A Few Nice Coats - Ok, It's Camel Ones Again!

I didn't know what to call this blog post as I've lost count on how many camel coat  blog posts I've done.  I think I''ve pretty much given up looking for one for myself, I just can't find one the right shade that complements my skin tone. That being said, I still think it's a great staple in anyones wardrobe so I'm always keeping my eye out.  I found this gorgeous one below in Zara whilst shopping with a client.  It looked so good on her (not on me when I tried it on another day) and is such an easy coloured coat to wear.  It's 58% wool so not a bad amount of warmth in there for the money. 

Masculine Coat £99.99

Whilst browsing for the above I also found this one which has 50% wool and a double breasted style if you prefer that style coat on you. 

Buttoned Coat £69.99

As much as I've resigned myself to stop the hunt, it won't stop me trying on if I see one.  Whilst returning some kids clothes I spied this one on a mannequin in H&M.  My heart skipped a beat as I literally thought it might be it.  The colour wasn't bad (and I wasn't 100%, so my colour wasn't great!) and it fitted lovely around the shoulders and I loved the belt.  But yep, it was miles too long on little old me.  At £79.99 it wasn't cheap enough to warrant the additional work it needed to get it to the right length.  It was lined so it wouldn't have been a quick job for a seamstress.  Gutted yes!  My husband always goes on about not buying items that need alterations.  I don't 100% agree but his voice was ringing in my head at the time with this one.  It was 51% wool and 37% cotton so actually a pretty good mix of natural fibres as well as a little others.  I can't see it online in camel anymore, there is grey and black which is selling quick.  

How it should look - not like a full length coat!

Wool-blend coat £79.99

The Ongoing Camel Coat Saga

This one is pretty much boring the hell out of me!  To the point where I'm giving up and not even looking.  I'm not really a strategic shopper, in that if there's something I'm after I will hunt it down in a week, purchase it and job done.  I normally quite happily wait until the best is available for the price I want to spend.  (I have been known to wait 6 months for a specific perfume I wanted for my birthday until a friend got it a lot cheaper in the States!).  That being said, I did think I had struck gold with the Next camel coat.  It fitted really well, it wasn't badly made and was the right shade of camel I thought I was after.  But it sat in my wardrobe not being touched for a week.  I kept trying it on but I almost felt like it was too pale for my skin tone.  It was very thin and that also bothered me slightly.  Back it went!

Ok so maybe the lighting and being a little poorly didn't help the situation in this photo but I did go back to it several times!

A great camel shade, just not perhaps on me

I also managed to try on some in Gap and Uniqlo.  Something was seriously wrong with the sizing though!

Uniqlo - great coat but the XS didn't come up true to size!  I promise you this was an XS and that I am not that small

Similar story in Gap although it wasn't as bad

I did really like this one in Gap though, incase anyone else is looking, it just didn't fit me

So the search is on hold until one randomly appears for me!  I did find this lovely navy one in Warehouse with 30% off.  £90 originally but even at £63 I just decided that it might be in the Christmas sales in a few weeks, I may as well just hold fire until then.  I really liked the fit of this one though, the pea coat is a nice style on me as I need some shape.  One I will definitely be watching in the sales. 

Warehouse navy pea coat

Who else is holding off until the sales or am I the only mad one?!?!  I'm not desperate at the end of the day and I'm a firm believer of fate so I'm happy to play the waiting game for the above coat.

Camel Coat Update

Where would we be without School Run Mums and their fab style?!  One of the lovely Mums at my daughters school was wearing a gorgeous camel coat.  Naturally I stopped her in her tracks quizzing her.  It was from Next of all places so I dashed to my local store.  The sales lady said I wasn't the first to ask for it but they'd all sold out.  My poor friends up and down the country also tried their local stores but I was told it would eventually come back in stock.  I checked daily, literally.  Finally it was there but with a 2-3 week wait and in a Petite so I've ordered it.  

The comprise with this one is it's only 30% wool.  I knew I'd have to give something up to get a good fit and coloured one under £100.  This is only £65 but it looked so chic and smart that I decided it was worth it.  So the wait ensues and I'm now just hoping that when it comes in it fits.  As with all things, when you stop looking, they appear and straight after ordering this one, I saw this one on a Gap email.  

With 60% wool I don't doubt this pea coat will be warmer.  However it's also £99.95.  Having just had a 20% off at Gap I missed out however there's usually a 30% off just around the corner.  It is a bit more casual than the Next one but a good alternative so I need to check this one out in the flesh. Not for me as it looks a little longer but including it in case someone is also on the look out, another Gap one.  This is only 37% wool and is £109.95.

And lastly from Gap, this is 80% wool so a warm coat for £124.95.  I love a wrap style, the belt instantly gives you shape and can smarten up whatever's hiding underneath.

I will update as soon as I receive the Next one - I'm hoping it's 'the one'!  Has anyone else found a decent coat for under £100?

The Search For The Perfect Camel Coat Continues

I have a little wish list on my phone of key items I feel I'm missing in my wardrobe.  It's not particularly glamorous (a grey sweatshirt being one of them!) but long standing is a decent camel coloured coat.  I tried a fair old few last year and nothing ticked all the boxes.  I am short, it can't be too long.  I want some wool in it so it's warm and doesn't bobble and last more than a few wears.  I want a good shade of camel and low and behold, I want it to fit me well.  So when H&M sent me an email with one from their 'Conscious' collection with 58% wool at £59.99 (then there was a 25% code off and free delivery making it £44.99), this felt like a no brainer.  I honestly didn't deliberate long, which is rare for me.  It took 5 days to arrive - I was beyond excited.  Especially as they actually had it in a size 6 (I am petite up top but just for the record, I also wear 8's & 10's) which for some reason, not a lot of their clothes are available in online.  

Um hello size 6 coat that you could wrap around me twice (ok, slight exaggeration).  Gutted wouldn't have even cut it.  I think I would even have side tracked the fact it was darker than I wanted if it had fitted me well but no, it was majorly to big, to dark and fairly thin.  

So if you're a size 10, buy the 6 - that's if you don't mind it being a dark shade of camel.  I loved the style, I had actually planned outfits around it already.  That will teach me for being ahead of my game.  

The picture below is it online - definitely a lighter shade than what arrived.  Sometimes I do despair at sizing.  I would quite happily put myself forward for a fit model.  I'm just not sure how they could get it so wrong.  

That being said, if you get the sizing right, H&M still have some good offerings - especially when they have coats on sale right now.  This shorter wrap style below is 50% wool and now £41.99.  See here.  

You can't go wrong with a biker style leather jacket.  This is from their premium range and reduced with 40% off down to £83.99.  See here. 

So I'm back on the hunt for a camel coat.  I ordered one from ASOS last year but was again, really disappointed in the sizing and quality.  I've seen the below and am fairly tempted.  I'm not a huge ASOS shopper but everyone else seems to do really well out of them so feel I should perhaps give them another go.  This one is reduced to £63.50 with 77% wool.  Somethings stopping me though - probably the luck I've had so far and the bother of having to package it back up and return it via the postoffice (and the usually long queue to do so!).

I've seen this Hush coat below featured on a few blogs now and I love it.  I'm just not sure I can justify the £190 price tag right now even though it has the best fibre composition I've seen in a long while - 93% wool, 6% cashmere and 1% polyamide.  Now that's what I'm talking about - go Hush!  One to watch in the sales quite possibly.  

I think perhaps I need to spend some time hitting the shops for me and have a really good mooch around (t's all about the clients and the kids these days!). Has anyone else come up with a great version that ticks all their boxes or am I not alone on this front?