Non-mumsy mum coat - recommendations!

[Pigtailsandall]

I have a 15mo DC who loves roaming outdoors. My old winter coats are lovely woollen ones and not really suitable for picking up a muddy toddler!

Any recommendations for a coat for the playground and park which doesn't scream out playground mum? Going to the park is my main social event of the week so I'd still like to look nice!

@Pigtailsandall Glad you like the Arket stuff, it's definitely not somewhere I've shopped before, but I'm delighted with my coat and the down makes it as warm as toast. I figure I could buy a non-down one for a third of the price or else go for the down one that will hopefully last me longer.

I honestly think coats are what make your style as a Mum. Particularly if you are between sizes and not back to -pre-baby weight. I have a full coat wardrobe, after 6 years of parks and playgrounds!

Stylish rain coat for Spring, Zara wool coats for dry, cooler days in Autumn/Spring/Summer with trainers, boots or flat pumps (Ankles showing a must!) Then my puffer coat for cold days with either my jeans , leather look Spank leggings or my Sweaty Betty leggings.

At least, that's what works for me!

@PositiveNegative I love M&S for clothes. They have lots of vile stuff, but their jeans are a great shape on me, particularly if you have hips. I have also lived in their faux leather leggings this Lockdown, they're a nice way to wear leggings without feeling too casual.

www.marksandspencer.com/ie/faux-leather-high-waisted-leggings/p/clp60459368?gclid=CjwKCAiAgJWABhArEiwAmNVTB2lyfLubULt-gZgPUghCEC0M9dgx14wLBegseTbW9ZEydbUD4VBAdhoC7f8QAvD_BwE&istCompanyId=786af40a-2e84-4001-9ef1-c1fcb168fbf9&istFeedId=a62ea526-542f-470a-ad36-51479e1cbb34&istItemId=imlxpwrpr&istBid=t&gclsrc=aw.ds&&extid=ps_ggl_4PS_IE_Shopping_Smart_Best_Sellers&ef_id=YAXUsgAABAUGzl3u:20210118183430:s

Hmmm I don't know. I was out in the rain today and it was fine. It'd definitely get me home if it started raining while we were at the park.

Oh holly you are my long lost sister! I love finding good stuff from M&S. Their jeans are great. You just have to be careful putting it together.

@PositiveNegative I know! My friends are always amazed when I say something is M&S. But I've lived in those khaki leather leggings. I also love their cashmere mens jumpers for the oversized look. Their shoes/boots are also great and so comfortable yet still stylish. Look their grey and black jeggings too, who needs a waistband anymore?!

I've got a knee length black down coat, which I love... but it's not great for lugging muddy children about because down has to be washed carefully/not too often so I have to do a lot of wiping down or just wearing it muddy.

If I was buying again I'd get a synthetic puffer coat - not as warm but easier to just bung in the wash every time you have to carry someone covered in mud (eg every day)

Hopefully my down coat lasts. I actually got it covered in mud the other day after carrying my 2 year old across a filthy field and I didn't touch it at all and the mud seemed to just dry in and then flake off? I was amazed!

@hollyangel

Hopefully my down coat lasts. I actually got it covered in mud the other day after carrying my 2 year old across a filthy field and I didn't touch it at all and the mud seemed to just dry in and then flake off? I was amazed!

Same here. I wear a down coat for dog walking, the muddy paw prints just brush off after they’re dry.

"Any recommendations for a coat for the playground and park which doesn't scream out playground mum?"

But you're a mum taking your child to the playground, so you are by definition a "playground mum".

I find the tone of your post a bit... superior, as if you're saying you don't want to be frumpy and unfashionable like the other mums...

Perhaps you didn't mean it like that. Perhaps you just mean that you want a practical coat without throwing all considerations of style out of the window, which is fair enough. You might find this thread helpful: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/4043855-Most-stylish-parka-youve-seen

I ordered and returned a lot of coats, and FWIW, I rated Jack Wolfskin and Protected Species, but I did find Seasalt a bit frumpy on me. Anyway, plenty of other suggestions on the thread.

I just got a double layer parka from the north face. It’s a lightweight down coat with a separate waterproof layer that goes over the top. Warm and waterproof which is exactly what you need. I personally don’t like just a down coat for when it rains.

Also, agree on the fur round the hood. Fine on a jacket you don’t wear in the rain but who wants wet fur round their face?!

I don't understand why "looking like a mum" is a bad thing? You have a child, you are a mum.

When I'm at the park I don't care and go the whole hog, bobble hat, a coat fit for a primary school child, wellies, muddy jeans, wool jumpers, I'm not spending three hours freezing while they play hide and seek, climb trees, build dens etc. I wear what's comfy and read my book. For when I'm not out with the DC I wear Max Mara. Different roles call for different clothes.

This is Style & Beauty, the clue is in the name and should explain why the OP has asked for advice for where to find a stylish coat to wear out with her kids, that's also somewhat practical.

I don't look at what other mums are wearing in the park but I do love fashion and it's important to me that I still look like myself, and dress the way I did pre-babies. I'd imagine OP is the same.

With you, again @hollyangel!

There actually is such a thing as a mumsy coat. Round here its a grey/black parka with fur round the hood. Practical. But OP wanted something a bit different.

For this winter in particular as indoor activities are closed and the weather is absolute shite, I'd recommend a technical brand like North Face or Didrikson over a fashion brand. Maybe a ski brand if you want something a bit different.

Follow Leia Sfez on Instagram for some style inspiration, OP. She's pregnant with her third child and still impossibly chic

Agree with PPs about Didrikksen - really warm and totally waterproof but a low key urban style. You might get lucky with their sale but last time I looked, a lot of the sizes had gone.

"the OP has asked for advice for where to find a stylish coat to wear out with her kids, that's also somewhat practical."

She didn't word it that way though, she said that she doesn't want to look like a mum, and we are quite right to point out that she is in fact a mum.

"There actually is such a thing as a mumsy coat. Round here its a grey/black parka with fur round the hood."
I disagree that this is a "mumsy" coat, it's just a boring and not-very-stylish coat.

I just don't like the way "mumsy" has become a derogatory word synonymous with frumpy and unfashionable. It actually seems kind of misogynistic to me.

Anyway. I don't want to derail the thread. I'm pretty sure OP just wanted coat recommendations and not an argument. I just don't think there's any need to be sneery about "playground mums", that's all.

@hollyangel yes, I'm definitely with you. I like clothes and definitely want to look stylish as well as be (relatively) practical. Reading this thread, I'm actually starting to think TWO coats might be a solution- a long down one for impossibly crisp, cold and dry days, and a waterproof one for wet days. My winter coat situation isn't amazing so I think I can justify two, especially if they last.

Happy to budget more if it's good quality and lasts. Good point about shoes too - I have some excellent walking boots which have done the trick so far

Mumsy coats - the mum uniform here seems to be a Cath Kidston & Joules combined sweepstake where women seem to compete on how many pastel stripes and cute animal prints they can wear at once. I find it twee and not me at all. Just because everyone has kids it doesn't mean everyone has to look the same or like the same things or shop in the same shops. I didn't actually say dowdy - but interestingly other people here thought so and therefore drew that conclusion. I have a friend who has a 4-year old and lives in southern Europe and still dresses in her goth stuff most days.

I have a Merell which I love.

@Pigtailsandall

I think for raincoats, the brand name that I see popping up a lot on fashion Instas is Stutterheim. They are very Scandi in a neutral colour like khaki, navy or grey.

I also like Ilse Jacobsen, as someone mentioned up-thread.

My friend bought this M&S raincoat in the navy and it's fab on her.

www.marksandspencer.com/ie/longline-wax-look-jacket/p/clp60458725?color=NAVY#intid=prodColourId-60458725

Hate anything remotely twee too. If that's someone else's style than more power to them, but it's not me at all. I'm sure they'd hate what I wear too!

I didn't actually say dowdy - but interestingly other people here thought so and therefore drew that conclusion

You didn't use "mumsy" or "mum coat" as positive descriptors, OP. The meaning is clear from what you have written.

I don't feel the need to put other women down to raise myself up, but that's what you are doing by using mumsy and mum coat in a derogatory way. If you had said you'd like a smart coat to keep you warm at the playground, but not ones from X and Y brands, you would have achieved the same outcome. Instead of that you chose to make snide comments about mum's wearing pastel stripes and animal prints. There's just no need for it, is there?

@tofuscnitzel if you read style and beauty for a bit, you'll come across thread after thread of women upset that their previous stylish wardrobes have been taken over by practical but dull clothing after having children .

If someone has no problem with this change in their fashion, then they have no need to change.

I believe it's a lot easier to be stylish pre-pregnancy and when you are younger. For me personally and lots of other mothers here I would imagine, it becomes more of a battle after having children and also with age. That's why I come to S&B, to find tips and advice for my current era.

Clothes can be practical and still stylish, it just takes a bit of an effort to find them.

"Just because everyone has kids it doesn't mean everyone has to look the same or like the same things or shop in the same shops."

Exactly. And that's precisely why I objected to you lumping all "playground mums" into the same category. Maybe the mums in your playground all wear twee Joules coats, maybe other mums mentioned by PP wear boring black/grey parkas with fur around the hood, but #notallmums and all that.

(In case it's not already clear, I agree with you @tofuschnitzel)