Long winter coat for women

Why You Need a Colorful, Long Winter Coat

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A long winter coat is one of those essentials when the weather dips into those uncomfortable temperatures. Yet, do we need to be a sea of black coats this time of year?

It is no surprise that my answer would be no to the black coat syndrome. Let’s explore why a colorful long winter coat could be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Quote of the day: “Planning and preparation are useful until they become a form of procrastination.” James Clear

This quote spoke to me in the fact that many times we think we try to plan for the perfect clothing pieces. Meaning we only want an item if it is this, this, and this. Too many times that sets us up for disappointment.

What instead if we buy something because we like it as our first reaction, and then instead of picking it apart, we decide to embrace it? This is my motto for most of my closet and it has served me well. Granted we are all different humans, but it could be a good experiment.

Therefore, you may think you need a long winter coat that is only functional and goes with all of the other dark pieces in your closet. But what if you choose one instead where your first reaction is a smile. Now don’t overthink it and talk yourself out of it. Just buy it. And smile every time you wear it.
It’s no different than Nancy’s print coat or Charlotte’s shorter print jacket. They both are wonderful examples of items that make them smile.

That’s what happened with this bright pink, long winter coat. Read on to hear the whole story.

Wearing a long winter coat to brighten your day

Coat: Banana Republic Factory~~Sweater: Zara~~ Leggings: local boutique ~~ Boots: G By Guess~~ Earrings: Given to me by friend ~~ Tote: Made by my cousin~~Headband: Express ~~Glasses: Glasses Shop

My Colorful, Long Winter Coat

I’ve been seeing many colorful, long winter coats on other bloggers over the last couple of years. I drooled over a yellow one, a light blue one, and more recently a lilac one. Yet I talked myself out of all of them because I live in Arizona.
And even though I tend to be cold more often than naught, I figured it wouldn’t be a smart purchase. Besides, I have a collection of coats already, and there is a limit to the space available to store them all.

But somehow I saw this bright pink car coat advertised on Banana Republic Factory and my heart went pitter-patter. “Seriously, Jodie”, I thought to myself, “you don’t need another coat.” But I decided to throw all caution to the wind and indulge my love of pink by buying this one.
BTW, it is still available although some sizes are back ordered. Don’t let that fact, put you off if you love it! It also is available in blue and red.

Now I should confess that I also have Banana Republic rewards that I could use from using their credit card. Because of that this coat only cost me less than $1. But I would have happily paid more.

If you want to know how my brain works, I also thought about how it would be easy to return if I didn’t like it. Although when I return things that I’ve used rewards to buy, I don’t get those rewards back, so it’s a loss.

As an impatient soul, I actually decided to forgo the petite coat because it would have taken an extra week to get to me. When I first received the coat, I regretted that decision, however, now I’m glad I went with the regular size coat because it’s roomier.
If you would like a review of this coat, I’ll talk about that at the bottom of the post.

Insider tip: I did have the sleeves shortened by my wonderful seamstress, my mother. In fact, it’s one of the easy alterations that we have blogged about. Stop waiting to get those alterations done, just do it and you’ll feel better wearing your clothing!!

Why Bright Pink?

Bright pink is such a happy color to me. You might be surprised to know that I didn’t have any kind of pink in my wardrobe for much of my life. I considered it too girly and didn’t think it was professional or sophisticated.
Once I finally became more sure of myself, I realized that color is a good thing. Just because I am wearing pink does not mean I’m not smart or anything else.

In fact, it’s these bright colors that really stand out, and at this time of my life, I would rather stand out than disappear.
I always say that the wintertime seems like the time we should be wearing bright colors even more since the days tend to be shorter and more gloomy. Anything to counteract the dog days of winter.

Would it seem hard to pair this with the other pieces in your closet? Well, if you are one to wear a lot of black or blue jeans in the winter, then a bright pink coat would go just perfectly with those items. Or even white jeans.
The only thing I wouldn’t pair it with? Nothing. Tricked you right?? I truly think that bright pink can go with everything including other bright colors.

You might be surprised that I layered this bright pink coat over a black coat here.

Related posts with bright pink combinations:
The Answer of What to Wear with ANY Color
Different Ways to Wear Pink in October
How to Wear Pink in October with Interesting Color Combinations

How I Accessorized my Long, Winter Coat

Partly due to the fact, that I was wearing a super bulky sweater under my coat, and partly due to the fact that we were in Texas where it wasn’t really cold, I did not add a scarf to my look.
But you could almost imagine my sweater as my scarf.

Because we were traveling, I had my tote bag with me. This is a piece that was made by my cousin years ago. She is not making these things anymore, but I still love it. In fact, I remember when she first put these together and I didn’t understand print mixing. However, she is an artist and totally gets the print mixing thing.

As for the headband, I always love seeing them on other women, yet many of them are just too tight for me. When you are someone who wears glasses all day, sometimes one more thing behind your ears is annoying.
The funny thing is I wore this headband around the store before buying it. In fact, I just remembered to take it off while we were at the counter paying. And the male clerk looked at me with a funny expression on his face. So I asked him, “Have you ever worn a headband?” And he laughed and said no. I told him, that it’s good to take them for a test drive first to make sure they don’t hurt!!

The final verdict on this headband is that it’s a winner. I’ve never tried any others from Express, so I can’t give my opinion on all of them. But if you are looking for ones that don’t hurt, may I recommend Lilla Rose too. I like how their strap goes around the entire skull and can be ordered for the size of your head.
See how we wore their products recently.

Black boots and pink winter coat

Black Boots

The day was full of walking and exploring after this photoshoot (you can see all of our activities that we did in Austin, Texas here), so comfortable footwear was of the essence.

These tall black boots have been worn many times on the blog because they are basic. They are considered over-the-knee boots, yet they really just come to my knees. I always like the taller boots when I’m wearing leggings because then I feel more covered.

Bulky sweater under a long winter coat

The Rest of the Outfit Beneath the Long, Winter Coat

I just purchased this amazing tunic sweater at Zara’s for a birthday gift to me. This sweater was one of those inspired by another influencer. (You can see how Elaine styled it here) I almost bought it after seeing her video, but I talked myself out of it.
However, when we were shopping on my birthday and we went into Zaras, I decided if it was there, I might get it. I posted a live on Facebook showing my birthday purchases. (Even the headband was one of them).

Sometimes it’s hard for me to buy a sweater because I’d rather knit them. Yet, I know how much time and yarn would be needed for this Zara sweater, plus I just loved the print and color combination.
The neckline seems a little retro, which is something I appreciate!! And truthfully the inside (see where the sleeves are rolled up) is just as beautiful and I may even wear it inside out one of these days.

I don’t see the sweater still on Zara’s website. If you happen to think it’s a young girl’s store, I’d like to point out that I have taken both my mom and Lesley there and we have all bought things. They may use young models but their pieces can definitely be ageless.

See the same sweater styled a different way.

Review of the Banana Republic Factory Car Coat

I was happily surprised at the quality of this Banana Republic Factory Car coat. I have shopped both at Banana Republic and Banana Republic Factory over the years and sometimes the quality from either site has left me disappointed a time or two.
It is hard for me to judge what the weight of a piece will be even when I review the material online.

So while this coat has no wool in it, it is what I would consider medium heavy in weight. It seems heavy enough for when I was living in Denver, yet I could still wear it in Arizona without all of the other layers.

There is this grey facing on the underneath part of the collar which I just love. One of the reviewers complained that it was boxy, but I think it’s normal for a long, winter coat. If you wish it were more form-fitting, I think a belt would work.

There are pockets. Real pockets where if you had gloves, they would stay inside and not pop out because the pocket is too shallow.

And it’s fully lined. The lining matches the bright pink color.

Colorful, long winter coat

Photo credit: Rob Filogomo

My Goal

Thank you for visiting my space on the internet. I like to showcase how it’s never too late to look great for women of any age, size, or working with any budget.
I feel I’m here to help move beyond the fashion rules of yesterday and evolve. Style and clothes are made to give you joy. Not cause us stress because we are worried about what others think.

My hope is that you get ideas and inspiration from Charlotte, Lesley, and myself. It’s not about copying what we wear, but about using what you already have and updating items along the way.
Most of all it’s getting us to think differently and dare I say, have fun?

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