2025 Reboot - Winter is Coming! Time to break out your favorite jackets!

[Horsewright]

Everybody should own a vintage woolrich 503.
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They're an amazing piece that can be had for little money, I bought this 1950's example for $100 shipped and shortly after I was seeing them for $40-$75.
There's just nothing like vintage American wool, and the Shadow plaid ( buffalo check has become housewife fashion ) will always be iconic.

Now I just need to find one in XLT!

 

[Whisperstealth]

My favorite is my Bruns Clothing jacket. Made in the USA, out of Watertown SD. Think Carhartt Type. It's black. It's got 14oz cotton duck, thinsulate, storm flap, lots of pockets, knit collar and cuff, no hood. I bought it to wear outside, and on my motorcycle. Had it custom made for less than the cost of a Carhartt back in 2010 I think??? He has since gone out of business unfortunately...

After that, it's mostly all made in the USA Carhartts and USA made FR Jackets. I recently picked up a custom USA Carhartt off ebay that I really like. It's a duck active jacket that had the hood removed. Job looks professional. I like it because I can layer a hoodie under and not have the bulk of two hoods.

 

[Shorttime]

Down below 30 F means I can bring out real winter coats. I realize some of you in the more Northern latitudes start to put on shirts, about then. For a Pennsylvania boy, it's cold enough.

Single-breasted pea coat. I wanted one of these for everyday wear, and I knew that if I paid MSRP for it, I would be paranoid about actually wearing it. So, I lurked the pretty much only remaining retail website until I found a known-brand for a silly discount.




I wore it to work one night, and felt that it was A Bit Much, style-wise. After much enjoyable searching, I found more wool!




Zip-front, from the "French Airplane Company". I don't know what it means, or how to pronounce it, okay?

I do know they make decent garments which I would never pay retail price for. This one is from the Bay, for about $45. A little lighter than the top coat, but perfect for the 150 yards of walking from building to car. I've worn it every night for the past two weeks and nobody has commented on my layering choices. Which was what I wanted.

 

[Whisperstealth]

Down below 30 F means I can bring out real winter coats. I realize some of you in the more Northern latitudes start to put on shirts, about then. For a Pennsylvania boy, it's cold enough.

Single-breasted pea coat. I wanted one of these for everyday wear, and I knew that if I paid MSRP for it, I would be paranoid about actually wearing it. So, I lurked the pretty much only remaining retail website until I found a known-brand for a silly discount.

View attachment 3052190


I wore it to work one night, and felt that it was A Bit Much, style-wise. After much enjoyable searching, I found more wool!

View attachment 3052191


Zip-front, from the "French Airplane Company". I don't know what it means, or how to pronounce it, okay?

I do know they make decent garments which I would never pay retail price for. This one is from the Bay, for about $45. A little lighter than the top coat, but perfect for the 150 yards of walking from building to car. I've worn it every night for the past two weeks and nobody has commented on my layering choices. Which was what I wanted.

I like wool as well. Both of your's are very nice. I like the zip front one a lot. Wool is a classier look, and it's nice to wear on occasion. I bought a wool coat also from the Bay that's pretty nice. It's too nice for everyday wear, but it's all I could find in my size.

 

[Shorttime]

"Too nice for everyday wear" is what I thought for a long time, too. One day, I decided I hated the swishy, plastic feeling of modern puffers, anoraks, parkas and the like. Pea coats were issued to sailors on ships, and somehow they became "classy"?

Nah, I wear mine with a Carhartt button-down, blue jeans and boots. Swagger, own it, wear the "fancy" coat and feel a little more like Daniel Craig! It'll help distract you from the fact that your ears are burning from the wind chill....

 

[Hickory n steel]

Wool is a wonder material for winter, but good quality wool is expensive and there's hardly anything on the market that's made like it used to be.
Filson doesn't offer anything past 24oz these days, they use imported wool these days, and the prices just keep shooting through the roof.
Pendleton wool was unmatched, but they don't make garments anymore.
Woolrich is imported fashion bran crap now.
Johnson woolen Mills is just okay considering the price.
I don't know about Bemidji, but expect similar wool quality with significant pilling.
Weatherwool I hear good things about, but it's crazy expensive and I'm not sure I want an Anorack.
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Thankfully there's an endless supply of vintage wool on the secondary market to keep you warm, you just have to worry about moth holes and or that terrible moth ball smell.



The only drawback to wool is the fact that it has to be dry cleaned.

 

[A.L.]

Early winter I really like thick wool sweater (got few, one from Devold and one knit by Icelandish grannies) and shell jacket / anorak. This way you got the worry free shell on top of the wool itself.

 

[jfk1110]

Me.in my Lynx Weatherwool hunting last month!! Also poppin a.few.45-70 out of the old mans 1886 Winchester....