How many coats/jackets and what sort?

[CoastalGrey]

I have way too many but still never seem to have the right one for the right occasion and my life isn’t particularly smart or exciting! I go to work (very casual with the occasional smart meeting) and in my spare time I like walking, pottering round nice shops, seeing friends for coffee or dinner - nothing that should require so much effort deciding what to wear! I’d like to get it down to a handful of fairly decent ones, currently I have:

Smartish black coat but it was cheap and it shows
Long dry robe style quilted coat (no hood)
Duffel coat
Black raincoat
Khaki padded raincoat - nice but quite old
Black pac a mac
Green lightweight raincoat
Short padded jacket, very cosy but a bit bulky
Light quilted jacket - really versatile but now quite scruffy
Faux leather and suede bikers
Grey bomber jacket
Short black trench - lovely but too tight
Faux leather and suede aviator jacket
Various fleeces, shackets and gilets

If you had to limit your coats/jackets to say 5, what sort would you pick and from where?

1 smart overcoat
waterproof hooded parka style coat, light enough for summer, wear fleece under it in winter.
pac-a-mac
one or 2 casual jackets

One lightweight mountain raincoat
one winter weight mountain raincoat

one winter coat for about town
a lighter summer raincoat

and a posh coat for best

Layering a fleece under a lighter coat is a great idea - I like layers!

I have:
one lightweight rain jacket
one puffer style long coat
long black cape type thing

I could perhaps add a smart long wool coat - I did have one in the past…?
And a more casual jacket that’s not as warm as the puffer but more substantial than the rain jacket

I have 3 coats at the moment. A short puffer type coat which I initially bought for riding my push bike in the winter - but I now wear it a lot. It cost me £5 in the sale at Tesco 😅

I have a proper cosy winter coat, but it has a belt which keeps riding up and irritating me. Its a lovely coat though.

Then I have cheap Shein coat, but I have worn it to death. It's length is just below my bum with a few zips and textured sleeves. I mainly wear it when travelling as it isn't too heavy, but its warm.

I then have my 'condom' as I call it. A god awful rain mac that I wear when walking the dogs and its drizzling.

I then have my 'condom' as I call it. A god awful rain mac ...
We need a photo.

I bloody love coats and jackets and have far too many. I haven’t bought one for probably five years though as I finally feel I’ve got the right coat for every situation and every outfit.

If I had to, I suppose I’d cut it down to:

Long black posh wool coat (£18, vintage Planet, charity shop)

Black cape (I made it)

Short navy quilted jacket (Crew Clothing, new, eBay, £12, bought for all the stupid little walks we did in lockdown)

Denim jacket (ancient Marks)

Proper black ugly waterproof from an outdoor shop when I got caught unprepared.

But I also want to keep:

Black wool LK Bennett swing jacket from the Bicester outlet about 20 years ago (for when too warm for long wool coat but need smart)

Leopard print Hobbs spring mac (because I bloody love it, had it at least 12 years)

Long navy trench coat, ancient Debenhams but looks perfect (for when I need blue and the navy quilted one is too casual)

Puffed hooded jacket for cold drizzly days (my black waterproof is not warm).

You can get 3-in-1 jackets, and when I had one, I bought a compatible fleece so I could swap them.

I have too many coats and need too cull, but the ones that get least wear are wool (or wool-mix) ones.

I've got seven

1 long Barbour puffa coat. I've had it for 5 years and wear it every winter.
1 navy Max Mara long wool coat - beautiful & smart.
1 camel trench coat (ds says it's my Inspector gadget coat. One day I will upgrade to a Burberry - one day!
light short Barbour raincoat - useful when it's a bit warmer or rainy
Black leather All Saints jacket
White denim jacket from Crew Co - great for summer
Beige suede Belstaff jacket

I love them all and wear them lots

Waterproof (everyday)
Waterproof (mucky stuff)
Waterproof (industrial grade mucky stuff)
Wool coat (only for funerals)
Denim jacket for summer

I also have fleeces, but I count those as jumpers rather than jackets. They live in my clothes drawers, not on the coat hooks.

2 x wool classic winter coats.
1 x waterproof shooting jacket
1 x ski jacket
1 x wool blazer style
1 x shower-proof Boden trench raincoat
2 x jean-style summer jackets
1 x brocade dress-coat bought for a wedding

My version of an Inspector Gadget coat is that if I wear a classic camel trench my DD says I look like Del Boy 🫣🤣

I think you have to have coats that suit your lifestyle. When I was working and teaching, I needed far more practical coats. Padded for warmth, hoods for rain. I used to have loads of them because they were just my go to familiar comfy coats, and tbh that went through to weekends too. More formal coats seemed stuffy and impractical.

I'm now retired and hate my padded coats. I sold them all on Vinted, only to keep one for really rainy dog walks. If I wear it anywhere else, I feel so so uncomfortable and dressed down. My life now is so diffferent. I have a couple of shacket type coats for want of a better explanation…just to throw on to run out to Sainsbury’s, the post office, grab a quick coffee…you get the idea.

i like my smarter , longer coats (my two favourites from river island and marks) for going out into town, with my husband, going out for a meal, the cinema etc. albeit totally useless and too nice for rain!

I do get very hot, so I have a couple of shorter more boxy type smarter jackets for places like shopping centres , Christmas shopping etc and I do a have few classic blazers…I find them great when you just don’t know what to wear….as an example I took my granddaughter out Christmas shopping, I wanted something smart but casual. I went to a diamond wedding anniversary celebration in someone’s house New Year’s Day…what do you wear that’s casual in someone’s house, but still an occasion and Christmas at the same time?! I find blazers invaluable for those times, thrown over a shirt or T-shirt.

but I do also like variety in both colour and cut. I like to dress really smart wherever I go and tbh in the uk, we wear our coats probably more than any other garment (sadly!) I like to have the variety in my wardrobe so yes I probably do have too many. But some coats just aren’t suitable for every occasion. I would never wear my one and only padded dog walking coat to a funeral…whereas I have one particular long black military coat that only comes out at funerals. I can’t wear that to the theatre, it’s too long, big, in the way and too hot…so out comes my smarter shorter jackets. But they only go with certain trousers and dresses…..see being a woman is so hard 😆😆😆🤪🤪🤪🤪

I don’t have a huge number.

Long black wool vintage coat
Wool wrap black coat
Stone trench coat
Rains jacket
Short quilted reversible jacket (cream/black)
Beige barn jacket
Navy bomber jacket
Warm navy wool blazer
Oversized denim jacket.

Think I’m missing a short wool light coloured coat which I’m on the lookout for. I have some Uniqlo gilets which are great for layering under other coats.

I think I sometimes buy them for the lifestyle I'd like rather than the one I actually have! I also find the weather doesn't help - I went for dinner and then the theatre yesterday and travelled by train which meant I needed smartish (dinner) comfy and practical (walking and it was raining/quite chilly) but also lightweight, not too warm and easy to store (theatre with not much leg room). I'd love a perfect capsule of coats but they never seem to tick enough boxes for me.

I have loads of coats & jackets & actually think too many people treat them as an afterthought when actually we are in them a lot & it’s often the main part of the outfit.

I have three.
Bright red water proof
Warm winter coat, looks like wool, probably isn't. Pale blue.
3/4 ) length sleeve swingy jacket in a kind of pea green that I got from Primark about 20 years ago and I still love.

That covers me for all weathers. I can't cope with having more choices than I need in things like coats. I only replace one of those items when one becomes unusably worn out.

I have loads. If it's wet I'll get one coat wet on one outing so I need a second dry coat when I pop out later that day. Umbrella's can only do so much and they're useless in the wind.
See also trainers.

I'm only counting proper outerwear coats and not jackets apart from the Barbour and Hobbs donkey jacket which are outerwear. I have 21 and they cover all eventualities. I wouldn't get rid of any of them.

3 Max Mara wool coats
Laura Ashley wool coat
Acquascutum tweed coat.
2 Lillith wool coats
2 (real) Mackintoshes
Toast long waxed raincoat
Casey Casey long, padded waxed raincoat
Barbour jacket
Cabbages and Roses long wool coat
Cabbages and Roses long cotton drill coat
Oska light raincoat
Oska parka
Hobbs wool donkey jacket
Hobbs wool knee length coat
Anta tweed knee length coat
padded cotton knee length raincoat.
1960s knee length black Cashmere coat

Too many

I have a full on heavyweight padded coat with hood and snood ( it gets really cold and windy here )

A raincoat for not so cold days - with hood

Full waterproof jackets for walking

A full length waterproof with cape and hood

Three lightweight padded jackets

Full length black wool coat

Wool pea coat

Lots of shell jackets ( think that's what they are called - running jackets?? )

A few heavy weight hooded fleece type jackets

Numerous body warmers

About 3 dress jackets/blazers

Two denim

Always have a Pac a Mac in the boot of the car as well

Its cold, wet and windy here , I need warmth , water proofing and a hood

I have five and love them all but operate a one in one out policy so I don't have more than I need.

One warm puffer coat that I wear in the really cold months.

A Barbour waxed jacket that I wear most of the year.

A really lightweight mac for when it's warm but rainy.

A smart wool coat.

A leather jacket. I prefer a leather jacket to a denim one.

I feel this covers me for most occasions!

I have:

Long black belted Lipsy coat which I tend to wear when it's cold and wet on the school run

Tan teddy bear bomber style coat otherwise. Layer up with jumper/hoody underneath.

Black aviator jacket i like to wear for evenings or meals out in winter

Long taupe teddy bear coat. Again when I want to look a bit more polished and the outfit asks for it.

Ski jacket for very cold conditions and of course, skiing.

Black waterproof thin jacket for summer rain.

Various jackets for summer. I have a 'shacket' I throw on in autumn/Spring and a lighter shirt in the summer months. I've also got a green cargo type jacket, a denim jacket and a beige 'smarter' blazer type jacket.

So yea, too many really.

Clearly I’m not the only one with a slight coat obsession 🫣

I have loads.
I spend a lot of time outdoors and live by the sea so get bombarded by the elements. When I lived in a city my winter coat was different to the winter coat I need now. I was able to wear a lovely wool coat all winter with an umbrella if it rained. Umbrellas are useless here, it’s so windy! Also 5 degrees in the city feels completely different to 5 degrees by the sea.

I have two full length thick puffer coats. Live in these all winter. I don’t care how unflattering they are, they keep me warm and dry.
One knee length thin but warm puffer coat
One short puffer coat (used mainly for hiking or under a raincoat for extra warmth)
Two smart wool coats, both mid thigh length.
Two raincoats, one knee length and smarter, one more techy. Both high hh rating.
One fleece swing coat
One leather jacket
One denim jacket
One Borg (I think it’s called, the chunky type?) fleece which is my work jacket supplied by work. I work indoors but in a cold environment so we have layers.
I also have a non work zip up fleece for layering but wouldn’t wear that as a coat in its own right

I also have two blazers but don’t really think of them as coats!