Have ordered an expensive (to me) wool coat, how do I know if the wool is good quality?

[FeegleFrenzy]

I’m not a connoisseur of wool coats. I tried it on in the shop, thought it seemed nice. Another shopper complemented me and said the coat was lovely. I’ve ordered it in a smaller size as they didn’t have my size.

Getting home I looked at reviews and someone said the wool is very poor quality. I appreciate it’s not a £600 plus maxmara coat but i don’t want to buy something which is poor quality.

It’s this one. https://www.whistles.com/product/morgan-funnel-neck-coat-38914.html#navAjax=true&is=false&cgid=Coats_Jackets_WW&sz=60&start=0&isSecondPage=false&prefn1=fabricType&prefv1=Wool&prefn2=outerwearStyle&prefv2=Overcoat&prefn3=refinementColor&prefv3=Black&pid=morgan-funnel-neck-coat-38914&pos=2

any thoughts? And am I likely to get makeup all over it if I wear the collar up? And if so will it spot clean off? I think I’d wear the collar down most of the time.

Well it's 100% wool, so it can't be all that bad quality. So many coats these days have a tiny percentage of wool.

I quite like it.

Oh there's always someone in those reviews who has to big themselves up by affecting to be too refined for the product. It'll be fine. Nice coat anyway.

I think I like the taupe colour- which isn't taupe; it's cocoa- more than the black, but both are nice.

It photographs a bit flat and the colour doesn't look very deep, that can come across a bit cheap by association but it isn't necessarily an indication of poor quality wool. How tightly the fabric is woven and its weight tend to be more indicative. Country of manufacture can also give some indication, eg. if its made in a higher wage country at this price point they probably had to economise on fabric. If it's a wool that's considered premium from say New Zealand or Italy they usually get a special manufactur's label inside.

If you wear heavy makeup and drag it down far then staining is a possibility, if it happens often and you leave it for long it'll be hard to clean out.

Honestly, I’m not a fan of black wool, because I find it so linty!

Is it soft and supple in your hands and touch (known as the fabric “hand”) ? 100% wool should be reasonable but some cheaper wool fabrics are made of short staple wool fibres or fibres from the under and back side of the sheep. Or from a sheep breed usually used for carpet or upholstery wool.

Is it scratchy?

Does it feel supple in your hands?

These are all markers of quality.

I must admit I prefer the brown but it’s not available in a petite. The regular size the sleeves were too long, though I suppose I could get them altered. Maybe the brown would show up makeup/cat hair less?

i didn’t think it felt scratchy but that’s what one of the reviews said.

Oh it’s sold out in the brown anyway.

If you bought it in a shop you don't have the right to a refund or exchange unless it's faulty.