Winter is coming! What to wear!

[darksmokepuncher]

I want to stay warm, but not get into the office and roast. Wool base layers and heavy clothing might not quite satisfy.

I have these excellent Mr Davis bamboo undershirts; uncertain how they will fare in winter. My normal shirt over that is interlock cotton.

Ideally, over that, I would like some kind of long overcoat, preferably knee-length or further. I suppose one down to the shins would button as low as the waist, with the lower half acting as sort of a skirt, moving the overlapping fabric apart when the legs find it constraining so as to not interfere with mobility.

I'm not sure if a wool overcoat is appropriate in Baltimore for the winter. I've become quite a fan of wool, since it's kept me warm when cycling; a light wool base layer can keep me warm well down into the cold temperatures, whereas coats just preserve me from freezing if they're not too hot. Wool base layers have about them this strange way of retaining warmth, but venting it as well before you overheat--I suppose they'd have to, if the sheep isn't going to roast itself alive.

Never tried a wool coat.

 

[deoxy4]

I purchased a long wool toggle coat that went to the knee some years ago. It was warm and HEAVY weight. I found if I wore it for a long period my shoulders got fatigued being so heavy and a pain when driving where the material would bunch at the leg.

Since then I have purchased a double layered wool coat that covers my can but without a lining. I wear it in the fall by itself over a wool long sleeve smart wool shirt. In the winter I wear it over a wool cardigan sweater or heavy fleece or when it gets really cold over an LL Bean Ascent primaloft jacket liner or LL Bean primaloft vest. If it rains or sleets I wear it under a shell. I live in the Boston area so it gets pretty cold but I stay warm. It is really versatile.

I do wear the toggle coat on occasion when I am walking somewhere in the cold for a short distance. If you decide you are going to purchase a long wool coat I would recommend you consider buying one with a quality heavy duty two way zipper. The toggle coat I have leaks wind in the front closure.

Good luck.

 

[Doc4]

http://www.gloverall.com/mens.html

Gloverall duffle coat ... make sure you get a longer "original" one.

 

[alaskamcghee]

I would like to congratulate you on choosing to dress like a city person rather than a mountaineer/adventurer. With that said you may want to check out an American made option.
http://www.sterlingwear.com/cart/
Johnny

 

[Alacrity59]

I have no idea what weather you are facing or if you are wearing a suit. For the most part when I'm wearing a suit I wear a raincoat when it gets cold enough it has a zip in lining. If I were visiting customers in the winter I'd upgrade to something along these lines. While I like the Canali the Harry Rosen version is great value. . . well to me.

 

[darksmokepuncher]

I would like to congratulate you on choosing to dress like a city person rather than a mountaineer/adventurer. With that said you may want to check out an American made option.
http://www.sterlingwear.com/cart/
Johnny

Of course I'd like to dress like a city person. I live in Baltimore City. Besides, my experience with huge, puffed-out coats is they keep me warm as long as they retain the warmth from indoors; after 30 seconds, they become ice blocks, which I discard upon entering a warm space so as to stop chilling myself. Wool has kept me warm in the past--a shocking and confusing experience--and so I seek a good insulator, not a type of impressive zip-on suit to make a lithe man appear morbidly rotund.

The manufacturer you linked should either fire their Web designer and close up shop or send him out for training and demand he produce a Web site that's actually usable. No search options, an option of displaying four items as either 2x2 or 3-and-1, and nearly a dozen pages to display a handful of options?

There's not many longer models. The Brigdafuhrer is a fine rendition of a trench coat; they have a nice looking double-breasted wool coat, but the double-breasted style looks like an Admiral's jacket, whereas single-breasted styles feel more civilian to me; I dislike drawing too much attention or making myself look too important.

It looks like they import the fabric and construct it in American facilities. Do you know if they're well-constructed? My experience with most American manufacture is poor quality and poor quality control, with a hefty mark-up above better-quality imported goods. The few high-quality American-made goods I like--notably Trek bikes--are, honestly, priced higher than better-quality goods imported from China, and largely made from Japanese parts anyway.

I have no idea what weather you are facing or if you are wearing a suit. For the most part when I'm wearing a suit I wear a raincoat when it gets cold enough it has a zip in lining. If I were visiting customers in the winter I'd upgrade to something along these lines. While I like the Canali the Harry Rosen version is great value. . . well to me.

Probably -15C this year.

I wear business casual 99% of the time. Most of the time, I'm wearing something from Lands' End. I bought a suit on a whim recently, and have never worn it; I'll probably excise it from my wardrobe soon enough. I understand there are two types of suit wearers: idiots who cannot dress themselves, and criminals who wear a suit as a way to project importance and danger about them as a method of control and self-protection.

$1100 is rather steep for wool lined with nylon. I've found one of the most notable features of a coat is its lining: if the lining is nylon or polyester, the coat will be uncomfortable in conditions where it would retain comfort were the lining something as simple as cotton felt or fleece. I have a jacket which uses both, and it becomes unusable at cooler temperatures because the arms become icy due to poor lining, while the rest is cotton lined.

 

[Kazeryu]

Of course I'd like to dress like a city person. I live in Baltimore City. Besides, my experience with huge, puffed-out coats is they keep me warm as long as they retain the warmth from indoors; after 30 seconds, they become ice blocks, which I discard upon entering a warm space so as to stop chilling myself. Wool has kept me warm in the past--a shocking and confusing experience--and so I seek a good insulator, not a type of impressive zip-on suit to make a lithe man appear morbidly rotund.

Whoa there champ. You were being complimented on not choosing athletic wear.

The Brigdafuhrer is a fine rendition of a trench coat; they have a nice looking double-breasted wool coat, but the double-breasted style looks like an Admiral's jacket, whereas single-breasted styles feel more civilian to me; I dislike drawing too much attention or making myself look too important.

I think you're being a bit paranoid about people mistaking you for an admiral - you'd need brass buttons at the very least. If I were you, I would be more concerned about the fact that the model for the double-breasted coat is obviously swimming in it - it's cut for a much fatter man.

I understand there are two types of suit wearers: idiots who cannot dress themselves, and criminals who wear a suit as a way to project importance and danger about them as a method of control and self-protection.

Since you bought a suit, which one are you?

 

[jason10mm]

Sounds like you want a wool car coat. They are basically a pea coat but extend down to knee length. I have one with a faux sweater front that I can zip up but leave the coat unbuttoned, so I can be warm but also look dashing Very warm up top, but your legs will still get cold unless you wear thick pants, hose or the like . They are somewhat water repellent, probably need a treatment or something to make them water resistant in a downpour though. Anyway, throw in some gloves, a scarf, and a wool hat and you are GTG for walking around. I find them a bit bulky for sitting in a car for a long time but you can always take it off.

 

[Alacrity59]

Kazeryu

I think the nylon on this specific coat is fine. It will let your jacket slip into the sleeves. A silk lined coat will be a bit more expensive.

At minus 15 C a fall coat works. I'm a Brampton guy.

 

[deoxy4]

As you wear Lands End, you might want to check this as an option.

http://www.landsend.com/products/mens-wool-topcoat/id_244090

 

[Doc4]

Besides, my experience with huge, puffed-out coats is they keep me warm as long as they retain the warmth from indoors; after 30 seconds, they become ice blocks, which I discard upon entering a warm space so as to stop chilling myself.

Not to dissuade you from your choice of a wool coat, but ...

... the "puff coats" insulate well if they use good insulation, like down. There are a lot of puffy coats which use crap insulation, with the result being they have little or no actual ability to insulate you. A good down parka will do an admirable job.

I have one, and it has kept me toasty warm for an hour at -35.

I hate to mention the brand as I feel it's overhyped and (as a result) overpriced, but ... Canada Goose are a kick-@$$ example. No, I wouldn't buy an $800 parka either, but ... just to show that "puffy" can be toasty warm in the coldest weather ... it's all about what the "fill" is.

 

[legrandfromage]

I worked in NYC (wearing a suit every day) for many years and found a good quality trench coat, with a full lining (body and sleeves) to be the best solution. If it was too cold for that, then I really didn't worry about style and wore whatever I needed to stay warm.

 

[professorchaos]

I live in Boston and walk to work. Leather jackets and wool sweaters have served me well down into the low teens.

 

[Alacrity59]

I live in Boston and walk to work. Leather jackets and wool sweaters have served me well down into the low teens.

+1

I don't walk to work but it has been my habit to walk for 45 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes in the evening at these times in the cold it has been leather or canvas. I've a newish leather coat now . . . replacing a 20 year + prior . . . which I still have.

 

[anoop]

I would like to congratulate you on choosing to dress like a city person rather than a mountaineer/adventurer. With that said you may want to check out an American made option.
http://www.sterlingwear.com/cart/
Johnny

My biggest difficulty with finding winter clothing that allows me to dress like city person is that they almost always require dry cleaning. For me the first requirement for any clothing is that it must be machine washable/dryable. That eliminates a bunch of cool looking stuff but it also simplifies my laundry effort.

Right now I use North Face for jackets, but I've been exploring alternatives for my next. All the cool-looking stuff that I find at Nordstrom's is dry clean only.

 

[Kazeryu]

My biggest difficulty with finding winter clothing that allows me to dress like city person is that they almost always require dry cleaning. For me the first requirement for any clothing is that it must be machine washable/dryable. That eliminates a bunch of cool looking stuff but it also simplifies my laundry effort.

Right now I use North Face for jackets, but I've been exploring alternatives for my next. All the cool-looking stuff that I find at Nordstrom's is dry clean only.

I'm curious as to why this is an issue for you -- how often do you need to wash your "city" coat? I only ask because I'm not certain I've washed either of my wool coats in several years. A little water and a brush suffice to take the salt off the bottom.

Disclaimer: I wear my coats almost exclusively with matching fleece "liners", and the liners do get washed at least once per season.

My 2 cents on winter clothing:

I put "liners" in quotes because they didn't come with the coats - I just purchased plain zip-up fleeces in different weights and matching colours separately. That way I can adjust the warmth of my liner to match the temperatures of the day. Another advantage of this approach is that I can keep the "liner" on inside if I'm someplace really cold without looking like a zipper-and-button-festooned dork (because my "liner" doesn't have millions of devices to attach itself to the inside of a coat). It also means that if I'm going into a pub or something after hours, I can leave the outer coat in the car and not look so dressy when I walk into the bar.

So anyways, my advice is to buy a coat for its looks, and then deal with the warmth question by wearing a nondescript fleece/undercoat of the desired warmth underneath it.

 

[anoop]

I'm curious as to why this is an issue for you -- how often do you need to wash your "city" coat? I only ask because I'm not certain I've washed either of my wool coats in several years. A little water and a brush suffice to take the salt off the bottom.

I don't have a need to wash it that often, but I do like to wash it every time I fly with it, just because it tends to get put in places that I don't regard as particularly clean. Maybe if visiting the cleaners was as pleasurable as lathering/DE shaving, I might be tempted to forego that requirement.

 

[Edcculus]

I prefer 100% pure north of the wall Dire Wolf coats for when "winter is coming"

 

[parastang]

I'm not sure if Pendleton has longer length coats or not. I have a wool jacket that is lined with thinsulate and it is hands down one of my favorite coats. Vintage design, cut and lines and done in a timeless understated pattern. I used this regularly in Colorado winters with nothing more than a T-Shirt underneath and was always warm. I hit it with a little scotch guard and it was fine in the snow and even light rain.