J. Crew winter coats?

[mercoledi]

Hi, I'm looking to retire my poor bedragled grey wool coat this year. It's been my everyday coat for about 5 years now, and it shows! I was thinking of the J Crew Lady Day coat with the thinsulate lining... but I live in New England and need a coat that will really be warm.


Lady Day coat

Does anyone have one of these? Is it any good below freezing?

I'm also open to other coat reccomendations. I'd like something in wool with a slim silhouette and a car-coat length. My optimal coat would have a covered zipper and buttons (single breasted). There are two catches; 1. I really need it to be warm down to about 10 degrees F, and most of the department store coats just don't cut it. 2. I'm petite, about a 0/2 and short so the LandsEnd type stuff is still huge on me even if it's marked XS.

Whadday say ladies? Does anyone own a J.Crew coat or have a better option?
Thanks!

 

[monarch64]

I bought the Lady Day Coat with thinsulate in ivory this fall. I live in the west burbs of Chicago and was also looking for something very stylish yet very warm. So far it has exceeded my expectations--the combo of wool and thinsulate lining makes it super warm, while the drape and cut of the coat are superb for a coat in this price range and do not add bulk, making for a nice streamlined silhouette. Have I sold you on it yet? LOL.

I lusted after this coat last year but waited until it went on sale, then missed out and got the plaza coat instead, which I was not happy with as it just wasn''t the same as the LDC. This year I bought the LDC as soon as they started appearing in the catalog and on the website. Completely happy with this purchase--it should be a great coat for years to come.

 

[mercoledi]

Thanks!
If you''re outside Chicago and think it''s warm enough, that''s probably warm enough for me! I''m trying to hold out for the after-Christmas sale, but maybe I''ll call, I''d hate for there to be none left.

How did you find their sizing, are the size charts online fairly accurate or did you find your coat in a B&M store?

 

[monarch64]

Merc, I do remember seeing the LDC on sale already this year, but I can''t remember if it was lined or not, and I know it was only in a couple colors.

As far as sizing, I would say they run very true to size. Another reason I purchased this coat is because they offer tall sizing, and that was something I definitely needed (can''t stand for my wrists to be cold, lol!)

 

[SoonIHope]

I can''t comment on the LDC (other than it''s so cute!), but I had a J Crew peacoat with thinsulate a number of years ago that was sooooo cozy and warm and lasted forever!! I still wear it on occasion and it''s barely worse for the wear. And they really are surprisingly warm without being bulky at all!

 

[mercoledi]

Monarch- I think there were some on sale earlier, but they were wierd colors. I kinda have my heart set on the aubergine! Thanks for the size info, I may still drop by a store and see if there''s anything there; they say that the petites run pretty small.

Thanks albi, it''s nice to hear that they hold up!

 

[monarch64]

Merc, the aubergine is gorgeous! Good luck! I hope the P size fits you!

 

[lovelylulu]

i have a double cloth coat from last year and i love it.

i agree with monarch about the fit. it''s not a terribly heavy or bulky coat, yet with the thinsulate it is very warm!

i opted for a beautiful winter white which looks fantastic, but is difficult to keep clean. fortunately, it dry cleans easily.

Hope you find a sale.

 

[WindyCitySparkle]

Hi! I also live in Chicago and have a J Crew wool coat with Thinsulate. It does keep me warm and I like it a lot -- the only thing I will say is that the lining has frayed and come apart a little, which also happened with a friend''s J Crew wool coat. This could be earily fixed if I took the time though. Just FYI...

PS to the previous poster -- thank God for tall sizing, right??? I get so much stuff from JCrew just because they offer that!

 

[CrownJewel]

Date: 12/2/2006 12:34:51 PM
Author: WindyCitySparkle

PS to the previous poster -- thank God for tall sizing, right??? I get so much stuff from JCrew just because they offer that!

Haha...that''s funny because I get most of my coats from JCrew because they offer petite sizing!! Banana Republic also has petite sizes, but their petite sizes are too big for me. Ann Taylor Loft''s petite sizes are even bigger than BR.

Yay for JCrew! The coats are cute, versatile and warm.

 

[cutes814]

the coat looks kinda like my other jcrew wool coat. i don''t know if it''ll hold up in freezing weather since i live in the SF bay area, the weather here is only about 40 degrees F at the coldest. i absolutely love the way jcrew makes their coats though, feels good and looks great.

 

[monarch64]

OK, I have to give you an update on weather performance/the LDC! I wore mine out tonight for the first time when there was lots of snow on the ground and it''s like 19 degrees outside... I was perfectly warm with just the coat over a cotton Gap turtleneck with a boring ol'' tank top underneath that, jeans, and my 3.75" knee high brown leather boots I ordered from Victoria''s Secret this fall...(the heels on those suckers are like ice picks as far as navigating the frozen-over sidewalks, believe it or not!) Anyway, I also wore the coat out this a.m. for a church brunch as a guest of my MIL and had a wool JC sweater vest on underneath and was SO warm I had to stop back at the house and change into just cotton underneath that coat. It is seriously THAT WARM.

Hope my test drive helps you or others out...I got so many compliments on this coat already today that I went out and bought a wool ivory colored beret to match! Would love to have the Burberry newspaper boy hat and scarf to go with it, but those are a bit beyond my budget and I will have to put them on my Christmas wish list for DH, LOL!

 

[diamondfan]

I love the chocolate and would get it with the thinsulate lining...

 

[mercoledi]

Wow, I didn''t know this thread was still going! Thanks everyone for your input and thanks Monarch for the update on your test drive! That''s so funny that it''s actually too warm sometimes. I''d rather be warm than freezing most of the time, and since Boston got it''s first snow this morning.. c''mon sale! A ton of other coats went on sale Saturday, but not the Lady Day...

 

[mercoledi]

Date: 12/2/2006 12:57:37 PM
Author: CrownJewel
PM

Haha...that''s funny because I get most of my coats from JCrew because they offer petite sizing!! Banana Republic also has petite sizes, but their petite sizes are too big for me. Ann Taylor Loft''s petite sizes are even bigger than BR.


Yay for JCrew! The coats are cute, versatile and warm.

I know, I can''t even shop at BR anymore, the XS petite T-shirts are huge on me. Ridiculous. I sometimes have luck at the regular Ann Taylor though, they now stock 00 petites and run really good sales. I just got a silk ball skirt for $40 that was originally $160.

It all seems so silly though, I remember being a size 4 and I assure you, I haven''t gotten any smaller since then. Ahh size inflation.

 

[monarch64]

Date: 12/4/2006 9:33:46 AM
Author: mercoledi
Wow, I didn't know this thread was still going! Thanks everyone for your input and thanks Monarch for the update on your test drive! That's so funny that it's actually too warm sometimes. I'd rather be warm than freezing most of the time, and since Boston got it's first snow this morning.. c'mon sale! A ton of other coats went on sale Saturday, but not the Lady Day...

I'm going to venture to say the LDC will probably not go on sale before Christmas...but keep watching. I am trying to remember when they went on sale last year, and I want to say it was almost February! Blahahhah--

Any way you would bite the bullet and just buy it now? To me, it was a coat I really, REALLY wanted, and honestly for the price of $300 and change for a tall size with thinsulate I felt I could sacrifice maybe $100 to get what I really wanted when I really wanted it, ya know? I waited TOO long last year and my size was no longer available when they went on sale, and this year I just decided I had been wanting and wanting it, there was no getting around it, so I just had to sacrifice in maybe another clothing area (trendy top, or pair of jeans) and buy it. Only other way I can think of is to either get a job at JC or try finding one on ebay, and those are both risky and involve (for me) way too much work to end out a few bucks ahead of the game. Or, maybe you could try the outlet store if there is one close to you...sometimes they have (not necessarily) "odd" colors like the ivory, green, or aubergine at the end of season that are discounted...but that's a guessing game as well.

I know this is sort of an expensive coat, but I can say it has been well worth it to me to have what I want and enjoy it. I will probably have this coat for the next 5-8 years, and I know that after almost 3 years of lusting after it, I will be satisfied with that, and my $300 has been well spent. You said in your first post on this thread that you'd worn your gray wool coat for 5 years, so you are used to making a major purchase and getting lots of wear out of it...

ETA: I just checked Ebay and found no listings for the LDC in a 0 or 2....sorry!

Best of luck to you, Mercoledi!

 

[mercoledi]

Monarch thanks for all of the encouragement. My concern is not that the coat isn''t worth the investment, it''s that we just got married, which has sapped our resources and well, tis the season for buying things for other people. It''s finally gettting cold here, so I may renig, but I''d much rather hold out and see if I run accross a friends and family coupon or something. The seem to still have my size in stock. The only thing that kinda stinks is that the stores don''t carry petites anymore, so I can''t try on a petite to see if that fits better than the regular, and my local J Crew doesn''t get the Lady Day coat at all. I''ve kept an eye on ebay, but I agree that it''s tricky. Maybe we''ll get out to the outlets before the holidays. If not I''ll probably break down and just order it from the store phone so at least I don''t have to pay shipping (I know, I''m cheap).

 

[mercoledi]

Ok, so I bought the coat. I wanted to give a big thanks to the women of the shopping forum who turned me onto the purse forum. Now not only do I lose more of my day to coveting things I can''t afford, the Deals & Steals forum is great!

Now thanks to y''all I have this:

and this

and since my old bag was both PVC and purple, this:

Now if I could only wrangle these I''d be a whole new woman:

covet

covet

Thanks!

 

[monarch64]

Mercoledi, so happy for you! Now you can wear your beautiful coat to all the holiday festivities and be ab. fabulous! Nothing I can''t stand more than seeing a guest arrive in a crazy puffy jacket thing with a beautiful outfit underneath--sheesh, lol! (Hmm, yet another reason why I took the plunge and bought the LDC!) I just wore mine again over a little black dress this past weekend in Atlanta, where it was below freezing (ok, 30 degrees) and I was still warm, yay!

Love everything else you posted pics of as well...you''re going to be quite the perfectly-turned-out gal this season! Looking forward to seeing you on the shopping forum this spring, hee hee!

Can you maybe cut down that guest list and have more fun being enabled by us shoppers here on PS???? Or at least do away with one tier of your cake so you can have those awesome earrings? LOL!

 

[rfath]

This board is dangerous... I''d been watching this thread and fell in LOVE with the LDC... I coveted it secretly.

And then not-so-secretly.

And THEN IT WENT ON SALE. And covet was not the right word. For 40% off I was prepared to beg hubby for it. And I won.

I can''t wait until it gets here!

Thank you, PS, for making sure I''m poor but well-dressed

 

[mercoledi]

rfath, welcome to the club! I ended up buying 3 of those coats (long story) and getting the purple for the sale price. This all started because someone else had a thread about a winter coat that made me thing hmmm... mine is getting old....

The new bag I got (my first big girl bag) though not impressive for here was a direct result of someone (travellin gal?)''s thread about needing a respectible bag. Until then I thought that $15 was still a little pricy, and that no one could tell my bags were PVC!

If you''re escaping with just an $180 coat, you''re getting off light!

 

[rfath]

I have a bad feeling that it''s just the beginning... see, those purse threads have me thinking... and Travelin''Girl''s thread got me thinking even harder.

I carry a freaking backpack to work still, okay! *sob* There, I''ve confessed my horrible secret. I''ve accepted that I need to get something a bit more, uh... stylish. It''s starting! I can feel it!