Coat check
Soft armor for cold weather, under-the-radar vintage sweaters, sock excellence & more
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Today we’re in the Concorde Cozy Corner, talking about that unbeatable wintertime weapon: the wool coat.
Smooth-brained ignoramuses might think all wool coats are created equal, but the Mach 3+ clothes enjoyer knows that there are levels to this s**t.
You want a wool coat to feel substantial without tipping over into dead weight — leaden, inert, stifling. No! The right wool coat combines the relaxing pressure of a heavy blanket with the buoyant give of a sponge, putting a spring into your step even as it tugs you gently earthward. The wrong wool coat “wears you,” whereas the right one is like an exoskeleton… armature … swag scaffolding!
Lots of ‘80s-style overcoat silhouettes with “hard power” energy are bubbling right now: double-breasted, peak lapels, strong shoulders. I like those fine, and there’s a great example below, but I gravitate more towards the “soft power” of rounded shoulders, dropped sleeves and gentle, organic curves that encase and accent the body. So I’m rounding up coats in that spirit. They mostly hit below the knee (I found a couple hip-length options, too), and are made from swaths of extremely high-level, textured wools.
I found a clutch of vintage winter-coat options, too, including workwear puffers, and wool overcoats from four designers no one is checking for.
Also:
Like Jonah, I recently overhauled my sock drawer with heaters from Japan in linen, silk, wool and cotton…
Unisex handknit sweaters abundantly coppable secondhand for the low…
How to style those vintage sweaters, with chill holiday party outfit ideas & beyond
Let’s get to it —
My No. 1 coat pick comes from a line that’s been making refined knitwear for ~20 years but remains slept-on — though I think that’s about to change: