thats it! i am fed up of being cold. help me find a down coat please..

[shelley72]

that is knee-ish length, has a (furry) hood and will keep me warm. added complication is that im just pregnant (8wks) so i am likely to be expanding over the winter months. usually a sz 10, 5'7. wide at shoulders and hips and go in a bit at the waist though not for much longer so some coats can make me look a bit boxy.

dont mind spending a bit if its likely to last beyond this winter, but not for maternity wear, this will be my last pregnancy. does such a coat exist?

North face? Excellent quality instead of fashion quality.

I spent winter 2009 pregnant, about 12wks by this point of the year though. it was bitter cold, I had spd and couldn't walk fast to build up some body heat. It was memorable and I was frozen through.

Worry is fitting expanding bump in, but north face have double zip so you could poke bump out the middle!

I have recently got the north face arctic parka after asking for similar advice, I got an olive green colour and got it from my local outlet village. So far I have been very toasty warm in it, in fact it is almost too warm for me. By buying last seasons colour I saved approx 50% of the cost of current ones which I saw for 320 in Cotswold outdoors last week. I ,ll keep it for several winters, not stylish but at least warm.

Merrell Haven II. I LOVE it!! I usually feel the cold and spend October to March with chattering teeth but for the first time ever I am not cold when I go out thanks to this! It also looks good. I can't recommend it enough.

I have the Barbour arctic parka, and at 5 months pg can still get it done up with the belt above my bump. Otherwise Gap have some really nice ones.

Also am same height as you, but quite narrow, it is more like mid hip than knee length on me.

Look at Lands End, esp in the outlet bit - they've got a number of down coats with furry hoods, and they are super warm. All have 2 way zips, so you could allow your bump to come out if you need to.
I've got 2 LE down coats and they are super warm

I have had a the northface metropolis for s few years which I wore last year when I was 8 months pregnant. It does not have a fur hood but there are styles that do. The benefit of a down coat is that there is a lot of give in them so the are great for expanding bumps. This year I am back in it and loving it!

Uniqlo

Just looked at uniqlo and they have fab not too expensive ones. Can't remember my bloody password though and the email they say they've sent for a new password hasn't appeared. Can you order over the phone?

the Lands End long squall parka whilst not the most glamourous thing IS THE COSIEST THING ON THE PLANET.

moncler outlet website has an offer on at the moment and loads of toasty coats (though there is an article in the Daily Fail today about how unbelievably cruel down coats are - they pluck them live :-o)

I've got a Lands End one. I'm lucky enough to live near the factory and outlet, so when I bought it in the sale, it was really cheap. It is so, so warm and snuggly.

I bought my squall online ( in clearance section) but added a discount code ( they do allow code stacking BOO Boden). It came to about £50. Bargain . Do look around for codes if buying LE

I just got a super one from tkmaxx and it feels gorgeous. It was about £60 but I think they had cheaper ones too.

TK Maxx.... I've just bought one last month and I am so in love with it. I keep telling anyone who will listen how bloody marvellous it is to be warm!

They have tons in TK Maxx - I'm pregnant too (31 weeks now) so I didn't want to buy anything with a belt at the moment, and didn't want to spend a fortune on something that would probably not fit by next winter - I got a down filled Fenn Wright Manson coat reduced from £220 to £80 but there were about 3 others that I would have been happy to buy for similar prices. You need ideally to go to a store though as the range in the shop is much better than what they've got online at the moment.

Please read this before buying a down coat. Sorry for DM link and it is upsetting too-

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2240096/Feathers-ripped-birds-backs-gaping-wounds-sewn-pain-relief-The-barbaric-cost-winter-coat.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

I'd take a look at didriksons I have last years Elly and it is the most amazing coat I've ever owned. This will be lasting me for the next 10 years easily. The hood stays up even in the strongest wind and rain, it's waterproof and cosy.

Lands End have 30% off today. Code is MERRY30

Please don't buy a down coat - they are unspeakably cruel.

Buy a Didriksons one instead of down - I have bought the Taylor recently and it is fantastic, long, warm and immensely waterproof (I live in rain soaked and now frozen Dartmoor, so it has been sufficiently tested in the last week!). I would not be parted from it now, and I wonder what I wore before.

mignonette that is awful! It sounds terribly naive but I had no idea - just hadn't thought it through. I'm vegetarian and don't wear leather and I will certainly never buy down again having read that.

I had no idea either. I despair, I truly do at the vileness of this World even though I know there is a lot of good too. As they say, the devil does a lot of advertising!

I dodn't know that about down coats . The dses each have one and I have just bought one. I won't be buying them again . I assumed that they were a bi-product of the food industry (I eat meat and like to think that nothing goes to waste), but also humane-ness should be at the top of the list.

Does this cruelty apply to other areas such as bedding (duvets/ pillows etc)?

I certainly would not touch the luxe Hungarian goose down bedding as that is live plucked and am trying to get answers from other bedding producers. Will switch to non feathers immediately should they be unable to confirm humane conditions.