Well, I NEEDED a jacket. A coat actually. I'm the opposite of my husband, I don't have jackets and DO in fact, NEED one. Upon his discovery of my absolute resolve to make this the year that I find a coat, my husband jumped on board. The next best thing to buying himself a coat would be to buy his wife one I guess.
Our first purchase was a black North Face coat from Cabela's. I wasn't 100% sure about it, but decided to buy it and give it a try. One thing that I discovered in my coat buying adventures is just how complicated coats have become. People are obsessed with coats-not just my husband. I personally find coat construction to be a bit boring and just want something not too hideous that is durable and warm. Also one that doesn't show my tummy when I "reach for the sky".
The first (yes, first) North Face coat wasn't horrible looking, definitely durable, kept me covered, and was warm, but it had this obnoxious collar that wouldn't lay down even when I detached the hood. It was suffocating me-hugging my already round face. It just wouldn't do.
I kept looking for a coat. Shop after shop, in-stores, on-line, back and forth. My husband was out at Cabela's during work one day and called me. He talked me through their selection-brands, sizes, fabrics, colors. Finally we decided on two brown North Face coats-the same coat in different sizes. He brought them home and I put one on. It was okay. I was going away for the weekend and he wanted me to wear the coat, only I was going to the country and it was opening weekend for deer season. Yes, wear the big brown coat!
I kind of ignored the coat. The weather took a warm turn so a coat wasn't super important at the moment. Well one day a few weeks later, the cold weather returned with a gusty wind. I took the girls to the park to see the horses and wore my new coat. This coat was pretty. It also had a bad silky, shiny fabric. The coat felt like it was catching on the fence rails when I would sit my arm down near the horse pen. It also did not keep me warm in that cold gusty wind. I came home and announced that this coat would not do.
Eric was perplexed. He really thought this was THE coat. He liked me in the color brown. Durability is important. I did not want to buy a coat that wouldn't look good after just one season of wearing it. They are just too expensive.
My jacket/coat buying husband was in a quandary. I think he was ready to give up. He told me that I waited too long in the season to be able to find any good selection. He was getting all negative.
We were going out and it was cold. I threw on my oversized gray wool coat. Did I shrink-I swam in this coat. I remember wearing it when I was pregnant with my first baby. If I thought I could make do with this coat, I was wrong.
We decided to go to Kirkwood to get a start on Christmas shopping. We went to a couple of stores and made some progress. As we were getting ready to leave the last store, Eric says, "I know exactly where we should go!" He was suddenly excited. "Where?", I asked. He suggested going to The Alpine Shop which was nearby. It was the one place that we hadn't looked for a coat.
I always thought The Alpine Shop was a store for the serious. The serious athlete, sportsman, outdoor adventurer, world traveller, rich kid. I always felt like I didn't really fit into their clientele. I probably will never buy a kayak or snowboard. I don't need water purifiers or a sleeping bag that will keep me toasty at 100 degrees below zero. I felt like I needed a visitors pass while in the store. "I'm just visiting. I'm totally not serious. I know I don't belong here."
Well, I kind of entered the store ducking the radar that would detect an intruder. I started looking around-feeling my husband's jacket obsession taking me over. How many coats and jackets can I get? I like them all. I need: cute and fashionable, wintry,warm, and durable, and cute and warmish while driving the Mitzi running errands. Three would do the trick.
After a bit of looking, we were detected. He was a really nice and helpful guy. He probably only suffered the indoors to work, and lived the rest of his life outside. Being outside all of the time made him a coat expert. He knew what coat was good for what, how the various styles and fabrics would perform is a myriad of conditions, how they were constructed, what inserts could be added to each one...
When this outdoorsy, cute granola guy heard that my coat would not be accompanying me to far off exotic places for skiing, snowboarding, or tackling a mountain, but INSTEAD would be worn to local parks for intense sled riding, he didn't blink. He was totally into my little domestic activity.
While my outdoor activity doesn't require fancy, expensive equipment (I use a blow up sled that I got for free), I still needed something of quality to get me through my wintry pursuit. He took me serious. Hell, I don't even take myself serious. I guess needs are needs and even sled riding moms have them. He suggested and found the perfect coat within a minute of meeting me. I, of course, tried on almost every single coat in the store before choosing the coat he gave me thirty minutes earlier.
In the end, I walked out with a black Patagonia Rubicon. The tag says "SKI/SNOWBOARD:RUBICON".
Maybe they should think of adding "SLEDDING" to it.
1 comment:
I felt like I re-lived the experience all over again.
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