Who makes the best women’s wool coat?

December 27, 2019 10:41 AM

I am looking for a wool coat for a mild winter climate. Who makes a 100% wool and lined coat for women that is warm and of good quality?

I know of Schott, but their pea coat is much too conservative for me. I really like Fleurette—who else makes coats of 100% wool? I like belted coats, pea coat trenches, and the like. I’d prefer something rather fitted. I am 5’9” and 130 pounds. I have long arms. I am looking for something that falls below my hips but above my knees. Thanks so much!

posted by baptismal to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (12 answers total)

I have a red wool knee length coat from London Fog that I absolutely love. I picked it up at a resale shop so I'm not sure how old it is but it's my favorite coat and I'd buy another in a heartbeat.
posted by julie_of_the_jungle at 11:05 AM on December 27, 2019

Honestly, as a tall woman, I've had really good luck with JCrew coats, but you need to snatch up a coat at the start of the season when they first issue them- now is fairly slim pickings. I'm a huge fan of the "lady day coat" which looks great in either black or whichever of the fun colors they release each year.

Lands end also has good tall sizing, but honestly, J Crew is much more my style and a bit slimmer cut.
posted by larthegreat at 11:15 AM on December 27, 2019

JCrew is a good suggestion, and I also like Aritizia.
posted by pinochiette at 11:20 AM on December 27, 2019

I love Land's End for coats like this.
posted by anderjen at 11:25 AM on December 27, 2019 [2 favorites]

I am a 5'6" 130 pound woman with very long arms and I love this Cole Haan coat I bought last winter from Macy's. I'd been looking for a coat like this for years and it's really lovely but they run large -- I ended up buying a size 2 but am usually more like a 4 or 6. Macy's has a lot of other Cole Haan wool coats that are also beautiful such as.
posted by jabes at 12:05 PM on December 27, 2019

I got a Calvin Klien black wool coat with a hood, generous pockets, and two nifty long side zippers up the side for easy access and I love it.
posted by effluvia at 12:21 PM on December 27, 2019

I encourage you to check out your local thrift/consignment/vintage stores. I have two lovely wool coats from the 70s-80s that I got secondhand for very affordable prices, and seem much better made than newer coats.
posted by noxperpetua at 1:04 PM on December 27, 2019 [4 favorites]

That J Crew lady day coat has a fitted waist which sounds like it would appeal to you. But they do sell through quickly. My last one held up for five winters’ wear. One pocket did need to be repaired once, otherwise the construction was fine. I only retired it because the wool was getting to look a bit shiny in places.
posted by praemunire at 6:34 PM on December 27, 2019

I had a lovely plush Anne Klein wool coat that was made of significantly nicer fabric than most of what was around it in a department store (more comparable to my cashmere blend coat than to a cheaper wool coat). You will probably be able to find something similar: might be a little more accessible than jcrew at this time of year.
posted by verbminx at 11:58 PM on December 27, 2019

This probably comes as a surprise (it has to me), but if you want a modern/interesting cut and you don't need it to be terribly warm, my Uniqlo wool coat has held up significantly better than my Jcrew coat. Some of their coats are blends but they make 100% wool ones as well.
posted by telegraph at 7:15 AM on December 28, 2019

I bought a Talbots wool coat this fall and have gotten so many compliments. It’s also very comfortable.
posted by Sukey Says at 7:38 PM on December 29, 2019

Is the 100% wool part important to you? TBH I have not seen 100% wool coats at any price point lower than Fleurette. All of the mid-priced brands mentioned above, do not carry 100% wool coats -- the higher-quality ones, such as J.Crew's coats with a $300-ish original retail price, are typically 80% wool/20% nylon. They do a men's topcoat in wool/cashmere (starting price $450-ish), but nothing with an equivalent fabric in women's that I'm aware of.

But TBH again, I've owned lovely, high-quality 80/20 coats over the years from J.Crew. The Lady Day Coat is very solid, as is the Cocoon Coat I just bought this year. You might want to sort by price-descending and only look at coats in the higher price range.

You can do the same thing at Nordstrom -- start looking at the $400-500+ price point (regular retail price) if you are really set on 100% wool.
posted by serelliya at 12:09 PM on January 15, 2020