Not quite sure why I'm entitling this post "Baby It's Cold Outside" considering that I alternate between hating and liking that Christmas song and we're having a bit of an Indian winter so it's really not THAT cold outside yet here. (Southern California readers - can you believe I now consider a high of 50 and low in the high 20s balmy and debate whether I should even wear a coat?!?)
Since moving away from 70-degrees-all-day-every-day Southern California almost exactly 2 years (my 2 year wedding anniversary is in a matter of hours), I have derived great pleasure from bundling up. Being able to wear scarves, coats and layers is just so danged novel to someone who grew up wearing flip flops and tank tops year round.
I have three tall coats that I LOVE that vary in warmth.
First up, the Banana Republic Classic Belted Trench - size Tall**.
This is my "lightest" coat so it's perfect for rainy spring and and brisk fall days. The sleeves are to-die-for long and the ample tie belt allow you to cinch the waist as tight as you want to create a nice shape. Personally, I wish the belt was a bit shorter. I'm kind of perplexed as to why the belt is so long yet has a buckle at the end, but I just tie it in a bow and hope no one notices the buckle. That's how it is styled on the BR website too. I miraculously scored this coat at the Banana Republic outlet. Imagine my glee when I saw "tall" AND a deeply discounted price on the tag. I highly recommend ordering this coat during one of BR's sale events.
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| Banana Republic Classic Belted Trench; Scarf - Jessica Simpson via Nordstrom |
Second - Lidi coat from Tall Couture - Size 8
I bought this coat when I lived in California and I thought it was a warm and cozy wrap....until I wore it out to dinner in Kansas during the winter and felt like I was buck nekked. The chilly air went RIGHT through it. I may not be able to wear this coat when the weather is in the teens and below, but I have had it for over 6 years and adore it because it makes me feel ladylike. I like the "swingy" bottom, the cream color, the contrasting buttons and the attached waist tie that allows for easy cinching of the waist. Tall Couture no longer carries this coat BUT they have plenty of other fabulous coats. Check them out here.
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| Coat - Tall Couture; Scarf - Banana Republic |
With much fear and trepidation, I clicked "buy" on my non-returnable, final sale purchase of the J.Crew Majesty Peacoat last February. Fortunately, the coat fit great and it is now my go-to for temps that are 20s-50s. It definitely has a bit of heft and thickness. J.Crew describes the fabric a little more eloquently - "a compact high-density wool that adds tremendous warmth without the bulk". I'm not sure it I would call the warmth tremendous (probably because I'm a big baby in the cold) but there certainly isn't any bulk and it is warmer than the two coats above. I like that I can still wear layers under a size 6 yet the coat doesn't make me look bulky. I also love the fun buttons. I've read other reviews where the bloggers pan the buttons so maybe I just don't have good taste but I think they add a little personality to the coat. I would definitely buy this coat in a different color and recommend buying it on final sale!
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| J.Crew Tall Majesty Peacoat; Scarf - From Mr. L3 via Afghanistan |
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| Fun buttons! |
You may be wondering what I wear when temps dip below 20...or maybe you're not wondering but I don't care. I'm going to tell you anyways. I bought an Eddie Bauer down jacket for my European honeymoon. I was disgruntled that EB didn't carry the tall sizes in the store (shouldn't I be used to this by now?) AND that EB charges extra for tall sizes so I decided that the normal size was good enough. Now, I really wish I had bought the tall size. Sigh...next time. And since tomorrow is my 2nd anniversary, I shall leave you with a few photos of me in my non-tall EB coat on my honeymoon.
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| First few hours in Europe - Paris! |
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| Arriving in Venice before sunrise |
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| Füssen, Germany the day after Christmas |
Do you have any tall coats that you love? Please share!
4 comments:
Love this post!
I want all of these coats!! They all look very nice on you. You have a very diverse grouping of tall coats and outerwear. Thats very important and I definitely need to take notes from you. It is imminently pressing that I branch out from solely buying black.
I love my "lightweight wool" black blazer from Banana Republic. I wear it often and need to supplement my closet with a tweed or navy blazer (like the Gap shrunken blazer in navy, though "shrunken" scares me away) to give this one an occasional break. I have a tall Ann Taylor "Brushed Tweed Annette" blazer on the way that I am hoping won't look too formal. I wanted a tweed riding jacket from J Crew, but this one from AT was more practically priced (w/a coupon it was $75). I have a 7+ year old wool riding jacket from J Crew that I was never overly impressed with the quality of. I also have a knee-length wool peacoat style coat from J Crew thats super warm, super nice, and perfectly dressy... and yes it is black. I have a green wool J Crew peacoat that is also nice and warm and I love the green color. I have been pining for a tall trench coat just like yours and now that I see it on you, I want it even more!
I had last season's "Swiss Model Down Jacket" from Eddie Bauer, but the sleeves were picked out upon the first wearing. They sent me another. Sadly the same thing happened despite focused & careful movement of my arms at all times (I was serious about making this jacket work) . I loved loved loved that jacket but was happy EB stands by their products, has an excellent return policy, and they took it back. It was definitely tall enough. Though some Eddie Bauer items have not been long enough in length or in the sleeves, but I may max out their tall parameters at 6'3.
Also, why doesn't EB offer smalls in their tall line? This is so odd to me. I just got a pair of EB long underwear for a Vermont holiday snowboarding trip and the medium tall wasn't fitted the way I prefer my long underwear to be under my North Face tall "Freedom" snowboarding pants.
I currently pine for EB's "Northern Aurora Down Vest" they offer in tall. I am on the lookout for that in the sale section in 2013.
I love your blog! You are my current fashion/tall solution inspiration. Thanks for all your help and keep up the great work!
Oh my gosh! You need to start your own blog with all of these items you're mentioning. I was in heaven reading all about them. Thanks for sharing!
I desperately need some blazers. Please let me know what you think of the AT tweed blazer! I ordered the Gap Ponte Academy blazer in size 6T in 2 colors. It arrived yesterday and is TOO big! Go figure. So maybe the shrunken one won't be so shrunken after all....I ordered the tall denim jacket from Gap too in both a small and medium. The arms were too tight in the small and the medium seemed like it didn't have enough shape so both are going back. Sigh!
I'm headed to NYC soon and am hoping to stop by Quincy Apparel's showroom to try on some of their blazers in person to see if I can get the sizing down. I noticed they are having a fabulous sale on their site so hopefully their in-store stock is part of that.
I've had my eye on a couple of down vests from EB too and I agree that it's bizarre that they don't offer SmallTalls.
Hearing that you love my blog makes me very happy. Thanks for stopping by and happy holidays!
My partner and I leave tomorrow for NYC. I think we won't be able to visit Quincy until the 2nd or 3rd because of the Xmas holiday hours. I'm looking forward to seeing how tall their items truly are. I just saw your wedding dress blog! Reminds me of my impossible task of finding a wedding dress two years ago. Wow, you looked amazing! Please post about your stovepipe pants from J Crew! I hate the Gap blazers didn't work out. I've been eyeing them as well. Happy holidays to you and yours!
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