For the last 18 years I've been wearing the same winter coat. The coat was a wool tweed, long (because when you walk a lot in real winter weather, coverage matters), and with a hood. Eighteen years is a good run for any garment, but at the end of last season, I said good-bye to it. It had been repaired a bunch of times, and its useful life was finally over. I knew I had to get rid of it to force myself finally to do something about getting a replacement. Otherwise, I'd just go on wearing it until eventually I'd look like a little old homeless lady. So, ever since the fall clothing hit the stores, I've been hunting. I've tried on long down coats--warm, but not stylish, especially when you're only 5'1". I've tried on a couple of mail-ordered petite coats, but they didn't make me feel special enough to justify the hefty taxes and duties to get them across the border. (Did you know that taxes and duties can up the cost of a coat by a third?) Back they went. The weather's been getting chillier, and I was on the point of breaking down and visiting Loblaws to see what Joe Fresh had in store (a sign of all-out desperation), when THERE IT WAS.
Yesterday I took a day trip to Picton. As usual, I visited the
Rose Haven Farm Store, dropped off a few copies of recent patterns for the store, and chatted with Linda, the owner. My car was parked more or less in front of
City Revival, so I casually wandered in to have a look. City Revival is something of a mecca in this part of the world, far away from downtown Toronto and New York. I've been there before, but never found anything that called to me. Yesterday was different. I scored!
Military-style greatcoat by
Elie Tahari in practically new condition. Fits like it was made for me, and best of all, it cost a mere fraction of the original price. Check out the beautiful hand-sewn details,
and the magnificent buttons, all 12 of them!
When I donned the coat to walk to the market this morning, Bill, who rarely notices anything not economics-related, said, "Gee, you look almost---well, not tall, but---not short". Truly, a ringing endorsement of what I hope will be my coat for the next 18 years.
Now, what would you knit to accessorize with this classic piece?
