Coats

[redbird]

I was on my way out of the house this morning when the zipper on my parka broke. In the elevator, I reached to zip it closed, and the pull came off in my hand. cattitude and I inspected it briefly, and concluded that we can't fix it.

Fortunately, I also have a long wool coat. I don't wear it as often--it's less convenient in a number of ways, and I'm not convinced it's as warm for my torso, though it does help keep my legs warmer. I bought it a few years ago, I think out of a vague feeling that it looked more "businesslike" or some such; that aside, redundancy in important equipment is a Good Thing.

Also fortunately, this happened on my way out the door in the morning, rather than, say, on my way out of the office tonight. The question is whether to go to the cleaner/tailor and spend probably $20 or more to have the zipper replaced, or to buy a new coat. I'd been thinking of replacing this parka anyway, preferably with one that has More Pockets. I don't recall exactly when I bought either coat--but I remember stuffing the parka into a plastic shopping bag, and wearing the wool coat home, after the latter was delivered to my office. That was when I was working at ACM, and in weather chilly enough that I'd worn the parka to work, so at least five years ago for both.

Since I'm leaving for Montreal tomorrow, I'll either be buying a nice warm coat while in Canada, or going to the tailor or the Web when I get back. (In theory, I could buy a coat on my way home from work today, but I don't feel up to braving the after-Christmas sales by myself.)

Comments

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Canada seems like an excellent place to look for a nice, warm coat. (-:

[papersky.livejournal.com]

We can check out the second-hand coat options while you're here. And Rysmiel wants to go to MEC, where we can check out the new expensive coat options.

It's amazing how long a good coat will last. My grey Swiss Army coat is nine years old and still going strong. I bought it in an army surplus shop in Keswick in the autumn of 1996. It cost ten pounds. (Why no pound symbol on this keyboard?) I was in Keswick because I needed sandals, and it is, or was, cheaper to go to Kendal on the bus to buy sandals than to buy sandals in Lancaster. It's also cheaper to buy a "go anywhere in Lancashire and Cumbria" bus ticket than to buy a return to Kendal. So I went to Kendal, bought sandals, bought lunch in the chocolate cafe, and went on to Keswick, where I walked around the lake looking at the mountains and then bought my coat in the army surplus shop while waiting for the bus home -- and all this, sandals, coat, lunch and day out on the bus, for less than the cost of buying sandals in Lancaster.

Sandals in Lancaster are over-priced, but perhaps that's really a blessing.

[redbird]

That all seems sensible. If we go to MEC, I may try for boots as well--I have the boots I had last year, which are warm and waterproof, but not ideally shaped to my feet, so not great for long walks. (I will also be bringing my sneakers, for any non-snowy days, and slippers if I remember.) Fitting everything into carryon size is seeming less likely by the hour.

The coat search is not a problem, because I stopped off between work and the gym and bought a down vest for $25 (well, a down-feather blend--but most of what they had on offer was polyester filled), which fits nicely under the wool coat, a combination that should be sufficient unto any weather I'll be willing to leave the house in.

[lynnal.livejournal.com]

The zipper on my leather jacket did something similar. It was clearly wearing out last spring. I could zip the jacket if I held it just so, but the zipper would pull apart easily. This fall I decided that I could afford a new zipper much easier than a new jacket. I dropped it off to a tailor/shoe repair place in Madison on the strength of a sign in their window. Turned out it didn't need a whole new zipper. They replaced just the pull and charged me $5. Prices may be higher in NYC, but maybe not.