Does no one wear a coat any more? – have you noticed this too?

[clary]

So I am really not a big coat person. Apart from a short waterproof badged with my club that I wear when my summer officiating role includes a rainy day, I own one coat – a 5yo Seasalt rainproof coat with a hood and a cosy lining.

The main times I am outdoors tbh in cold or rain are a) watching DS play his sport or b) when I am out at an event (Christmas craft fair, trip to concert or theatre) or on a winter city break where I use public transport. Otherwise I drive to work (not accessible any other way unless you live close enough to walk).

Maybe that's it. I mean I think of myself as a coat refuser but even I wore one to work yesterday – it’s almost November, chilly and possibly rainy. But when I put it on the coat stand and then took it off at the end of the day, there was only one other coat there.

So do Gen Zs and Millennials (I am neither but there are lots at my work) just not wear coats any more? Any thoughts?

I wear a swim robe when I really need to (I am also an open water swimmer). But my winter coat fell apart a few years ago and I can’t really afford to replace it.

I love coats. I have 6 or 7 in different colours/styles and also a few shorter rainproof jackets. The only thing I like about winter is that it is so easy to look smart as long as you have a decent coat to throw on!

I was visiting family 2 weeks ago in Wales near the coast & i did notice everyone had a dry robe or version of.

I live in the rural southwest and everyone is wearing coats except teenagers, who have a principle (ignore what your mum says; you know better) to maintain.

Cumbria here. Even my teenagers wear coats and have multiple options.

Not sure it's "Big Coat" weather yet though.

I don't care about gen z and millenials, but yes I've definitely noticed the trend for no coats and I'm in the north east of England!

Every year, and this is before I left London, I'd break out my faux fur jackets and thoroughly enjoy wearing them from October to February. Now it just doesn't seem to get cold enough.

I don't drive so it's not like I'm sitting in a warm car. I walk a lot and take the train if I need to.

I love my coats and want more of them.

Ah really? I thought we all stopped using floppy disks in about 1995 (when the oldest Millennial would be a teenager) but maybe not.

I loved a thing I saw once on Only Connect when someone had seen a floppy disk IRL and asked “Why have they 3D printed out the Save icon?” haha.

I have been going grey since I was about 28 tbf. But most of the folk in my office walk to Tesco and buy a meal deal at lunchtime. Not wearing a coat tho obvs

ETA still fascinated by the 100 coats. Where do you keep them? My wardrobe would be overflowing and more

I hate wearing a coat whilst driving so if just getting out to walk quickly across car park to an indoor location I don’t always bother putting a coat on unless it’s raining very heavily or bitterly cold. At this time of year I would go without a coat to walk from my car to the office as it’s not so cold I’m going to freeze walking outside for under a minute.

Also, even when I do wear my coat I probably wouldn’t make use of a coat stand, I’d just take it off and put it on the back of my chair or shove it under my desk. The fact there weren’t coats on the coat stand doesn’t necessarilly mean younger aren’t wearing coats, it might just mean they don’t care about hanging them up.

Also, in terms of what’s changed, cars are a lot quicker to heat up now and stay warm. It likely used to be that people would be wearing their coats whilst driving to work in their cars because their cars were cold and so they left them on to walk into the office. Now cars don’t take so long to warm up and they stay warm so it’s not usually necessary to wear a coat whilst driving. That’s probably why the coat hook used to be full despite the method of driving to work being the same.

Oh when I say "used to" as in the coat stand used to be full I mean last year or the year before! I've only worked there since 2023 anyway. But I deffo recall last year going to the stand and thinking where is there a free peg? The demographic in the office has not changed that much either tbh.

Maybe it's just not cold enough yet.

I've got a couple of floppy discs in my desk drawer at work, the previous person left them. I agree with it probably being about 1995 when we stopped using them.

If I did wear a coat into the office (I sometimes walk into town at lunchtime and if it's cold/wet get my car coat out as I cross the car park and I then forget and go straight back into the office wearing it) I'd never use communal hooks as I'd forget to take it home. Either over the back of my chair if it's a short one or folded on my spare chair where my bag sits if it's a longer one.

Noo I definitely remember them at home in the late 90s! I started going grey at 24, the year after I got married. I'm divorced now 😉

I don't have room in my house for 100 coats, but am very jealous of the poster who does!

I think that might just be its not cold enough yet for them to be pulling out the big coats.

I am very much a coat person. It does not matter if I am going door to door in a car - if the weather is cold I have a coat with me. Have lived in a cold climate with an unreliable car and I am not going to risk freezing by a roadside if the car breaks down. My bugbear is that there is rarely anywhere to hang a coat. Very few restaurants have cloakrooms or coat hooks. It's uncomfortable to have a heavy coat hung over the back of the chair, many chairs are not really designed to hold a coat securely so they easily slip off, and long coats have to drag on the floor and be a trip hazard. And don't get me started on the total lack of anywhere to put a wet umbrella in a country where rain is frequent...

I keep my massive, calf length, waterproof, padded site coat in the boot for just such an eventuality!

I'm with you. I love a coat. I have many, and I love wearing them.

It’s not cold enough for me yet. When I go to work I drive so don’t really spend any/much time outside. When I go for a walk with my baby in his pram, I usually walk fast and it’s hilly where we live so I’d be way too hot in a coat.
However when it’s much colder I’ll wear a coat for walks, and things like carolling outside and Christmas markets where I’m walking at a much slower pace, I’ll definitely be wearing one then.

I think a lot of young people are coat-deniers. I certainly was in my youth <memories of queuing for nightclubs in midwinter in bare legs, heels and a tiny dress!>
It has to be arctic for my 21 yr old DS to finally put on his only coat. 18 yr old DD will eventually succumb to a cropped hooded coat if she absolutely must 😆

I’m an old Gen X-er and love coats, but its not cold enough for a coat yet in London. The most I’ve worn is a bomber jacket or cropped jacket for chilly evenings, or a hooded gilet on rainier days (I’m an umbrella girl, can’t stand raincoats).

But once it’s properly cold - bring on the coats! Long length, belted wool coats and (fake) fur coats until it’s so freezing I give up on style and bung on a big puffa ‘duvet’ coat.

I’m finding it cold enough in London to wear a coat, a lot depends on what you are doing & at what time.

I wore my coat on Saturday but ended up carrying it. Its still too warm here. I am a millennial and I do have multiple coats and jackets. I'm not young, unfortunately very middle aged.

@claryI used floppy discs as a teenager for school stuff.

oh NOW I feel really old haha
I used a big exercise book and a fountain pen (yes really, tho at least not a quill pen haha).

floppy discs were not actually floppy were they but there was another disc that was floppy?

Cuz high quality, 100% natural material coats cost a lot, and mostly acrylic/polyester coats are just fast fashion and people are not buying these now.