It was 27 degrees at 7:55 on a Wednesday in January when I got out of the RAV4 at the far end of the office lot, and the wind was coming straight across the asphalt. A third of a mile is nothing in April. That morning it was a long way. I was glad, again, that I'd finally bought a real coat.
Our winters are short. We get a handful of freezing mornings, a few gray weeks and maybe an ice day, and then it's 65 degrees in February and half our street is out in shorts. That makes winter clothes a hard sell in my budget, since anything I buy gets about three months of use a year. So I keep winter small: one good coat, three sweaters and a firm list of what I don't buy.
The coat I saved for
For years my winter coat was a black puffer from Old Navy, bought in 2017. It was warm enough, but the zipper had started catching, and over a blazer it looked like I was on my way to a soccer sideline. Which, to be fair, is where it spent most of its time.
I wanted a wool-blend coat long enough to cover a blazer and roomy enough to go over one. I kept the workwear line light through the fall knowing this was coming, and I watched one coat at Lands' End for a couple of months. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, the morning after we hosted 11 people, it went on sale, and I ordered it from my phone in a kitchen full of clean dishes. Navy wool blend, knee length, $159, down from $229.
About ten weeks in, here's how it has held up:
- I wear it about three days a week, more in January.
- No pilling yet, even where my bag strap sits on the shoulder.
- I sized up one so it goes over my navy blazer without pulling across the back. I tried it on at home with the blazer before I kept it.
- The sleeves cover my blazer cuffs, which the old puffer never did.
- It has also been to a 30-degree Saturday morning at Wheeler refuge to look at sandhill cranes, which was not in the job description.
Harper says it makes me look like a principal. She meant it as a criticism. I've decided to take it as authority.
The three sweaters on rotation
- Cream fine-gauge crewneck, Uniqlo, $40, bought in 2024. Over a collared shirt, or on its own with the gray trousers.
- Rust crewneck, J.Crew Factory, $35, from this past fall. It pilled a little early on, a $3 fabric shaver took care of it, and it has held steady since.
- Charcoal mock-neck, Uniqlo, $40, bought in early January. The only new sweater this winter, and the one I reach for on the coldest office days.
One sweater per office day, Tuesday through Thursday, and then the cycle starts over. I hand-wash on Sundays and dry them flat. The two thinner sweaters from my capsule sit this season out and come back in spring. The conference rooms are cold in every season, so these three will stay in rotation well into March.
What I skip buying
- Snow boots. On an ice day I work from home. The rest of the cold mornings, my loafers and wool-blend socks get me across the lot.
- A heavy parka. The coat over a sweater over a shirt is more than enough for a seven-minute walk.
- Lined wool trousers. I tried a pair once. Between the car heater and the building, I was too warm by 10 a.m.
- Expensive cashmere. I'd love a $120 sweater, but for three months a year the $40 ones do the job.
- Ankle boots. I've thought about them for three winters and still haven't found a reason that beats the loafers.
From the HR side: I used to get asked whether wearing a puffer over an interview suit "looked bad." My honest answer was that nobody evaluates a candidate on a coat they take off in the lobby. People do notice when someone walks in shivering and spends the first five minutes thawing out.
This winter cost me $199 for the coat and one sweater. The coat should be around for a lot of Januaries.
