Where art thou, vermillion coat?

March 2, 2010 1:20 PM

Where can I get a red coat like the one I had before? Specific details inside.

I once had my favorite BRIGHT red coat. I bought it in Japan. I loved it. It's gone, under tragic circumstances. No matter where I look - and boy, have I looked, I have not been able to find one like the one I once had. Will you, wonderful online community, help me?

Here is what my coat looked like:
It was a long red coat, about halfway down the thigh.
Regular long sleeves.
Poly-cotton blend.
Big white buttons, in a single line. Not double breasted - really not a fan of double buttons. The buttons went all the way to the neck, making a scarf superfluous.
The inside had really nice lining - it was white with big blue polka dots, palm-sized.

Here is an example of a red coat I was intrigued by. However, it's out of stock in red. I've found others like this one that were nice in thick wool, but I'm looking for more of a spring coat.

Why red? Because so many winter and spring jackets are dull. Spring especially is the time of year you need to be colorful and nothing makes me feel so good as the bright color red.

Does anyone know anything about the original coat I purchased in Japan (on the street Harajuku in Tokyo)? I'd gladly settle for something similar to the one I linked to above, as well - I've gone to modcloth.com, tulle4us.com, etsy, jcrew, and even jaccofashion and other popular sites, but none of the styles are close to what I'm looking for.

So, there's my dilemma. I am willing to compromise or be convinced, but my first jacket, which perished in a fire, was my favorite. Thank you Ask MeFi!

posted by ajarbaday to clothing, beauty, & fashion (13 answers total)

So take these broken links, and learn to try again, learn to post so free ...
posted by tilde at 1:23 PM on March 2, 2010 [1 favorite]

This one may not be as cute, but I thought I'd throw it out there...
posted by cider at 1:38 PM on March 2, 2010

Did you see this?
posted by mothershock at 1:48 PM on March 2, 2010

This one's not nearly as stylish either, but might be in the ballpark.
posted by kch at 1:50 PM on March 2, 2010

It might not be quite the color you're looking for, but there's this one on Etsy.
posted by alynnk at 1:53 PM on March 2, 2010

Tilde, thanks for fixing my link.

I like the suggestions, especially alynnk's - however, in that case the coat was several sizes too large. I'm looking for something that would fit a size 2/4. Mothershock's suggestion was right on with polka dot lining, but not the design I was looking for. The other two weren't quite the right style - the trenchcoat style cider linked to wasn't fitted enough. The seller advintagous' shop on Etsy is really awesome, so that's a win.
posted by ajarbaday at 3:17 PM on March 2, 2010

Soia and Kyo has great spring trenches. Their bright colour this year seems to be cobalt blue.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 4:55 PM on March 2, 2010

Short, but fits the other criteria.
posted by sulaine at 5:21 PM on March 2, 2010

You might consider buying the coat from etsy that alynnk linked to, then taking it to a tailor to have someone make a custom version for you. Then you get the right size, you can pick the fabric, and make tweaks to the design. If you loved your old coat that much, it would probably be worth the money.

Or do you have a photo of yourself in the original coat? You could take that to a tailor and they could probably do a lot with that.
posted by wwartorff at 6:06 PM on March 2, 2010

Do you have a brand name? Maybe you can find it on Japanese Ebay. Ebay in general is great for replacing favorite garments. You can set up saved searches for the brand name.

A good search might be for "asymmetrical red trench".

This is a promising one, and your size, but not cheap.

You can always replace buttons...
posted by beyond_pink at 7:22 PM on March 2, 2010

I did a Polyvore search for "red coat" which lead me to this coat, which is on a website called YesStyle, which seems to feature brands from South Korea, Japan, China, etc., and you can shop by color.

This one is wool, but it has single buttons and fastens up to the neck [which I've learned is sometimes called a funnel collar, apparently, if that might help your search]. Another wool one. This one is acrylic/polyester and comes in red in various sizes. And there's this trench, but it has short sleeves. Maybe you can explore some of the brands and see if any of them have a style that you like, then use that to help your search.
posted by alynnk at 7:28 AM on March 3, 2010

Since I looked at this post last, lots of other people have posted links that I feel will probably be more helpful, but what the hey.
posted by alleycat01 at 7:51 AM on March 3, 2010 [1 favorite]

Okay, for those who are interested, I found a photo of the original coat.

Thanks so much for all your suggestions! You guys saved the day. Although you didn't find the original coat, you were way more successful than me at finding similar ones. And there's a couple really cute ones - the acrylic / polyester coat from YesStyle, and BodenUSA had a couple that were good finds. I haven't decided yet, but those are the top contenders. All of them were awesome.
posted by ajarbaday at 6:07 PM on March 7, 2010