My collection of winter coats - and it's worth looking at the last of the sales for a bargain!

Investment Purchases #2 - Coats and Jackets

I love coats and I especially love a tailored jacket.  I have too many although not as many as other bloggers I see.  I don't have enough space to store them unfortunately but what I do have I like to work hard for me and I think that a good quality coat is worth investing money in.  Now I am not talking huge money, as much as I would love a cashmere coat from Jaegar, I can't afford it and it wouldn't get worn enough to justify it.  But I do think it is worth shopping around in the high end High Street shops and especially at sale time.

First up is my blue wool coat from Boden.  I'd had my eye on a statement colour for a while but at £200 plus from Boden I just couldn't justify it.  So two years ago I watched the winter sale.  Eventually the final few days arrived and the discount was 'an extra 20% of all clearance' and they still had the coat I wanted in my size.  Done deal.  Similar here.

I've just done the same with the Boden navy ponte blazer - it is on it's way to me and I paid £31.84, I hope it fits and I like it.

Blue coat from Boden (previous season) but still lots similar in their final clearance. With my dad when we went for lunch at Cliveden.

The ponte blazer (in navy or black) from Boden is really well reduced in their final clearance and will take me into Spring.

In December the early sales started and I wanted a classic black coat, I'd not had one for a while and as I had some lovely outings planned for my 50th birthday I needed something that went over my dresses (I had a lot of red and burgundy this year).  I picked up a lovely wool coat from Fenn Wright and Manson at John Lewis with a fantastic discount.  It is still on the website down from £229 to £114 here.  Also in blue.
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Now for casual - I purchased a North Face long 'duvet' a few years ago, again in the sale, I remember trying it on, it was March and already we'd had some very mild, sunny days and I was so hot but it was so heavily reduced I had to have it!  If the weather is really cold as it has been recently I wear it layered over my Uniqlo light weight down jacket, perfect for dog walks. Apparently this is what the stylish Parisian ladies do!  They buy a 'vest' from Uniqlo and wear it hidden under their coats and jackets to stay warm.  Take a look at the North Face website there are some good discounts now, this is similar to mine.

Below are two examples of the Uniqlo Light Weight Down - jacket or vest - take a look here.  Very reasonable prices too and often discounted instore.

Finally I treated myself to a Barbour International Jacket this year.  Again it is light weight and waterproof and warm.  It is also stylish and excellent quality.  It is my go to coat that I can throw on over my day to day casual outfits and still feel smart.  It is no longer on their website unfortunately but lots of others here.

I wore my Barbour International Jacket in Prague and it kept me very warm - here I am at the John Lennon Wall!

I have a few other jackets but these are my capsule go to ones that I feel work the best for my day to day winter wardrobe.  Now spring are summer are different so they can be the subject of another post!

By the way I did a quick tour of the Karen Millen sale pages last week and came across a bargain summer dress reduced from £120 to £50, I had to get it posted to me from a store but it arrived today and it fitted!  It is always worth checking out the sale pages now, I tend to get my better bargains later on rather than during the first few days.

Love
Michelle xx