Manteco Virgin Wool Blend Coat

I’ve previously had JCrew or Aritiza Coats for the winter and was anticipating the same type of warmth. Unfortunately, this would be better suited for late Fall or early Spring. Cute jacket though! The quality just doesn’t justify the cost.

Back on the hunt I go. If only this was shorter. I’m 5’7” and it is like 2” too long for me.. also the coat doesn’t feel like wool? It’s lighter and feels cheaper. It is lined!

The fabric is beautiful, soft, and the coat is comfortably heavy and warm. I followed the size chart and ordered an xl (I'm normally a medium or large/ 10-12 size depending on brands). The coat fit, I can fasten the buttons and cross my arms over my chest and only feel the fabric tighten across my back at the most extreme end of the stretch. A size smaller would be too small but it still took a lot of finagling with the belt to give any kind of flattering figure (I'm an hourglass 40-30-40). But I got there eventually. The shoulders are oversized in length with a bit of padding, so the seam that should hit at my shoulder bone ends about 1-2 inches out and up. The reason is to give a dramatic shape to the shoulders and emphasize the waist (once you tie the coat). However, the sleeves buckle just under this (you can see it on the models too) which can make your upper arm took chonkier than it is. Combine that with the super generous sleeve size, and it looks like you have enormous arms-- possibly beneficial for body builders and fans of chonky sweaters, but not my style. The generous sleeve requires the arm hole to be cut further down the body (it hits me around my bra band) and imo it's not flattering for well endowed ladies like myself (36DDD). I look like I have very ample side boobs because there's no definition between sleeve and body. All of this is a matter of personal preference except for the fact that I cannot lift my arms in this coat. The wide cut padded shoulders and the low arm hole with no gussets means that to lift my arms, even a little bit (like waving or adjusting a bag strap) the whole coat has to come with me and the shoulder pads end up by my ears. If the coat is securely tied at the waist then your arms are stuck, unless your waist is extremely squishy and flexible. Finally, right out of the bag, one of the inside buttons was falling off the coat. The rest were secure so it's just one of those manufacturering flukes.

The coat is very stiff and runs small, it’s a fitted style, so sizes up. I returned because I personally don’t like this type of material.

Absolutely LOVE it! Received as a gift, and they nailed it! Definitely is lighter in weight than a typical wool coat; the length and color are phenomal. Buy this!