Is this coat a bad idea?

[EmbarrassingMama]

I have an 18 month old whose favourite activity is going puddling, followed by being carried whilst wearing dripping wet, muddy, gumboots. Followed closely by wiping his nose on my jeans.

I have a very beautiful DVF coat which I adore. It is wool, but the style is boxy and it looks best worn unbuttoned so it is not warm. I wear this if I'm going out in the evening or to work if it is not too cold.

My 'mum coat' is a Uniqlo puffer parker thing, in black, with muddy welly marks around the bottom.

Embarrassingly, because it is warm, I have taken to wearing this 'mum coat' to work. I've just realised this is unacceptable and I look like a total scruff bucket.

Q: is there any type of coat that can be worn for work and kids? Or does one really need 3? Work, evenings out and park.

I'm looking at this as I adore the colour, but is dry clean only something to run away from?

Hoping to have another baby soon, all being well, in case that changes anything...

www.hobbs.com/product/tilda-wool-coat/0219-3528-1049L00-BURNT-ORANGE.html#q=tilda&sz=60&start=0&pid=0219-3528-1049L00-BURNT-ORANGE&pos=7

I agree with Nink that it could work with a lot of colours: navy, dark green, browns and tans, charcoal and plum would be my starters. It would depend on the shade each time but then that's true of pretty much any colour. In fact the more I think about it, the more versatile it could be. I might get bored with it though if I had to wear it nearly all the time - that's probably a bigger concern.

I think coats are investments and not many people buy a new wool coat every year. My winter coat for 4 years was a burnt orange Whistles duffel, handed down from my mum who had already had it for a good 2-3 years. Winter coats tend to be reasonably classic and don’t date very much. It was v warm and heavy and I loved it! It’s now been demoted to my park coat.

I now have an H&M black one which isn’t nearly as good quality/finish, and I’ll wear it for as many winters as I can before it looks too scruffy.

I didn’t care that everyone at work had seen my orange coat year after year. It was a thing of beauty and I got endless compliments on it. An expensive coat shouldn’t date or show signs of wear that quickly.

You only need one coat, a trusty wax jacket.

Nice try but, sadly, a 'trusty wax jacket' doesn't look good over an evening or cocktail dress nor does it suit anything other than very casual weekend wear or taking the dogs for a run in the rain , MrOnions.

Actually if you held a gun to my head and made me choose just one coat, it might be a waxed one: weather proof, surprisingly warm and has a kind of shabby chic that might work in a smart venue. I think I'd rather that than have to try and make a wool coat work in a downpour. But all things considered, I'd rather have more than one coat.

And it would have to be coat length - I've no time for any kind of jacket in bad weather.

That coat is gorgeous - do it! Agree with PP that if you have other coats that fit the bill for casual then you can go for a grown up one now.

I used to have a thing for yellow coats, I had a £££ yellow leather biker jacket and a much cheaper faux leather navy one. I loved the yellow one so much in theory but it never seemed to go with anything and I always felt self-conscious in it so ended up wearing the cheaper navy one regularly and selling the yellow on eBay.

That said, the burn orange is a lovely colour and I can see it being very versatile.

I love the orange coat. Would never have thought of putting dark green or aubergine with it but can now imagine it and i bet that would look amazing!

The most expensive coat i own is a Hobbs trench in navy, but i get more compliments on my Tesco winter white padded jacket. A 6th of the price of the trench !! it has a nipped in waist, lovely fur lined hood, fits me like a glove and is cozy as can be for standing about in the inevitable 3pm sleet at pick up!

Hobbs wool coats are great. I have 3 in different colours, styles and lengths.

The only problem I can see with that one is that it sounds like you're hoping to have the minimum number of coats rather than a whole wardrobe full. So are you likely to be the kind of person who will get bored with a bright orange coat (or feel embarrassed about being seen in it year after year)? If so, I would either buy a more neutral colour or buy a cheaper orange one. Also, how warm do you need it to be? That one is 100% wool which is way better than most of them, but it is open-necked so you will need a big scarf with it on a freezing day or you will have the wind whistling down your neck!

I have a burnt orange leather jacket - probably just a little bit darker than this coat - and my favourite scarf to wear with it is burgundy with black hearts (old school Becksøndergaard). But I’ve worn it with four or five different scarves in the general vicinity of colours i mentioned above and all have very worked well.

Bear in mind if you want weather resistant wool then it’s best to have some polyester content. If you’re mainly driving to work then 100% wool wouldn’t be an issue IMO.

The Hobbs coat is gorgeous! (I'd probably get in in the camel colour, or, as they say, Vicuña. )
But if you love the orange then go for it!

It's lovely but you will need a black one as well.

Out of my many coats, my most worn one is orange (bought many years ago and is now starting to look a bit tatty, I may have to upgrade to your Hobbs one...). It gets compliments all the time.

It's also very easy to style. Most colours are really. In fact, I don't actually own a black coat...

Ninkanink I like the sound of your burnt orange leather jacket 😋

Thanks! It’s this one from Muubaa. It’s more orange IRL.