She’s Got Coats of Many Colours: IFB Project #116

I try to avoid buying black or charcoal coats. When everyone has a similar coloured coat, you just blend in with the rest. Besides, winter’s cold and it gets dark early, so why do you want to…disappear? One reason why I try to look for brighter colours (or at least, not something dark) when I’m coat shopping. So when Independent Fashion Bloggers asked us to post about our favourite coats for this week’s IFB Project, I actually had trouble deciding. That’s why I’m writing about three!

Lady Day from 2010

Over the past few years, I’ve fallen in love with J.Crew’s Double Cloth Lady Day ($410 for a petite in Canada/$365 for petite in the US). I bought my first coat (above) in late 2010 and around three years later, I’m on to coat number two, seen below (the insides of coat one have ripped). Yes, green is one of my favourite colours. I could have picked blue or camel, but decided on a colour that wasn’t too close in tone to most of my pants (which are blue, black or grey). I know, it’s a thing I have. Besides, the new one is really bright and definitely will stand out in a sea of black. True, the Lady Day will not get me through the coldest of Toronto winters, but that’s really only January and February. By early March, the Lady Day can strike again. And bright colour like the green would work very well as a transition to spring coat – better than any black or dark grey piece!

The 2013 Lady Day (yeah, I know, the sweater underneath is probably a bit too bulky for this coat)

Another coat I like is one I found in late summer at a “blogger sale” – an event hosted at a small, independent boutique not too far from my home. The coat, from Theory, was previously owned by one of the Backseat Stylers bloggers (I believe it was Sharon). Again, this coat is not exactly “winter” friendly, and even lighter than the Lady Day, but it would definitely work as a fall or mid-spring coat. Like the 2013 Lady Day, the bright magenta shade differentiates the coat from the majority. 🙂

Theory coat from the bloggers’ sale

What are your thoughts? Do you prefer brightly coloured coats, non-black neutrals or black?

About Cynthia Cheng Mintz

Cynthia Cheng Mintz is the founder and webitor-in-chief of this site and the petite-focused site, Shorty Stories. She has also written for other publications including the Toronto Star and has blogged for The Huffington Post. Her first novel, Aspirations, was published in 2007. Outside of writing, Cynthia researches and advises philanthropic ideas for family funds and foundations and also volunteers.