The Best Affordable Outerwear – Fall/Winter 2010
Finally getting to wear your favorite wool topcoat or cotton trench is one of the many reasons why the start of autumn is the best time of year. A good cold weather coat is like a great suit. It makes you look better than you should. And unlike the suit, you can wear your favorite coat every single day without generating any funny looks.
A great coat gives you shape if you don’t have much of one. It’ll define your shape if you do. Your shoulders are broader, your waist a little trimmer, and your arms become magnets for women to hold on to. Plus, there’s hardly anything better than offering her your coat when she looks a little chilly, and her actually accepting. Just don’t be throwing any of the following options down over a puddle so she can step through without getting her feet wet. These coats look too good for that, and c’mon… the line on chivalrous activity has to be drawn somewhere.
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Cotton Trenches: INC – $89.00 | Banana Republic – $225.00 (as low as $135 during a sale)
Both have been tried on in person. The INC is an incredible value. The tab at the collar is going to be a little much but you can tuck that up inside to lose the shine off the metal. The Banana Republic was too good to pass up during a sale, so it’s now hanging by the home office front door. It’s tough to find the right size online, but look in store. If you find one, you’ll also notice it’s much darker in person. That, frankly… is a good thing.
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The Peacoats: Ben Sherman – $259.00 | Marc New York – $155.00
Navy, black, gray. It’s a challenge to find a peacoat in anything but those three colors. Ben Sherman provides a brown option. “Dark Chocolate” is technically the name of the color, and it’s not a solid either. It’s herringbone. Not a bad touch. For the Marc New York, it’s classic with nothing you don’t want. Including any extra cost.
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Leather-Like: DKNY Jeans – $149.00 | Topman – $140.00
Leather jackets seem to have taken on a skinny jeans style in fitting the last few years. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of options in-between bulky leather bombers like your Dad wore, or shrunken high-fashion vacuum fits. The DKNY jeans jacket looks modern and appears to have a little bit of room inside. The Topman on the other hand seems to lean slim, but the Charcoal color is undeniably cool. Both aren’t actual leather, which shouldn’t come as a surprise for how little they cost.
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Wool Blend Topcoats: Kenneth Cole – $179.99 (reg. $295) | ASOS Tweed Crombie – $185.35
Forever the choice of the businessman, a single breasted wool or wool blend topcoat is decidedly dressed up. The Kenneth Cole option is the more casual of the two, and also comes in charcoal. The ASOS tweed crombie’s contrast collar ups the formal factor, and would look pretty sweet over your favorite navy suit.
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The Classic Investment: John Varvatos Wool & Cashmere Peacoat – $495.00
Could be the last winter coat you ever buy. Unlike most peacoats that end just barely past your suit jacket, this one continues to the mid thigh. And unlike most topcoats that go to the knee, this one won’t swallow you. The fit guide says it’s cleaner under the arms. Perfect. Price? A bit of a reach. But probably worth it.
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The Different Investment: Oliver Spencer Lookout Coat – $559.35
More art than outerwear, the Oliver Spencer Lookout Coat is over the top in expense and design. These are almost impossible to find in normal sizes, and who knows if a 40 or 42 would ever hit ebay. Stand out features like the under-forearm patches and leather buttons. The official Oliver Spencer website describes those flaps on the back as “lover’s pockets.” Meaning, they’re pockets your significant other can put their hands in on cold days to warm up. Nice thinkin’. 38 & 44 available over here at MyWardrobe.com. 44 & 46 available at Bonobos.
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Got an all time favorite coat? Old or new? Leave your additions in the comments section below.
Looking for some lighter options for early fall? Click here for those.
Great post, and I love that Varvatos coat. If I had any money at all and a need for a new coat that would be mine.
However I don’t so here are my suggestions:
I’m in love with these faux-leather jackets from Urban Outfitters. Ignore the slouchy model in the black jacket.
Charles & 1/2 Joey Faux Leather Moto
Charles & 1/2 Daniel Faux Leather Moto
I disagree with your pea-coat choices, but I was hard pressed to find good options online. Zara has some ok ones, and I’m sure H&M will have some good options in their stores (I personally have one from there), but alas, no online shopping.
Armani Exchange just added a couple great options that can be seen here. My picks are the Modern Peacoat and Tweed Coat with Piping.
But what’s wrong with just a basic Express peacoat? I know you hate the military topcoat thing, but their are hard to beat.
I’m also surprised you didn’t include this one from Banana Republic. It’s a wool/cotton blend, but some of us live in the south and don’t need something to keep the snow out.
Hey Joe! Great post and I love the choices, although I admittedly don’t see much that personally appeals in the Oliver Spencer, but I digress.
Right now in Montreal my casual go-to is the Old Navy cotton twill jacket that you suggested a while ago. It’s a GREAT fit, and I got it at 30% off, so was extremely cheap (although I had to size down to get it right–glad i bought in store)… I also have a wool Guess peacoat that I bought 2 years ago. It’s a bit of a longer cut, about between the Ben Sherman and the Varvatos.
I’ve been seriously looking for a moto jacket though, and as much as some of these faux offerings look good, really the appeal lies in their price, right? Why not get real leather and (in my opinion) a fantastic cut for only a tiny bit more?
I’ve been trying to keep this one secret, as I’m hoping to get it myself in the next week or so, but here goes…
Wilson’s Leather Black River Leather Cycle Jacket – $200 (was $500)
I know the fit could go either way, but Primer featured it, and they show some more pictures of it on a model, and the reviews on Wilsons are certainly glowing. Unfortunately I just missed their 20% off sale… would have been even cheaper!
Cheers,
Ben
@Andrew B: Great catch with the Armani Exchange. At $300, that’s gettin’ up there. As far as the basic Express Peacoats go, I don’t know. Maybe I’m just disappointed with Express this year. My winter coat is actually a mid thigh Express I bought two years ago. I hope it’s the last coat I ever have to buy because it’s perfect. The length on Express and BR coats have creeped up to cropped lengths. At least that’s what they look like in the pics? I personally want something that goes at least more than an inch or two past the end of my blazers. (Like that Armani Exchange tweed coat.) Otherwise, it’s less a peacoat and more a peajacket. (To me at least…) But you’re right, they do look good otherwise. Especially the BR.
In re: peacoats. Why even screw around with knockoffs when you can get the O.G. version for an extremely reasonable price? Gentlemen, I present to you: the Schott Melton Peacoat.
$198. US Military spec, made in the USA. Case closed.
Good God Jared, nice find. After cruising around the Schott site, I gotta say that their slim fit wool peacoat is a dead ringer for my “please bury me in this” Express Peacoat I picked up three years ago. Same price as what I paid for mine, only theirs is made in Canada. That’s… yeah, these are pretty sweet.
Damn. I think I’m gonna have to get that slim fit wool peacoat. I have been trying various coats for so long and recently tried the banana republic one because I got it at 40%. I just don’t think it’s gonna work, and am gonna return it. If this fits and looks as described/pictured it looks like it is perfect!
Review of the Schott Slim Fitting Wool Pea coat for Dappered:
So I ended up ordering a Small of the Black on Sept 28, after business hours. The order went in early morning the next day, and was shipped later that same day from (I’m assuming) their warehouse, in NJ. I live only a couple states away, in RI, and the package arrived this morning. That’s next day delivery for free (no shipping cost). Your mileage may vary based upon distance from the warehouse of course.
I just tried it on in front of a nice big multi angled mirror we have and the fit is perfect. For reference I wear a 38S in suits/blazers, and again I got a size small. It hugs very nicely along my entire torso, but still allows some room to move. The shoulders are perfect and not padded, so it gives a nice V silhouette but does not make you look like a linebacker. It falls to about mid-thigh I’d say, so the length feels good.
In terms of quality, the buttons are some nice metal (not plastic) and feel well secured. All of the seams feel strong, and overall the jacket has a nice heft to it. It doesn’t feel cheap in the least. All of the pockets are good (no holes as mentioned in the 1+ year old reviews on the page), but the chest pockets angle downwards so if you are going to use them don’t expect to have your hands horizontally over your chest. They would be more angled down, vertically hugging your chest. I’m not sure if that is normal for those sort of pockets. You can move your hands in the pocket but it seems like the thread holding the outer buttons gets in your way of moving to be horizontal (which imo would feel more natural).
The lining is a cotton, and I admit the cotton is a little bit rough, but not overly so. Not so bad as some of the reviewers mentioned, I don’t think it will cause any extra wear on sweaters or shirts. However, keep in mind this is a wool jacket, and you can tell it is real wool. That’s because as with a lot of wool garments there is a little bit of shedding. I’m not sure if that will decrease over time. I wore a white t-shirt underneath, and while I wouldn’t now wear this t-shirt out in public with out washing it or using one of those rollers, I think a shirt of any other color would be just fine. The shedding only happened on the front where the wool on the jacket edges touched my shirt, not on my back where there was a layer of cotton lining.
I think that covers everything. All in all I am very happy with it, it seems much more authentic than the Banana Republic one I recently bought (which I will return), and seems like it will be much warmer as well (it is thicker seeming). This is definitely a great jacket, and I would recommend it from my experience so far. The real test will be when winter finally gets here.
Long review, I know, but wanted to be thorough on this great jacket and ordering experience.
P.S. I contacted schott’s customer service before buying, asking about the quality issues mentioned in the reviews on their site, since the reviews were over a year old. The representative who responded said they had addressed the issues mentioned since then, so I decided to give it a try. I have to say I agree with the rep.
Nice Bryan… Thanks for the review! I think this puts that Schott coat at the top of the list.
Hey guys,
I’m currently attending a college in the Northeast, and a lot of these are great options, but I’m also on a college student’s budget so my eye is drifting towards the cheaper items. That said, I want something that also has utility. I’m looking for a good trench, one that looks good but also keep some rain out. Is the INC trench waxed enough to keep water out, or would I be better off waiting to buy a more expensive trench like the one from Banana Republic or this one from J. Crew?
@Marcus: I’m not sure if the INC trench is going to be water resistant enough for the north east. When combined with one of these, I think you’ll be fine. But… I own the Banana Republic and thanks to the nylon that’s mixed in with the fabric, I’m pretty confident that one would hold up better. Although it hasn’t been field tested yet thanks to the summer dragging on and on and on where we’re at…