So a frequent question I get is: How many coats do you own? Short answer is more than the majority.

This is weird question because the majority of the coats I own were gifts. From whom, may you ask? My mother. Maybe, it is due to growing up in the Detroit area and feeling warm is crucial to survival, but my mother is obsessed with coats. She just loves them. I won’t go into the extent of her obsession, but people could get hurt. My weakness is a flirty dress, so the coat thing doesn’t compute. However, every year she hits all of the department stores winter clearance sales and buys 2 or 20 coats. Then I get surprises in the mail or at Christmastime. Some of these gifted coats have been retired on account of ugliness or inability to get out an irritating stain.

Due to this obsession, I have purchased three winter coats in the last 12 years.

1)     A raspberry pea coat to replace a purple pea coat that my mother purchased for $7.50 and I stole from her closet. She barely remembered that it was gone until about a year later when she saw me wearing it. I wore that coat until it had holes in it.

2)     The teal/lime green coat that I purchased for $21 to be my “if someone steals it from the club I won’t care’ coat. A friend had her coat stolen at the club so I decided to be more mindful.

3)     The camel wool coat I purchased to look good over dresses and skirts. Of course, the instant I acquired it, I saw a coat I liked better. Story of my life.

Most of my gifted coats I really like. Save for a long forest green thing that is very senior lady going to the church revival. The fact that my aunt’s friends adored it proves my point.

Hats serve as my joy. I found the perfect hat in Italy four years ago in a custom wool shop in Rome. The raspberry hat was so beautiful that I had to have it. In hindsight, I should have purchased several. I receive tremendous compliments for it, so when my purple pea coat disintegrated I needed a proper replacement to accompany the hat. I located this pea coat at the outlets in Hagerstown in the Wilson’s Leather Outlet. Strange but true. You never know where you will find the perfect coat. Every hat but the forest green one that my mother gave me to match that wool mature deaconess wonder was a wonderful acquisition.

Each winter ensemble was carefully curated to maximize cuteness. I am a Michigan girl after all and cannot wear some whimsical uncoordinated anything. Some hat (or earmuffs, I love me some genuine furry earmuffs), scarf and glove sets can be used with multiple coats.

Stay warm.