The thing that matters most with a coat isn't how it looks on its own, it's what you're planning to wear under it. A coat that's perfect over a thin jumper can feel like a straitjacket over a long cardigan and a scarf, and most of the disappointment I've seen in this department comes from buying the coat first and figuring out the layers after.
Where it goes wrong is usually about bulk and movement. A structured coat with a nipped waist looks sharp over a dress but turns hostile the second you add a chunky jumper underneath, the sleeves won't go over anything thicker than a long sleeve top and the buttons start fighting you. A long coat is glorious with a maxi skirt until you're getting on a bus in a gust and holding two hems down with one hand. And anything with a dramatic collar is lovely for standing about, less lovely for a day where you're bending down to pick things up off the floor every twenty minutes, which, if you've got small children or a job on your feet, is most days.
Wool coats age well if you let them, which mostly means not sitting in them for six hours and not wearing them through every rainstorm of the winter. A soft brush after a few wears keeps them looking new far longer than people expect, and a decent hanger matters more than it should, a wire one will leave shoulder dents that never quite drop out. Lighter coats and macs are more forgiving day to day but show marks faster, so a quick wipe when you get in saves a lot of bother later.
Fit is where I spend most of my time. Sleeves need to come properly to the wrist with arms down and still cover enough with arms raised, because reaching for something on a high shelf shouldn't expose three inches of forearm to the world. Shoulders should sit at the shoulder, not halfway down the arm, that's the seam check that tells you the size is wrong before anything else does. And length matters against whatever you're wearing under it, a coat that stops exactly where a dress hem starts gives you a strange little gap of cold leg that no amount of good styling fixes. Sit down in it before you decide, properly sit, knees together, and see where it pulls across the back.
Would I still want this coat if I had to wear it over my bulkiest jumper on a cold, windy day, sitting down for most of it?
