Profile for kevinwells - where should i shop for a wool coat?

kevinwells aka William T. Burton III is a 23.94 year old boy, has been a member since January 5, 2006, has scored 3954 submissions, giving an average score of 2.21.

URL: http://www.kevincwells.com
AIM: yesjim1

Dec 17 '09 by kevinwells

64 Comments

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where should i shop for a wool coat?

so my coat is kind of big on me, and i was thinking of getting a new one. my brother got a wool coat and it sure looked classy, so i thought i'd look into it.

where should i shop for one?

the Burlington Coat Factory near me had only two wool coats in my size (small), but the one in pittsburgh had a few more. they all were cut really baggy, though, and i didn't like them.

i don't really know where all to look.

i'm looking for something that's a little more simplistic than your average peacoat (i'm not really looking for anything double-breasted), but something kind of in that vein.

i'd really love to spend < $100, but i realize that limits things a lot. i'm willing to consider higher.

any suggestions? links? pics? :)

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emoisforposers on Dec 17 '09 at 1:18am

what's your budget?

Polyester Jones on Dec 17 '09 at 1:22am

my local value village always has a really good selection of heavy winter coats. most thrift stores/vintage stores do -- but it's hard to find your size I guess

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 1:24am

sorry, i forgot that < gets cut out and thus killed the bottom of my blog. fixed.

i looked through the coat section of the Salvation Army thrift store nearest me the other day -- they only had two wool coats, and both were size XL. :(

Polyester Jones on Dec 17 '09 at 1:27am

where did your brother get his?

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 1:29am

Burlington Coat Factory, which is why i went there. but he's a bigger guy than me, a Medium. they have like, 8 billion medium-sized coats, so he had a lot to choose from.

Polyester Jones on Dec 17 '09 at 1:30am

my brother got a really nice wool coat at Urban Outfitters...I'm not sure how much it was but considering his finances it was definitely under 100.

emoisforposers on Dec 17 '09 at 1:31am

you can always figure out what alterations would cost near you... sometimes it's okay to buy a coat you really like specially when it's a super cheap steal of a price, even if it's not necessarily your size, if you're willing to invest in it a little bit, you can pay for modifications to be made and end up spending about the same...leaving you with a comfy coat!

Chipmnk on Dec 17 '09 at 1:34am

Urban or H&M.

d3d on Dec 17 '09 at 1:42am

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 1:42am

huh yeah, there's an Urban Outfitters within walking distance of my apartment that i've never once been inside. no wait, i think i went in there once my freshman year. i'll wander over there tomorrow!

i'm fairly certain there's an H&M at a one of the malls nearby. i think? maybe?

where do you find a place that does alterations? i've never actually thought about that being a real possibility.

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 2:07am

i think i like this, but it is about twice what i was hoping to pay

i also was kind of thinking of maybe a little bit longer of a jacket. maybe. i don't know.

emoisforposers on Dec 17 '09 at 2:08am

h&m/urban are good suggestions. gap has actually some cool stuff this winter....

you can look up seamstress/tailors on the yellow pages or better yet google around your area, give them a call and they can give you a general idea. I wouldn't reccomend trying to make an XL a small... but if you're going one size down M to S should be just fine...

mgill52 on Dec 17 '09 at 2:17am

There are jackets VERY similar to that pic and variations of the basic wool jacket with military and plain styles at Old Navy. They were on sale for 34 bucks. I got one for my brother and my dad for christmas. Steal of a deal.

Polyester Jones on Dec 17 '09 at 2:22am

anyways
HI KEVIN

mgill52 on Dec 17 '09 at 2:23am

The one I got my brother was identical to this one, except no shoulder straps.

34 bucks.

mgill52 on Dec 17 '09 at 2:24am

okay, maybe not identical, but similar.

I am 90 percent sure, this is it.

Polyester Jones on Dec 17 '09 at 2:28am

I wish I was a guy so I'd have shoulders so I could wear a big coat like that and skulk around like the guys in les triplettes de belleville

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 2:35am

huh... i went through old navy's website earlier today and they didn't have anything even close to a peacoat. there are a few old navy's pretty close to me, though, so i'll definitely check them out in person. i remember trying on a wool coat at old navy a year ago and it not fitting very well, but that was a year ago and my body has changed since then. i'll give them another try.

also, HI AMELIA. would you like to go coat shopping with me? you can take me to your well-stocked thrift stores ;)

maddingo on Dec 17 '09 at 2:36am

i was at Macy's looking for xmas gifts yesterday .. i didn't look that close cause it wasn't what I was looking for but they had a ton of sub $100 wool coats it seems like.

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 2:36am

i have reasonably broad shoulders for a guy of my stature. i'll start practicing my skulking!

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 2:38am

ooo, department stores. why didn't i think of that? (i'm not being sarcastic, i really didn't think of that.) i'll poke my nose into Macy's whenever i find that H&M. i think i'll drag margo shopping on friday and make her tell me if i look sharp or not

mgill52 on Dec 17 '09 at 2:47am

oldnavy.com doesn't have the coats I got online. :/

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 2:48am

i just clicked around through the Macy's website, and they actually have quite a few i'd consider trying on. thanks for the tip!

i think the style i'm looking for is called just a "military jacket" or "field jacket", rather than an actual peacoat. which is funny, 'cause i know peacots are military jackets too, but i guess they're more navy-esque. but yeah, i'm looking for something a little more simplistic, where as most peacoats seem to be a little more... decorative

i'd post pictures but every site seems to want to make everything flash so you can zoom in, and that's a heck of a lot harder to copy/paste the code for.

mgill52 on Dec 17 '09 at 2:51am

man I wish I hadn't wrapped my dad's jacket yet. It's labeled as a military jacket. Its not double breasted or anything. It has pockets like the one from express you linked, but it is a little longer I think.

mike bautista on Dec 17 '09 at 2:52am

Forever 21, if there's one around that sells men's clothing. It was only recently when I found out Forever 21 sells men's clothing, and it's pretty fancy stuff. Like H&M but cheaper, and with styles less contemporary than Urban, but still caters to a younger crowd. So you'd kinda look like the cool kid at the conference table.
I was looking around for a peacoat, or just something fancy, and they have really nice coats for super cheap, like under $60, maybe.

I didn't find any coats at my Old Navy, but I'll try again. Old Navy has gotten a lot better in terms of easy-looking clothing.

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 2:53am

i guess i could go for a wool bomber jacket too.

this looks nice and warm :)

mike bautista on Dec 17 '09 at 2:55am

Also, I have a feeling that epaulets will be huge in 2010.

mgill52 on Dec 17 '09 at 2:56am

wow, that looks really warm.

Forever 21 is a good idea too. Mike hit it right on the head in saying its like H&M but cheaper. They have a lot of good stuff, but they also have a lot of really weird stuff. It was really entertaining last time I went into one. I was like "wutttttt? who would wear this?" half the time and "I would wear this" half the time.

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 2:57am

forever 21 sells... guys clothes? even their website doesn't seem to have any mention of this. lol, there's a really big forever 21 at the same mall as the macy's and h&m, so if any of them would have this newfangled guys section, it'd probably be that one. weird, but i'll definitely take a look.

Polyester Jones on Dec 17 '09 at 3:00am

Yeah, I went to Forever 21 for the first time last week. Scary experience but they definitely had guys clothes.

mike bautista on Dec 17 '09 at 3:03am

Guy clothes at Forever 21! I was puzzled by this too. And I know exactly what you mean, Matt and Amelia. Fashion can be so weird sometimes. I just like what what I like, but when I go to places like that where people really like what they like, I feel so out of place.

Yeah I just checked the site too. I think the tab that says Heritage 1981 is where all the guy stuff are. I saw some of the jackets there that I saw in-store, at least. I'll make it easier.

mgill52 on Dec 17 '09 at 3:04am

This one has a hood and is a wool-blend instead of just wool, but its only 5o bucks.

mike bautista on Dec 17 '09 at 3:10am

Oo I tried that when I went there. It was nice, but not for me I think. Personally, I didn't enjoy the feel of the material on the outside. It was kind of rough. I like hugging people, and I'm concerned as to whatever might ruin my recipients' hugging experience, and that material might be a bit itchy and uncomfortable to them. The inside was cozy, but at times, something felt off. But then again, it could've just been the one I tried on.

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 3:11am

huh, $50... i'll definitely check it out.

Forever 21 is one of those stores that really brings home that "people wear this stuff?!" feeling with at least 50% of their merchandise each and every time i have been there. half the stuff looks normal and like what i see people wear every day, the other half seems absurd. maybe that's what it means to be "hip"

Polyester Jones on Dec 17 '09 at 3:11am

Do you want like a full coat, that goes to your knees, or a waist-length?

Polyester Jones on Dec 17 '09 at 3:15am

hahaha, absurd...

I bought a shirt at Forever 21 that is like...the love child of Frida Kahlo and Stevie Nicks. It has fringe and embroidery everywhere.

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 3:27am

about the length, yeah, i don't know! i'd consider either. knees might be a little long (i'm not looking for an overcoat here), but i'd like something that came at least somewhat below my waist. it's awful windy here.

and as far as the shirt you just described, pics or it didn't happen

mgill52 on Dec 17 '09 at 3:29am

mike, i think you just described what wool jackets feel like on the outside. haha.

mike bautista on Dec 17 '09 at 3:35am

I did not know that!
I need to learn about fabrics. It might be easier to describe things to an employee than to say that I'm looking for something made of a soft and huggable material.

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 3:39am

wool does tend to be pretty scratchy, which is why most wool jackets are actually wool/polyester blends. most wool anything tends to be a blend like that.

wool doesn't have to be scratchy, though. it depends on the type. my 100% merino wool scarf (form the gap) is really soft and feels delicious!

the SmartWool socks i have are 82% merino wool with the rest being a mostly poly and a little bit spandex blend. they are sooooooo soft. but then, smartwool is magic

mgill52 on Dec 17 '09 at 3:47am

I had a friend that worked at a huge fabric store. I would go and visit her during her lunch break and she would take me to the really soft fabrics. I loved it.

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 4:08am

hahahaha i love that. i'm not sure why, but that made me reallol. i can just picture you coming in and she being all "hi!" and you being all "shush, woman, and take me to the soft fabrics!" and she rolling her eyes and reluctantly leading you there

Bio-bot 9000 on Dec 17 '09 at 4:14am

www.nakedsheephopesyouarewarm.org

Bio-bot 9000 on Dec 17 '09 at 4:45am

/woolcoatbonanza.html/http/org.gov

Bio-bot 9000 on Dec 17 '09 at 4:45am

dot com

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 12:28pm

is it bad that i actually copied/pasted into a new window both of those urls? :-[

DAYWALKER BUMP!

tracerbullet on Dec 17 '09 at 12:32pm

what are you, a wimp?

GO SHAVE SOME SHEEP!

kevinwells on Dec 17 '09 at 12:34pm

okay, okay, i've shaved a few sheep

now what do i do with all this mess of poofy fur? anybody got any wool-weaving skills?

Brightwood on Dec 17 '09 at 12:35pm

Ok...random information that I half remember...someone who is TL blogger now lives in China and just posted a blog about buying tailor made wool coats through him directly from china. I'll see if I can find it. It was very interesting.

scao on Dec 17 '09 at 12:37pm

Well, a wool coat is something that you'll probably have for a long time. You may want to buy something that fits you really well so that you don't end up just getting rid of it in a year. Banana Republic usually has well fitting coats for smaller folks and if you're willing to wait until holidays are closer to over, you stand to get a better deal. It'll still cost you more than $100 (closer to $150), but if you use it for 5 years, it's worth it, eh? OK, sorry for the long post. Also, are there any higher quality outlet stores near you?

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'ello there. my name's kevin. i'm from pittsburgh, but i live in columbus and go to osu. if you see me on campus, feel free to stop me and say hi. if you see me off of campus, feel free to stop me and give me a high five. but never mix the two up. ever.

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