Women's coat warm as Canada Goose, but not Canada Goose. And stylish.
December 10, 2013 11:57 AM   Subscribe

I love to walk to and from work, all year long, and this requires a warm coat. My current coat doesn't keep me as reliably toasty as I'd like. I want something as warm as a Canada Goose coat, but I don't want that brand - i want something that every second person (in toronto) isn't already wearing, and that is (if possible) slightly more urban/stylish/flattering, and less sporty/functional looking. In particular, i really don't want a big logo/badge on it, as all Canada Goose coats do. I absolutely want a down-filled coat, though. (I've never seen a wool coat that is anywhere near as warm as down.) Bonus points for something available at a retail store in Toronto (or possibly NYC, which i visit occasionally), and that costs $700 or less.
posted by Kololo to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (27 answers total) 27 users marked this as a favorite
 
Mackage. Lovely coats, quite warm (if you get a down model). Should be in your price range.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 12:02 PM on December 10, 2013 [2 favorites]


Perhaps Soia and Kyo? I'm not experienced enough with Toronto level winter to know if they are warm enough, but stylish, sure.
posted by slow graffiti at 12:06 PM on December 10, 2013


Except for that last, niggling detail, I would strongly recommend Kanuk. My sweetheart and I went through the same thing as you. We live in a much colder city than Toronto (Calgary... balmy -29 last Saturday morning), and she, quite reasonably hates the cold. I had given her in a warm enough Patagonia down jacket, we were still looking for a more 'urban' jacket. It had to be reasonably good looking, and warm-warm-warm.

She went for a coat that cuts down to mid-thigh, had a very warm temperature rating (which are relative measures only, of course), and we sprang for the fur-lining (my experience living in the Arctic was that smart people quickly modified their parkas to line the hoods with fur, if it didn't already have one). We managed to get a 2012 coat on clearance.

Let me say, it is a fine looking coat. Last week, we had a solid 6 day spell of -20 to -30 with wind chills in the lower -40s. Terrible, terrible weather for someone who doesn't like winter. She raves about the coat.

Still, not cheap.
posted by bumpkin at 12:07 PM on December 10, 2013 [3 favorites]


Those Mackage and Soia and Kyo coats look like light spring coats by local standards.
posted by bumpkin at 12:08 PM on December 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


If you're ok wearing skirts, snow skirts are a nice addition to a warm coat, so that your coat doesn't have to be so long, which can be tricky to find.
posted by leahwrenn at 12:10 PM on December 10, 2013 [4 favorites]


Kanuk++, but they use synthetic insulation instead of down, and tend to be over $700.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 12:11 PM on December 10, 2013


Aritzia - I had a coat from here lasted 3 years walking everyday in Calgary, AB. No logos, around $500. I would say stylish for a Canadian winter coat.

Upgraded this year to a North Face Jacket, the logo is less pronounced then then a Canada Goose coat. It has "the north face" in black on the back shoulder, the coat is also black. Again around $500 and so warm! The last week we've had -40 weather and I've been fine walking to and from work everyday.
posted by blueberrypicasso at 12:32 PM on December 10, 2013


I have an older version of the Fjord down coat from Brooklyn Industries that I had to give away because I just could not wear it in NYC without becoming a sweaty mess.
It's very very warm.
posted by rmless at 12:32 PM on December 10, 2013


MEC has Patagonia down parkas in the ~$400 range. They have a number of other choices too.

The Patagonia stuff is the more stylish (and expensive) end of what MEC carries. It's usually well-suited for purpose in my experience, and wears very well. Patagonia labels tend to be disceet.

MEC is on King St. W, downtown.
posted by bonehead at 12:38 PM on December 10, 2013


Maybe something like this from Eddie Bauer?
posted by mce at 12:39 PM on December 10, 2013


I'm a big fan of my MEC frostbreaker coat. Mine is about 5 years old now and still in amazing shape. I'm in Ottawa and it keeps me toasty. It is not down (I'm vegan) but I think you can get a very warm coat with synthetics (and it's easy to wash). I regularly walk outside for an hour or two at a time and am warm in it.
I'm not sure if it's stylish enough for you, but it's a good coat, and well, well under your budget (lots of room in there to buy some great long johns!).
posted by sabotagerabbit at 12:40 PM on December 10, 2013


A military/imitation military surplus coat? I went that direction this year and it is somewhat inexplicably a big compliment-generator, which I take to mean it looks like I was trying to be stylish. They tend to be very warm and very hard-wearing.
posted by kmennie at 12:48 PM on December 10, 2013


North Face has some nice coats. I never associated North Face with being stylish before, but lately I've been seeing some stylish women wearing them. I ran into a friend wearing one, I'm not sure which model, and it was really nice.

In Montreal, besides Canada Goose, I see a lot of Mackage, Soia and Kyo (which is Mackage's sister brand), North Face, Kanuk, Parajumpers and Moose Knuckle (such an unfortunate name). Sadly, most of those have prominent if not obnoxious logos, with the North Face and Mackage probably being the least logo'ed.

I have a Moose Knuckle (sigh). It has an awful logo on it, but it's insanely warm and I can't even wear it for my walk to work until it's colder than -10C or I sweat buckets. My parents have Kanuks and have said the same thing about them (though I think there are models with different temperature ratings). I had an Aritzia parka for a few years and found it to be not nearly as warm as my current jacket. I have heard the down Mackage ones are warm despite their slim look.

Penfield has some cute jackets, but I don't know anyone who has one so I don't know if they're very warm.

Before I got this jacket (which was so deeply discounted after the winter that I decided I'd just live with the logo), I almost got a Canada Goose with the intention of having the logo removed - but I wasn't sure if the material would look messed up, or if it was even removable.
posted by ohmy at 12:58 PM on December 10, 2013


We recently bought a few coats (the last few winters just gone and last weekend) for my wife - San Diego transplant to Toronto. So she likes a WARM coat.

Eddie Bauer have some really nice ('pretty' I am told) coats that are surprisingly reasonable for how warm they are ($250-350 with a 550 fill). My wife has a very long (mid calf) and a longish (mid to upper thigh) coat and loves them both.

Also seconding North Face, although it will depend on what you consider stylish. I have a MASSIVE North Face coat that I use when walking around in the super cold and it looks a little less 'Polar Scientist' than the Canada Goose ones. The ladies North Face coats looked ok to me, but I am a clueless man, apparently.
posted by Brockles at 1:12 PM on December 10, 2013


Mountain Hardwear has some of the best-rated coats in terms of fill, insulation, and durability. If you can't order online to Canada, you can have it delivered to you when you visit New York next and collect it there.
posted by yellowcandy at 1:18 PM on December 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


A friend of mine got a coat at Artizia on Queen st that she was very happy with.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:27 PM on December 10, 2013


I bought a Canada Goose jacket and paid a tailor $7 to remove all the logos and patches. It is warm and I don't look like an asshole.
posted by Jairus at 1:29 PM on December 10, 2013 [8 favorites]


I have a knee-length ultra-light down coat from Uniqlo that I love(the ones towards the bottom the page). It's been warm enough in Minnesota winters, isn't too bulky, isn't exactly like everyone else's coat, and it was super cheap (some are on sale for $70 right now). They have brick-and-mortar stores in NYC and you can buy online.
posted by JannaK at 1:35 PM on December 10, 2013


Not more stylish, but warmer, with no logo and stuffed with down:
http://www.landsend.com/products/womens-down-commuter-long-coat/id_243895 I love mine!
posted by bessiemae at 2:33 PM on December 10, 2013


Nobis!

Canadian, down-filled, very warm, available in Toronto, super cute, no big logos that I saw when I tried one on yesterday (Distillery District - they also have them in some shops on Queen St West!)
posted by hepta at 3:11 PM on December 10, 2013 [3 favorites]


Another vote for MEC coats - they have a variety of styles, unobtrusive logos, and excellent quality and customer service.
posted by barnoley at 4:38 PM on December 10, 2013


Marmot! I got mine for $300ish (reg. $400) during Boxing Week sales. I got it at Europe Bound on King West, and I love it.

Bonus: Big Lebowski fans see it and declare, "Nice Marmot!"
posted by LynnDee at 4:55 PM on December 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


My next winter coat is probably going to be from Apocalypse Design.

Everyone I know around here (Fairbanks AK) says they're the best.

I don't know if you would classify them as stylish. But they're warm. (In fact, the folks I know with their parkas tend to not wear them when it's between, say, freezing and -20F.) The "Alpine Parka" I linked, which they say is good when it's ~-40, is about $420 USD plus shipping.

And for an extra $360, you can have a wolf/wolverine ruff!

(I don't have a coat that they've made personally, but I've got some of their bike toasties, and they are definitely warm and seem to be well-made. Hands were not cold at -30F. And I've only ever heard good things about the company.)
posted by leahwrenn at 6:52 PM on December 10, 2013


I had an LLBean Baxter State Parka, and got rid of it, as there aren't that many days that it's that cold in Southern Maine. This is on sale; there is a more current model/colors. This is less unfashionable.
posted by theora55 at 7:25 PM on December 10, 2013


Half the women in New York seem to own some version of this Brooklyn Industries coat. It's affordable, durable, warm, and has a fitted cut that's pretty flattering. I've worn mine in temps down around zero degrees Fahrenheit and so far, so good.
posted by Mender at 10:51 PM on December 10, 2013 [1 favorite]


I live in Moscow Russia and have been happy with a Mackage down coat for two winters now. They fit a bit tighter than other brands, but that's a huge part of what makes it look more chic than an oversized baggy down coat. I can just wear a normal top underneath and am good to go- dont need to layer a sweater or anything.

The coats in Russia, while without question are for hearty winters were all grossly over priced and a bit too flashy for me. After heaps of research, I went to a Mackage shop in Manhattan and picked up a hooded knee length down coat. While paying, the sales lady said they had TONs of customers from Russia. In fact, the first thing some people did would be to take a cab directly to the Mackage shop after landing in JFK.
posted by peachtree at 7:35 AM on December 11, 2013


I live in Toronto and LOVE my Soia and Kyo winter down coat (here)...so much so that I bought 3 other styles from them. Also, you don't have to pay for duty since they're Canadian!
posted by BubbleWrap at 6:42 AM on December 14, 2013


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