twin_cities: Speaking of coats...

...Laverne (

marciamarcia) wrote in

twin_cities,
@ 2006-10-25 19:40:00

Speaking of coats...
I'm a recent transplant...lived most of my life in Kansas and the past two years in Birmingham, AL. Consequently, I have no idea of what I need in a winter coat up here.

I've seen this amazingly cute wool swing coat at Urban Outfitters and by Kansas standards it'd be a perfect winter weight, but it's a little "spendy" (as they say) and I'm worried about putting out the dough and still ending up cold.

So what say you, Minnesotans? Is your standard wool-with-silky-liner coat good enough, or do I need to just suck it up and go buy a baby seal parka that makes me look like the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man?

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raiinstorm
2006-10-26 12:47 am UTC (link)

Well how are you currently handling weather in the 40's that will be a good indication. If you're already freezing, you'll need a big thick coat.

Don't go for the silky liner coat if you've never experienced our winters yet. I'd say go to Burlington Coat Factory and searching through there for a Columbia STYLED coat (don't bother with the name brand though) but something with a fuzzy inside and a warm outside. Otherwise, make sure that you can fit a sweatshirt under your Urban Outfitters coat.
I have lived here my entire life and have a light-weight winter coat but I always put a hooded sweatshirt under it when I'm not running from car to building, or such running to indoors type activities.

Good luck with your first winter in the area!

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	vikarious 2006-10-26 12:48 am UTC (link)
	I think the weight of the wool is key. I have a wool peacoat but it's pretty substantial. How much will you be wearing it? Doing what? Are you standing at bus stops? Are you going tubing in it? are you just running from building to car to garage? (Reply to this)

	erik3k 2006-10-26 12:50 am UTC (link)
	depends how much cold you can take. in reality you don't need one mean big fucking coat. you need to layer. a wool coat is perfect, layer it with a sweater underneath and a shirt under all of it. or get a thermal as first layer, a shirt for second, a hoodie as thrid and the coat. use gloves and hat too (Reply to this)(Thread)

	ahealthystudent 2006-10-26 05:18 pm UTC (link)
	i second. i've lived here my whole life and i've NEVER worn a big puffy parka. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	woodsprite2 2006-10-26 12:57 am UTC (link)
	Honestly if it's the cute little wool army jacket at urban outfitters I think you're going to freeze your ass off. Baby seal parka/stay-puff marshmallow man-esk jacket is totally your call...but we're going to make fun of you. ;o) Stay warm! (Reply to this)(Thread)

maekern
2006-10-26 01:04 am UTC (link)

While the marshmallow man look isn't generally required, I will say that silky liners tend to be sub-optimal. Most materials that are silky and slick also tend to conduct heat well, meaning that they feel very cold against your skin, especially when the inevitable gust of cold air makes its way into your coat. You really want a soft lining, not a silky one. And while you don't need baby seals, you probably want a coat that has some quilting/padding inside, even if just a little bit. A few layers of canvas or denim or what have you won't do the trick.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	maekern 2006-10-26 01:05 am UTC (link)
	Whoops, I meant to reply to the original post, not this comment. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	themirrorscold 2006-10-26 01:32 am UTC (link)
	i'd go with that second choice. -30 windchills get pretty freaking cold. unless you can fit a couple of hoodies and some long johns underneath the silky lined one. :P (Reply to this)(Thread)

	*random* rain_maitri 2006-10-26 03:38 am UTC (link)
	your icon makes me very happy right now :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	cloudscudding 2006-10-26 01:38 am UTC (link)
	I b'lieve that the Minnesota winter usually gets about 10 degrees colder than Kansas winters do. If you have a car (no waiting at bus stops) and wear hat, scarf, gloves, good boots, etc., you'll be fine with a wool coat for most of the winter except for about two-three weeks when it gets inhumanly cold. (Reply to this)

	leviskates 2006-10-26 01:39 am UTC (link)
	LAYERS!! (Reply to this)

	(Anonymous) 2006-10-26 01:42 am UTC (link)
	wool and liner is good about 70-80% of the time. when it goes below 0, stay-puft it is. (Reply to this)

	silvrayn 2006-10-26 02:11 am UTC (link)
	I've been up here about 3.5 yrs, originally from Georgia. I'm also incredibly cold natured though. I can use a wool coat until mid-Dec or so, sometimes longer if I have 3-4 layers underneath. After that, I need something more substantial. (Reply to this)

	dragons_angel 2006-10-26 02:40 am UTC (link)
	Get a Columbia-esque jacket that comes in removable layers. You'll freeze your ass off in the cute wool jackets by mid-winter. (Reply to this)

	jessmarie 2006-10-26 03:25 am UTC (link)
	How's the weather in Kansas? I've lived in Nebraska and would say that the winters there can be pretty comparable to MN winters. Anyway, I second the layers. I don't think those ugly puffy coats are that great. Just use lots of layers and make sure you have a nice warm hat and scarf. (Reply to this)

	kiitos 2006-10-26 03:33 am UTC (link)
	I go with straight up fur or down. I don't care about being P.C. (Reply to this)

onyxtwilight
2006-10-26 05:02 am UTC (link)

You can get away with a thinner, stylish coat, as long as you're willing to wear an extra layer underneath it, and as long as it's LONG. Coats that stop at your waist are completely useless in a Minnesota winter.

My heavier coat is a wool men's overcoat of the usual type -- but if I'm going to be outside for more than five minutes, that means long underwear beneath my pants, and a warm hat, gloves, and ginormous scarf are *always* required.

It's also possible to find thickly-padded long women's coats that are at least a little stylish; they're not the height of fashion, but you don't have to look like the Michelin Man, either. And they're way warmer. :-)

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	love_street 2006-10-26 05:44 am UTC (link)
	If I wear a thinner (see - cute) coat, I'll layer a hoodie underneath and wrap up in a big scarf. That seems to do that trick. (Reply to this)

adianoeta
2006-10-26 01:22 pm UTC (link)

i have a coat exactly like what you are describing and it is my "heavy" coat. i moved here two winters ago and have been wearing it. it's fine as long as i wear layers underneath it, hooded sweatshirt and a sweater under that. however, with the coat alone i freeze my butt off. it depends on how spendy it is...could you get something warmer for the same price? and also...do you mind not being able to lift your arms? i ride the bus and didn't realize until i tried to pull the cord at a stop that i could barely lift my arm over my head in my layers!

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carinbrat
2006-10-26 02:05 pm UTC (link)

YupYupYup. It's all about the layers. And dense wool (I find natural fibers more cold-resistant than non-natural).

For me, when choosing a coat, it's gotta have 3 things: long (at least knee length - I wear a lot of skirts), buttons up to the neck (none of this single breasted shit), and brown or black (but that's just my color preference... I wouldn't expect you to say the same thing).

Add a scarf, mittens and a hat and you will be toasty all winter long!!!

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	love the salad fingers laineylu 2006-10-26 06:11 pm UTC (link)
	you are the coolest! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: love the salad fingers carinbrat 2006-10-26 08:51 pm UTC (link)
	thanks! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	ananda_ren 2006-10-26 02:57 pm UTC (link)
	Global warming = warmer winters = cute coats rule! But seriously, it's supposed to be another warm winter thanks to some El Nino something or other. If you get the cute coat, buy it a size too big and layer layer layer. And make sure it's not short because freezing one's ass off is never fun in January. (Reply to this)

	laineylu 2006-10-26 03:21 pm UTC (link)
	i am going to 1-millionth the layering recommendation. Get something semi-ugly like fleece and something on top of that. just don't get those business casual earmuffs where the band goes behind your head (these have been known to preserve one's hairstyle but are NOT cute). good luck. ps i like smartwool socks. those things are AWESOME. i get cold toes. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	punctuation_ 2006-10-26 04:07 pm UTC (link)
	What is a smartwool sock and where can I find one? Because freezing toes are like, a perennial problem for me. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	laineylu 2006-10-26 06:03 pm UTC (link)
	https://www.smartwool.com/default.cfm this should show you. they are merino wool and they are NOT ITCHY at all. they rock my world. they are camping/outdoorsy socks. i wear them all of the time though. year-round. comfy and warm, yea! this company also makes lots of semi-attractive long underwear.. lol :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

wordling
2006-10-26 08:32 pm UTC (link)

My brother went to KU, but missed snow/winter so much that he vowed never to live that far south again.

I've got a wool peacoat with silky lining that's served me very well for years now. Personally, I really can't understand the poofy Columbia jacket thing for anything beyond sledding or building snowforts -- cold weather does not provide absolution for all aesthetic sins. If the wool is a decent weight, and if you layer, the wool coat should more than suffice.

I tend towards being (very) cold in the winter, but rarely outside (just inside, when I'm sitting still). In fact, with my tendency to layer, I'm often overheated outside and if it weren't for how quickly I cool down when sitting still inside, I'd barely layer at all. Caveat though: I walk to get to busses, or from place to place, so it's not going from sitting in house to sitting in car to sitting at work/in classes.

In current weather, I wear a leather coat with camisole, shirt(s), and sometimes sweater. I add mittens, scarf, hat, and additional layers as necessary in colder weather.

Also, some horror stories might be exaggerations -- I mean, what's the point of having cold weather if you can't dramatize it -- since winters have been growing noticably more mild for at least a decade.
Good luck!

(Reply to this)

frozenrhino
2006-10-27 12:07 am UTC (link)

Having lived in KC for 13 years and Gnashville for somewhat less, I can say that you best go buy yourself something much warmer than you think you need. I like Carharrt -- warm and industrial strength. Then again, you might not want to look like a backhoe operator. Get something really freaking warm.

And a furry earflap hat.
And gloves. Warm gloves.
And duck boots. The kind with rubber on them.
And a scarf.

(Reply to this)

servogirl
2006-10-27 05:00 pm UTC (link)

THINSULATE. Thinsulate is the answer. You can find cute wool coats with Thinsulate linings, and then you don't look like a marshmallow in a puffer coat.

Also, I understand being kind of broke, but you'll wear a classic winter coat for years if you get a good quality one and treat it nicely. As much as it can hurt to shell out a lot of money initially, it's totally worth it. I put a bunch of overtime pay into my (beautiful and warm) winter coat, and I'm not planning on getting a new one for years.

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HA! stay-puff marshmallow, what?!
(Anonymous)
2006-12-29 05:31 pm UTC (link)

All of you are quite out of it when it comes to puffy 'marshmallow' coats. If you dont find them attractive then so be it, but they have provided the best insulation and warmth for the arctic and antarctic for years. No matter the name brand, of which some are much better and more attractive than others, they can always do the trick if your camping and just out in town, not kayaking or skiing. I personally think puffy down coats, well most are quite sexy on most women and very soft and cuddly to the smoothness and grabbing ahold. They can be very comfy and feeling nice if you would just give that a chance.

(Reply to this)

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