-fashionable coat doesn’t exist, and even if it does, I’m not interested, because in truth, I enjoy having a lot of cute coats.
Here’s the thing, on most winter days, a cute coat is more important, and has more visibility than what I’m wearing under it. Case in point, on brisk days when I’m in and out of my car and in various stores running errands, I wear my coat all day with no one ever seeing my outfit. Or if I’m out making drop-offs to clients, I may wear my coat the whole time and the only thing anyone is seeing is my fashionable outer garment, not the coordinated ensemble underneath. With that in mind, how could any self-respecting fashionista show up wearing a purely utilitarian coat?
That’s why I have a casual 40-degree weather coat, not-as-casual 40-degree weather coat, warm and puffy 30-degree weather coat (in cover photo — click link for this wonderful coat on Amazon) dressy 30-degree weather coat, a long below-the-knees thermal coat for 20-degree weather, and a ridiculously heavy, but fantastically warm, vintage coat that doubles as a keeping-me-warm-while-looking-spectacular coat.
The way I see it, I NEED all of these coats. I wear all of these coats. And I love all of these coats. Sure, I have other fashionable winter wardrobe essentials that serve a purpose and look great, but it really doesn’t matter if you can’t see them underneath my coat. Change my mind if you can (you can’t) because I know with absolute certainty that the most important items in my winter closet are my warm, beloved, fashionable coats.
One of my favorite 40-degree weather coats!
