Puffer jackets. These jackets are apparently a thing. They are not just a thing but they are a big fashion thing. I get that. I needed a lightweight spring/fall jacket. I had an old ski jacket that years ago was thick and appropriate for very cold weather. Over the years it had become thin and not appropriate for cold weather. I wanted to replace the ski jacket and get another spring fall jacket for the days in between that was not a dress coat. I have four or five wool coats and capes that are business appropriate. I started looking for both coats. I found several really nice ski coats but they were all filled with down. I am allergic to down. That was another coat surprise. Moving on because that was then and this is now. Having gone to four or five stores, I had pretty much given up on the whole ski jacket and another spring coat. I never tried on the puffer coats.
I never tried them on because I looked at them and concluded that I am not the body type for that type of coat. I am short, curvy and have a bust that might be labeled as large busted. I will never be a size 2. I eat right. I exercise appropriately. I get enough sleep. I am a size 10 pants and size 12 tops. Period. For the better part of my 57 years. I come from a family of women who could have been Renaissance super models and not just Renaissance super models but tall super models as well. Most are 5'7” or taller. I am the shrimp of the bunch. I finally decided after much frustration, to try on the puffer jacket. Sadly, I was correct. I am not the body type to wear a coat that looks like a sheet of ravioli. I looked like the Pillsbury dough boy with a sheet of ravioli wrapped around me. I like to think it was because I was short. Then my sister in law showed up with a puffer coat. She looked adorable. She is short but that is where our body type similarities end. UGH. Clearly the height is not the issue.
I kept looking and found one ski coat that was not filled with down. I bought it immediately. The extra bonus is that it is two jackets in one. It has a liner that zips in making it appropriate for very cold weather or you can unzip the liner and where it for weather that is a tad warmer. Okay, it's not a puffer jacket and I certainly will not be making any fashion statements in this coat. I am okay with that. I have long been a fan of comfort first. If you can get fashion along with comfort all the better but if not I am going comfort. I decided to wear my new coat out to the store. It was windy and cold and I was freezing. The coat was awesome. I am laughing on the inside at all of the fashionista's who were wearing their puffer coats. Ha! I will out warm you any day. Of course, I know this has no basis in reality but it makes me feel not quite so badly that I look ridiculous in the newest fashion item. Then I get to the store. The wind has stopped and the sun was out. I felt like a boy scout. I was prepared. I unzipped the liner of my un-puffer coat and put it on, leaving the coat behind. Well, here is a shocker. The inside liner is not as warm as the tag indicated. In fact, it would be appropriate for a summer day early in the morning. My plan of coping was to simply ignore that fact. If I don't ignore that fact, it means that I still need the lightweight coat. I haven't seen a non-puffer lightweight coat that wasn't a sweatshirt, in the three months that I have been looking.
I am disgusted and head home. Fortunately the heat in my car works really well. Sometimes the universe aligns and sends you a sign. Sometimes you just look at things as if they are an actual sign. I am good with either of those explanations. I get home, stop at the mailbox and head indoors. When I look at the mail there is my LL Bean catalog. I love LL Bean. It is comfort. It is practical. It is slightly pricey but it lasts forever. It is not high fashion. I am paging through it and see a puffer coat. Oh no, Not my LL Bean. They have gone fashionable. While it is a puffer coat but is the least puffy of the puffer coats that I have seen. It is almost a flat puffer coat. I am absolutely certain that I may or may not look ridiculous in this coat but I am going to take a chance. If LL Bean believes I can look good in their puffer coat, I may as well give it a shot. If you can't beat them it may be time to join them. Besides, they take returns.
