Winter Coats. What's your timeless "go to" winter jacket that gets the most compliments?

Although I cannot yet afford one, my ideal winter coat is a classically styled polo coat, in a cashmere and camel blend.

Double breasted, full length, generous lapels, half belt, turnback cuffs, flap breast pocket, et cetera. 

It is the best classic form of outerwear, as far as I am concerned.

Ralph Lauren is known for theirs, which is especially nice as far as easily obtainable RTW overcoats go.

I believe they sell for around $2,000, and it is offered either as a standard winter item or MTM.

Come to think of it, I'd like to know some more about it.

Does anybody know some more about this particular coat, and its availability?

It would be of purely theoretical use to me at this point, but very much appreciated nonetheless.

The other coats that come to mind are wool or shearling, from Paul Stuart,

http://www.paulstuart.com/category_template_viewall.cfm?MainCatId=14&ProdCatId=1020&subProdCatId=0&headermenuid=1

and one of Loro Piana's various offerings. They have some beautiful shearling and fur-lined coats, as well as cashmere, wool, and some other more exotic cloths.

If by "splurge," you mean "spend $25,000 on a sheared navy blue mink peacoat from Jay Kos," then you should probably do it. 

Post pictures, though, so that we can nitpick the fit and styling until you ultimately decide it's not your cup of tea and sell it on B&S to some poor chump (me) for, say, $350.

Finally, it may be a matter of personal taste, but I've always liked the idea of a charcoal wool-cashmere topcoat with turnback cuffs and a black astrakhan collar. That might have to be bespoke, but i suppose it wouldn't be entirely impossible to find RTW.

-VF

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reevolving 

By splurge, I think I mean in the $1500 or under range.
Beyond that,. I don't see much incremental value, and you're probably just overpaying for logo markup.
Also, I think you'd get a lot more value by avoiding these fashion forward trendy labels.
What do you think these jackets would sell for, if sold by a mainstream retailer?
Thanks for that link.
These 2 look like they'd get some compliments.

Yeah, I was having a bit of fun with it, I'll certainly admit to that. It's that time of year when broke young guys like me dream of extravagant clothes.
 

If you mean the more outlandish stuff, I'd guess that it's been marked up a fair amount, but not by much. RL marks up a lot in general, but they have good sales and their styling is sometimes top-notch.

Loro Piana is pricey, and mostly worth it far as I can tell, although it's aimed at a more affluent demographic than I can see myself joining anytime soon so that's a moot point.

As for Jay Kos, he's not too well-known or conservative, but I wouldn't call him trendy. "Eccentric," maybe. While Jay reminds me of a sartorial Willy Wonka, his clothes are pretty classically cut, colors and materials notwithstanding. That price seems appropriate for mink, too, which is going to be about that expensive any way you slice it.

Anyway....

On to the practical things. 

I love the look of the jacket in the first picture. You should go to a store and try it on, if at all possible.

It'll be warm and stylish, and I'm sure you'll get plenty of compliments.

The second one looks good as well, but it seems a little too short. The duffle coat may be best as a simpler, less luxurious design.

Orvis has one that is quite well-priced, and of a longer and more adequate length, as does L.L. Bean. Both have the added distinction of being anything but trendy.

-VF

Here's the Orvis one.

http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=3E41

To clarify, I think the navy shearling coat you posted is still the best option.

This was merely a suggestion of what I feel is a little more appropriate to spend on a duffle coat, as opposed to the price of that (admittedly very, very nice) Paul Stuart one, since they're intended as more of a day-to-day knockaround item.

Shearling is rarer and more luxurious, and so it makes more sense to buy that as your once in a decade purchase.

-VF