Gloverall Classic Duffle Coat (For Women)

Feels true to size

Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

THis is my second post... I bought this coat a year ago, and reviewed it in the early fall, because I'd had some experience already with the line -- I was constantly borrowing my husband's Gloverall (to walk the dog in lousy weather) before I bought one for myself. After an unusually long northeast winter, I'm giving this coat one more star and I'd like to answer some of the comments made by other reviewers -- particularly the lady from Arkansas who thought she'd freeze if she wore the coat on a trip to NYC, because it appears to be without a lining. (It's double-faced wool, but people aren't used to seeing this anymore, and may not know its merit.) I split my time between Cooperstown NY and Manhattan. In Cooperstown, the temperature hovers between ten and 20-degrees F, from January through March. I wear this coat, on its own, beginning late October. It's cut big, as other reviewers have noted, so that you can layer, as the temperature plunges. This coat has seen me all the way through the worst of Cooperstown weather, with its bitter winds and icy cold. True, there is no inner zipper, when the toggles are buttoned, I am snug as can be. In fact, with mild exercise in freezing weather ( I'm talking about walking the dog)I loosen my scarf and open the top toggle. It's that warm. I also wear the coat commuting. It's cut just right, for sliding in and out of seats. On the minus side -- it's not waterproof, but you don't buy this coat to wear in a downpour. Anybody who lives in a rugged climate has a wardrobe of outerwear for different weather conditions, you can't expect one coat to do everything. That said, the tight woolen weave is excellent at shedding moisture and snowfall ... more than once, I've been caught in the rain, or heavy snow, wearing this coat, and it performed to expectations. I was dry, and the coat was no worse for the wear. So for people without experience of classic duffel-coat construction, yeah, you're right -- out of the bag, the coat looks like it won't work. But try it, live with it. There's a reason the British have been making these in exactly the same way for over a hundred years. I wish I could think of an excuse to buy another, in a different color, but there's no need. My mint green beauty will never wear out.