Dear Bronny,

I am looking for a winter coat: long-sleeved, about knee length and in an unusual colour (not black, grey or red, but not fluorescent LOOK AT ME either) that won't break the bank.

Know anywhere I should try? Got any tips for winter coat buying?

ta!
Ima Pritty Kitty

ANSWER

Dear Ima Pritty Kitty

First of all, love your hotmail name – it rocks!

Now on for the coat buying. In fact tweeds are going to be very hot this Winter if judging from the Winter just gone in the Northern Hemisphere. Another hot color will be white, you may also consider Green or Mustard which look fabulous and don’t date.

My tips for buying the coat would be to:

1. Assess what is in your wardrobe
2. Think about color and how you can work what you buy into what you already have
3. Set a budget of how much you want to spend
4. Decide on color or pattern or if you want both, fabric is a consideration as well, have you thought of leather
5. Have a look online to get an idea of what you like, www.fashion-era.com is a great place to start
6. Have a look at websites like www.netaporter.com and www.style.com to see what is in fashion
7. Next, armed with your tick list – let’s go shopping

Places to shop online for a great coat include:

· eBay – you can search specific and possibly find what you want for half price
· ASOS – sale on now! You can get whatever was hot on the Northern Hemisphere for half price
· TopShop – ships internationally and have a great selection

Here’s some hot options I have found for you:

Here’s a Tweed coat, to give you first an idea of cut, fabric and style, this ones on eBay.

Now with this in mind, you can think about color, you mention you’re not keen on black, grey or red, how about the brown color family which includes beiges and patterned fabrics such as tweeds etc.

Here’s a brown vintage with fake fur trim.

I mentioned white above, here’s a gorgeous white trench which would look super fab with black underneath:

A pink option here in a houndstooth pattern:

Also, keep in mind that the best thing about considering shopping online for a coat is that you can take advantage of all the winter sales now on and get the new seasons look for half the price!

Here’s another great jacket, this time from TopShop, it has a check again but this time with blue as the color of interest – very Scottish:

Now, I know you don’t want to break the back, but I just want to show you this divine satin green Dolce and Gabbana coat I found for inspiration.

It’s not red, black or grey! Not too bright or fluorescent, but it is simply divine, a classic that will never fade – I don’t know about you – but I want it!  - it is by Dolce & Gabbana:

Stunning!!

Here’s another green option, not quite the same, however still lovely:
 
Hopefully some of these looks have inspired you or given you clearer thinking on what you are after.

Remember, assess what you already have in your wardrobe, what will be a good investment to add to your look and feel and then think about what you will be wearing this Winter.

Happy shopping!

Love
Bronny
xxxx