a tale of two topcoats.
Hi everyone!
Today I wanted to share reviews of two lovely coats from J.Crew that received admiration when they rolled out, but were priced a bit too high. They hit sale and sold out super fast. There have been popbacks however, so if you luck out and find one in your size, I wanted to provide a review in case you're unsure.
If there's one thing that J.Crew excels in creating, it's a well-made, pretty coat. I have coats from 8 years ago that I still love and wear in frequent rotation, and they look wonderful. (There have been some exceptions, at least in recent years, this winter especially, where they have gone a bit over the top with the trends and pricing.) Since I wear a winter coat for easily half the year, I have a good collection. As a SAHM, running errands, doing school runs, etc, it's pretty much what others see of my outfit. So for me, it's worth the investment. I do a yearly evaluation and always donate or sell coats that don't fit or are no longer my style. What I've found, is that nearly every coat that has staying power, has been from J.Crew. Of course there are other wonderful brands that make quality coats, but JC nails it for me. I oddly don't have any tweed coats in my closet, and have been so inspired by tweeds this winter, that I wanted a bit of that classic goodness in my outerwear.
I couldn't tell from the online pics if I'd prefer the Collection Topcoat in Tweed (a shorter, brown tweed in a more menswear-inspired style) or the Collection Herringbone Topcoat in Irish Tweed (a longer, wine-colored tweed in a tailored silhouette.) By some miracle, I was able to grab both of them at the extra 40% off sale prices. The brown came to about $130 and the Irish tweed just over $200. Both extremely fair prices.
The first is the Collection Herringbone in Irish Tweed (wish they had differentiated the names a bit more!), which I grabbed in a size 6, which is a size higher than my normal coat size. I just hoped for the best, especially as it was described as a fitted, tailored piece. In the end, it actually fit beautifully, especially with some winter layers. So I think it runs TTS to the smaller side. If you vary sizes, I'd probably recommend the size up if you plan on any layers. The color is a gorgeous wine/burgundy blend, leaning more towards purple than red. I had expected it to be closer to the brown coat, and was happy to see that they were not at all alike. The 100% wool coat is a mix of Donegal tweeds from Ireland's John Hanly mill, which JC notes has been family-owned and run since 1893. Of Irish heritage, that always strikes a note for me. :) I love the mixed herringbone tweed, which is interesting but still subtle. I wore it out immediately that day and night. Obviously, it is a keeper.
The Collection Topcoat in Tweed was also on my watch list, especially as I have the Jeweled Schoolboy Blazer in the same tweed. I had visions of wearing the two together, in a sort of 3-piece suit kind of way. As I mentioned, I was so happy to see that it was very different from the other tweed coat. The style feels very menswear topcoat to me, which is different than the feminine tilt of my other coats. This is a size 4, which is the right size, so it's TTS.
I decided that I loved these both, that I decided to keep both and return the Sherpa-lined Military Parka, which was about the same price as the two combined. Since it was a two coat addition, I also dropped a coat off at Goodwill. :)
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