My Vintage Coat From Etsy

I had been looking since the month of September for a warm coat to wear with my knee-length+ skirts during winter. I still like my Liz Lisa pink coat bought last year, but unfortunately, its over-the-knee length makes it look far from good with midi skirts:

(Not wearing a midi skirt, but just to help you visualize it...)

[Pic from last year]

Here were my main criteria for the potential coat:

• Length: Either a long coat or a short coat (preferably with a belt to cinch the waist), since I thought both would look okay with long skirts.
• Colour: Burgundy but also interested in unusual colours like fuschia or teal. Definitely no very dark/black colours since lint look too visible on them.
• Pattern: Mustn't stick out too much, especially not a check pattern since it'd look atrocious with my check skirts (notably if it'd be a short coat)—something flecked would be ideal, but a solid colour would be okay.
• Material: Wool, but pretty much open to anything that keeps warm. It doesn't have to be insanely warm since I already have a coat for this purpose when the extreme cold temperatures hit Montreal.
• Double-breasted would be cool.
• Collar can't flare out too much (otherwise I can't wear this coat in the cold winter).
• A hoodie is a nice addition, but I doubt I'd see a vintage-looking coat with a hoodie (would have more chance with retro though).

I can't remember how many times I checked online as well as in physical stores for the coat. In physical stores, there was nothing I liked and everything, even XS, was too big. It was the same case online, although the coats were nicer like on Etsy.

Childrensalon

I did buy a coat at the beginning of October. It was love at first sight with a cute burgundy coat from Childrensalon, only to return it the day after receiving it. Despite checking the measurements beforehand, I found the coat too large when trying it on, especially at the waist and the shoulders. I know this type of coat isn't supposed to be slim-fitting, but I didn't expect it to be that big. For info, I had ordered a size 12 (the biggest size since the website is for kids).

I lost an important amount of money that I never got back (shipping, customs and return shipping), so I felt somewhat sad with this purchase.

..

Sorry for the bad pic quality, but I took them quickly before rewrapping the coat back in the box...

Fi.n.t

I first noticed this gorgeous retro coat in burgundy in a Twitter post circa September 2019 (I can't find the post anymore). Everything was written in Japanese and the translation didn't specifically speak of the coat. It kind of promoted an event in-store. Although I was very interested to buy it, Fi.n.t didn't seem to release it and I saw no subsequent mentions of it on its social media. Then I found the coat from Childrensalon and you know the rest of the story.

Fi.n.t finally released the aforesaid coat in November (it was part of their 2019 Winter collection). I checked the price and it was 25 300 JPY which is ≈ 300 $ CAD. That's a bit expensive for me 💀 Add to this the shipping fees (domestic and int'l) and the potential customs fees... 💸💸💸
So yeah, that was a bit disconcerting.

In the end, I didn't buy the coat mainly because:

• The material said 70 % polyester and 30 % fur/wool (?). Although the coat didn't look paper-thin, I wasn't sure if it would be warm enough for the Montreal winter. And if I'm doubting about such an important criterion (practicality), there's no way I can spend this amount of money on the coat.
• I couldn't shake off the price in my head. Although I liked the coat, I wasn't willing to pay 300 $+ for it (nor tracking it until it went on sale—not only it risks being sold out, but with the particularly cold weather these days I need a winter coat ASAP...)
• After that failed purchase from Childrensalon, I had vowed I'd never buy a coat online again. I had thus resumed looking in physical stores only, but since I had no luck still, I had decided to go back on the Internet with a lot of caution. Being more careful, I guess I was extremely skeptical of making an even more expensive purchase.

Etsy

A couple of days later, without a coat still, I decided to check vintage winter coats for fun on Etsy (for the n^th time). And I came upon a lovely 1970s coat. The length first caught my eye and I thought how perfect it was. It was long, but because of the princess cut (fit and flare), it didn't look heavy on the person wearing it.
It was mentioned in the description that the lining was a bit damaged, but this part isn't visible and is fixable. I decided to buy the coat and had a really nice surprise when I saw that there was a 30 % off on my purchase.

The coat doesn't meet 100 % of my criteria, but it's the only one that meets as many of them (after the coat from Fi.n.t)... It also reminds me of a piece from Kate Middleton's closet, probably because I've seen her wear mostly princess coats. I've recently seen her in a double-breasted grey coat with a fur collar and matching fur cuffs and omg she looks gorgeous.

The coat was shipped promptly and arrived rapidly. It was carefully and beautifully packaged (pics were taken in the evening so sorry for the darkness):

How nice is this wrapping paper? 💗

And the coat...

From afar, depending on the lighting, the coat looks like a denim colour or a dark grey-purple. Up close, you can see a blend of grey, blue and purple. I haven't seen a lot of coats this colour, but I love how unique it is. The dark colour kind of violates my 2nd criterion for a coat, but because of the blend and the white speckles already there, the lint doesn't affect the coat too badly.

I like that you can wear the collar in different ways,

either buttoned up completely or not.

Found this in one of the pockets... there's a buttonhole on one side,

but nothing on the other side. Haven't found a use to it yet... curious.

In sum, the coat looks amazing, in very good condition and as expected. This was a particularly important purchase and I'm really satisfied with it.

My second worry was naturally the fit. I was a bit worried that the coat would be too big. Although I had taken my measurements and everything seemed fine, my experience with Childrensalon had taught me that buying a winter coat online wasn't the best idea. However, except for the shoulders that were too large, the rest looked nice (waist, length). I was relieved but at the same time concerned if the shoulders could be altered.

..

I felt a bit sad seeing my coat every day on the hanger and not wearing it because of the shoulders. I waited until the Christmas holidays, when I returned home, to get it altered by a professional (about one month later). My mother had already gone to two seamstresses to inquire about it, but none of them worked during the two-week holidays—the very period I was at home.

When I arrived home, we went to see another seamstress. Not only the job seemed complex from her point of view, but it would be ready only in a couple of weeks (she also had other clients). We finally went to a dry-cleaning place where my mother had previously brought a shirt to shoo a tenacious stain. She had heard good words about the seamster that works there from the lady at the cash register.
When the seamster looked at the coat on me, he took a chalk and traced a line on one side of my shoulder. We asked him if the coat would be ready for the following week and he replied it would be ready by the end of the current week. We were surprised and I admit I wondered if the result would be how I wished it to be.
We returned to the dry-cleaning place to get my coat on Friday. I tried it on, and to my amazement, the shoulders looked perfect. It doesn't even look like there's been work done on them. I've been to a few seamstresses for other clothing alterations before and this is certainly the first time that I'm 100 % satisfied with the result. Furthermore, it cost less than what I expected.

I initially wanted to shop for a scarf and gloves to wear with my coat. But because I spent quite some money on coats this year (+ the boots), I decided to wait next year and scavenge through my mom's winter accessories. We found a nice faux-fur scarf to which my mom sewed snaps so I can wear it as a collar. She also found navy velvet gloves. I'm not in love with the royal blue reflection of the gloves, but they work fine. I think black leather gloves would look great. As for the fur collar, I totally love it. The colour truly compliments the coat and gives an elegant look.

My mom took pictures of me wearing the coat. ヽ(　･ω･)ﾉ

(My hair dangling in the back wasn't supposed to be visible, oops)

In my feet, I'm wearing black suede ankle boots bought at Aldo during the holidays. The heels are a bit higher than what I was looking for, but I love the lace-up at the front and their price was lower than other pairs I had tried.

Finally, yesterday I bought black earmuffs from Mia Mix to survive the extremely cold days.

I was first looking for a beret but finally shifted my search since earmuffs don't mess the hair and I only need to keep my ears warm. Because my face is quite wide, I was never interested in wearing earmuffs, but the pair I bought from Mia Mix actually doesn't look so bad (and will only be worn when much needed anyway).

I really like that they can be folded like this. It's practical for the purse.

Have a nice day ⛄