Ask the Strategist: ‘What Do You Do If It’s Cold and Wet?’ And Other Coat-Related Questions.
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Welcome to Coat Week on the Strategist, where we’re asking everyone — from New Yorkers to people living in the coldest parts of the U.S. — about their favorite coats and trying out every puffer we can. For more, head over to ourCoat Week hub.
In our advice column, “Ask the Strategist,” we take yourmost burning shopping questionsand survey friends, call up experts, and draw on our own personal experience to answer them. If you have an online-shopping question of your own, please send it to strategist@nymag.com with the subject “Ask the Strategist.” We’re here to help.
“A not boring, long puffer.”
I may be uniquely qualified to answer this question, as the only puffer I have is a floor-length, leopard-print one fromJ.Crew. (Someone’s selling a large onPoshmark.) I heard about Uniqlo’s Seamless Down Long Coat first fromSchmatta’s Leonora Epstein. It comes in all the standard neutrals (black,brown, andolive). But it’s best in the houndstooth. (“Bonus points for a hood that seems good for retreating into the world when enduring a crowded subway ride,” Epstein says.) Or Farm Rio has a reversible, flower-printed puffer that’s quiteAnna Sui–ish. There’s also the Sittingsuit from our writerMartha Tuber’shunt for a full-body puffer. I love the combination of stripes in that Neapolitan-ice-cream pink and pomegranate-seed red. Marimekko also makes the Taiottu down coat inUnikko, which is the Finnish design house’s most famous pattern.
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“A women’s wool dress coat, collar does not fold over, A-line, mid-thigh or longer, <$350.”
I don’t know about you, but I’m shocked by the prices ofwool, and wool blends, now. As our deputy editorSimone Kitchensbroke it down: “If it’s pure wool (or mostly close to it) … it can hover around $700 to $1,000 and up; if it’s a blend with less wool, expect it to be closer to $300 to $500.” At $350, you’re going to be finding wool blends — most of the time. But I managed to find coats that are not only marked 100 percent wool, they have an A-line silhouette, mid-thigh length, and a collar that doesn’t fold over: J.Crew’s Car Coat, made from an Italian boiled wool sourced from the Carmignano Mill, and the Cos Collared Double-Faced Wool Jacket. (If you’re willing to spend a little more, or wait for theBlack Friday sale. For reference, the sitewide discount was 25 percentlast year.)
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“Black, wool-cashmere blend, with a shawl collar and dramatic hood that doesn’t look like a robe, $500.”
I believe Artizia’s Emilie Coat might be everything you’re looking for. It’s made from 78 percent wool, 12 percent polyamide, and 10 percentcashmere. Of course, there’s the shawl collar and hood. It could look like a bathrobe in eitheroatmealorheather light gray, but not in black. Bonus points for the thin UnReal Interlining (which is meant to feel like suede) and the ability to keep warm down to minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit.
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“I want the perfect camel coat, mid-length, $500 or less. (Should I comb The RealReal?)”
I couldn’t get in between you and looking through The RealReal. Not to sound like a QVC broadcaster, but the cheapest camel coats tend to go the quickest, especially anything by Max Mara. You didn’t mention the term “camel hair,” only “camel,” which gives me a bit of creative license. (For comparison’s sake, real camel hair can cost upward of around $1,100;Brooks Brothers’ Polo Coattotals out to $1,498.) There’s the Closer from AYR (75 percent wool to 25 percent polyamide, and it’s double-faced) and Rue Sophie’s Manteaux Robe Coat (75 percent wool, 15 percent viscose, and 10 percent cashmere) that’sjusta hair darker. For the longest time, Madewell made a lot of different camel coats. This season, it has the Alonzo that’s seemingly well reviewed.
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Ayr The Closer
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“A fun-looking winter coat that’s NOT BLACK.”
You gave me a real open-ended question here! I’m going all out, if that’s okay with you? I have the Sea Medina Puffer on my wish list. It looks like it’s possessed by the spirit of the “Oy, Mista! You Me Dad?” doll. Someone told Caroline Weaver, founder ofthe Locavore Guide, that she looked like Mary fromParty Girlin the Great’s Car Coat. Lirika Matoshi (the designer behind theStrawberry Dress) makes the Strawberry Puffer Jacket. Selkie’s Dolly Puffer reminds me of theigloo fromThe Lizzie McGuire Movie.
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“Something chic for the 20-40 degree range where it’s very cold but also makes a statement.”
The obvious would be aNorma KamaliSleeping Bag Coat (a favorite of designerEugenia Kim). Artist Edith Young told me about Big Rock Candy’s Mountaineering Arctic Parka. “It feels like traveling in an all-encompassing, self-sustaining pod that enables all manner of spontaneous behavior, even if seasonally ill-advised,” she says. Maybe a wild card: the Rachel Antonoff Cupcake Puffer, made for when “you’re traipsing through snow-kissed peaks or flipping off the cab that just cut you off,” according to the copy!
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“A stylish rain coat, not a trench, between $200 and $300.”
I didn’t realize until getting this question how manyraincoatsaretrenches. That’s not to say your quandary is for naught! Stutterheim’s Scandinavian raincoats are, as our writerKatherine Gillespiewrites, made from a cotton coated in a layer of synthetic rubber, and while water beads against this surface, it “can be wiped away with the swish of a hand as though it was never there.” Helpfully, Stutterheim has raincoats separated from trench coats on the site. There’s thelightweightversion of the Stockholm that’s $250 at full price (theheavyweightgoes for $350). Or even cheaper is the Bold Longest Jacket from Rains (which is “ubiquitous on water-slicked city streets,” according to Gillespie). It’s writerAshley Reese’s solution to the responsibility involved in carrying an umbrella. I couldn’t resist mentioning Damson Madder’s Liu Shower-Resistant Raincoat, either. If anyone knows about rain, it’s the Brits, and the navy and green check makes me think about Barbours in the English countryside. It’s available on a preorder (or sign up to receive an email when your size is in stock).
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Stutterheim Lightweight Raincoat
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“I just spent a very enjoyable twenty minutes perusing most of theCoat Weekposts, and I wanted to ask: DoNew Yorkersnot worry about winter precipitation? It is possible that I’ve lived in Seattle for so long now that I can’t imagine winters without wetness, but I saw almost no mention of waterproof (or even water-resistant) winter-weight coats … What do you do if it’s coldandwet?”
This was debated in the Strategist-staff Slack channel, and wearing a puffer orparkaappeared to be the resounding answer. (I should note that our favoriteparkais theUniqlo Ultra Light Down Long Coat, which has a DWR finish for light rain). Some are water-resistant or water-repellent (likeAritzia’s Super Puff or Lululemon’s Wunder Puff), while others aren’t (our senior editor Winnie Yang says many aPatagoniahaven’t been waterproof). Maybe the difference between us is in mind-set. To quote our senior writerMichael Zhao, “New York is an umbrella town. PNW people just wearrain jacketsyear round.” (By the way, the bestumbrellais theDavek Elite.)New Yorkdeputy editor Alexis Swerdloff adds, “That’s what I was going to say. I use an umbrella, and then go into the subway when it’s pouring rain.”
Here’s what we’ve written about this week that you can wear when it’s cold and wet:
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More From Coat Week
- How 7 People Who Live in the Coldest Parts of the Country Stay Warm
- The 9 Very Best Women’s Parkas
- The Best (Actually Stylish) Maternity Coats, According to Experts
- What Are the Nicest-Looking Coats Under $300 (That Are Actually Warm)?
The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
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