Spring Coats and Jackets

 

Cool Choices

April weather, rain and sunshine both together.

- English "country" saying

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Closet Content Analysis:

Transition Weather Jackets

NICE                   NO THANKS         NOTE-WORTHY            NEED          NEW 

Spring is such a short season for outerwear. For the most part, we just seem to jump from winter heavy to summer bare. This year has had a longer cool and rainy spring season and so I am inspired to write about outerwear on this rainy 20th of April.

NICE 1: One of the best NICE spring jackets/coats I own is a vintage Burberry three-quarter length "carcoat". It's meant for a man because the buttons are on the opposite side but it is the best spring coat that I have ever owned. I purchased it in the summer of 2010 in a consignment shop in Bergerac, France. The shop owner thought it was from the sixties; however, if someone out there has seen this Burberry carcoat in the past and could give me more specific information, I would be most appreciative.

NICE 2: This leather swing jacket has seen both cool spring days and cool summer nights. I purchased it in Florence, Italy. The brown piping is ever so slight and gives me permission to wear brown accessories and boots with this black leather jacket.

NOTE-WORTHY: The same black swing jacket is my NOTE-WORTHY choice because it is the second I bought in exactly this same style. The first one was removed from a waiting room that I left it in. It never did come back to me. I had purchased that first one in Florence as well. I bought the second one from the same shop. The only thing I remember about the shop was the name, Anna. 




NO THANKS: Anoraks have never been my favourite. I find them bulky and short of a rainy spring day or being on a boat in the summer I haven't ever really needed one. I do have a short North Face waterproof jacket that I sometimes wear a fleece under if I need the warmth at the seaside but the anorak has not been part of my clothing-style.

NEED: I probably do need an anorak or some other such jacket for more casual rainy sorts of days. The zip on my North Face jacket separates occasionally but for as much as I wear it, I don't mind. Besides, I just stay in and read if it's raining.


Jacket Buying Tips: When you're buying, think about the following . . .


If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Beware of leather jackets in European and Asian market places. Some of the really inexpensive leather has not been properly "cured or treated". A "market" story from Florence affirms this. After being caught in the rain, a young man told me that his Florence leather "market" jacket felt like cardboard and looked awful. When he bought it, he said it looked and felt fine. It didn't look any different than the leather jackets in the shops so he decided to buy one since it was a fraction of the cost. My Florence leather jacket has also been caught in the rain; however, it is as soft and supple as it always was. I bought it in a shop and paid four times what he did.

Do not buy a coat or jacket that is too small. I've written this before. Make sure you can layer with a sweater underneath.

When in doubt, don't. Those with long arms, don't settle for a sleeve length you are not absolutely satisfied with.

Cheap coats mean cheap zippers. But expensive jackets and coats can also have cheap zippers. Zip up and down several times and "listen" for any potential problems.

Suede jackets are difficult to care for.

If you want a functional jacket, make sure you buy one that falls below the butt.