Some of our favorite classic coats for work as of 2024 include: olive / blue / green / caramel / black / gray (not pictured but also) – and don't forget to check out our editors' favorite washable winter coats!

Sure, we all know what basics professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you're buying one for the first time or replacing one you've worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.

Readers, which are your favorite coats for work outfits? Do you prefer wool — or down? (We've JUST done a roundup of machine washable coats over at CorporetteMoms, so check that out if that's your jam…)

It may seem a bit silly to talk about stylish coats for work — after all, when it's freezing, nasty, and disgusting outside, being warm and dry are the primary considerations.

But it isn't blizzarding every day in the winter, and I still think a wool coat looks more polished — even if you're just throwing it on over your work-from-home clothes to run errands.

Shop for a winter coat that covers your thighs (for warmth, as well as the most versatility — nothing looks quite so silly as a peacoat and skirt), and be sure to size up if you need to to accommodate a sweater or blazer underneath your coat.

(Other great layers: silk turtlenecks and long johns can add serious warmth without bulk, and there are so many puffer/fleece vests that I'm kind of tempted to try them under my winter coat on really cold days.)

I've always considered a wool/cashmere blend to be the best (the cashmere makes it warm; the wool makes it durable), but I've also heard great things about alpaca's warmth; these days you can find technical enhancements to wool or find wool lined with Thinsulate, like some J.Crew and L.L.Bean coats.

What are your favorite coats for work? How many do you have; which ones do you think are the most polished, which are the warmest, and so forth? Have you recently bought any coats for work you love? 

Admin Note: Please note that we're trying a new thing where we're updating older Hunts with entirely new content (there are SEO benefits). At the moment we're keeping the older comments instead of deleting them all; let us know your thoughts!

Some Recent Picks for Great Wool Coats for Work

Some of our favorite classic coats for work as of 2024 include: olive / blue / green / caramel / black / gray (not pictured but also) – and don't forget to check out our editors' favorite washable winter coats!

Great Plus-Size Coats for Work

Trendier Coats for Work

There are a ton of fun trendy winter coats for work at Nordstrom this year – these are our favorites!

Great Washable Winter Coats

Some Particular Favorite Coats for Work Outfits

The Reader Favorite Coat: Eddie Bauer's Girl on the Go

This reader-favorite coat from Eddie Bauer is technically more of a raincoat, but it does come in an insulated version for just a bit more. It's also one of our top picks for machine washable coats. It's available in regular, petite, plus, and tall sizes, and regularly goes on sale for 35% off (or more).

The Super Popular Coat for Work: J.Crew

J.Crew's coats are always super popular — and if your favorite style goes out of stock don't forget about J.Crew Factory, which often carries more styles from the archives at a discounted price. We've pictured the “City Coat” in a red — it's $238 new and comes in a ton of great colors

An Affordable Favorite Coat for Work: Sam Edelman

Another great coat in the $240 range is Sam Edelman's super popular wool coats. There are slightly different variations with buttons and details every year, but it remains a bestseller. You can find it in regular and plus sizes at Nordstrom — and don't forget to check Nordstrom Rack for bargains.

The Best Stylish Coat for Work: Ted Baker

If you're hunting for an amazing, stylish, warm coat for work, definitely take a look at Ted Baker — the above style is pretty much a classic at this point, although the name may change.

The coat only comes in sizes 0–10, but if those sizes work for you there are a ton of great reviews at Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, and Ted Baker, particularly singing the praises of the floral lining and the magnetic detail at the wrap top to keep the coat closed.

Other really stylish coat brands to look at in this $400–$700 range: Boden, Reiss, Soia & Kyo, and Dawn Levy.

The Best Cashmere Coat for Work: Fleurette

If you're looking for a really quality cashmere-blend coat, I have two brands to recommend: Fleurette and Cinzia Rocca. Both are generally under $1,000 (so, less than the designer brands) but are really established, quality brands — and you can sometimes find them for around $600. (Cinzia Rocca used to have a plus-size option called Cinzia Rocca Due, if memory serves; you may still find that on some sale sites.)

Readers, which are your favorite brands and styles for coats for work? Do you prefer wool, down, or other options?

Like this feature? Check out other recent installments!

The post The Hunt: Coats for Work appeared first on Corporette.com.

Sure, we all know what wardrobe essentials for work professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.

Plaid shirt jackets (“shackets”) are really popular right now… with retailers at least. Here's my take: I want an amazing coat this season. Whether I'm in work clothes or, um, leggings, I don't want to look like I borrowed my lumberjack boyfriend's coat — I want to look polished and as glamorous as possible. (And warm. Warm is good.)

I thought I'd take around and see what's on the market right now… I was particularly interested in bold colors and fun patterns (leopard and plaid are huge trends for all kinds of coats this year!). (We've also rounded up some of our more classic winter coats for women if you're looking for something a bit more sedate.)

Readers, what kind of winter coat do you want this season? Which, if any, of these statement coats are calling your name?

This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

{related: the best winter coats to wear on your commute}

Classic Style Winter Coats for Women

Some of our favorite classic coats include: olive / blue / green / caramel / black / gray (not pictured but also)

Classic Winter Coats for Women in Plus Sizes

Statement Winter Coats for 2021

The faux fur/sherpa/teddy coat has been around for a while and it continues to go strong this year. This coat from Halogen is super soft and only $51-$71 (score!). (If you want to see an upmarket version of this here's a $4000 Armani alpaca wool coat.) Come to think of it both the high and low versions feel like they'd be a bit at home on Gwen Stefani circa 1999… which I'm kind of ok with.

Sam Edelman always has best-selling winter coats — they're affordable but crazy soft. I was in store at Nordstrom recently and was drawn to this one (even though I'm still deciding whether leopard prints align with my personal style at this point in time). It's crazy soft and is marked down to $129.

While hunting around I thought it was interesting to see that J.Crew Factory now has the “City Coat” in a variety of bright, bold colors (it's $238 new, but marked to $159 today) — I think this was previously a reader favorite at J.Crew, although I'm blanking on the name. It's available in sizes 00-24 in regular sizes, as well as petite sizes 00-12.

I don't think I've ever gotten a coat at Express, but this “strong shoulder chevron wedge coat” looks fabulous — I love the really bold pattern, as well as the way it looks both open and closed. (They've styled it onsite with a belt to keep it closed, but I don't believe it has any buttons or snaps of its own.) It's $198, available in sizes XXS-XL.

I know, I said I did not want plaid… and I never thought I'd like a patchwork of lots of plaid. But something about this coat from Avec Les Filles just works. In person, the blues are bluer, the browns are grayer, and the plaids and stripes are a bit more prominent. Styled differently (like with a simple black outfit, either for work or working out) I actually think it would look a lot more lux than it's styled here. It's $199 at Nordstrom, available in sizes XXS-XXL.

(This powder pink/lavender puffer coat from Avec Les Filles also caught my eye in person — again, not my usual style but it was lovely in person.)

Ooooh… I can't decide which I like better at Boden: the floral embroidered coat above or this amazing paisley velvet number that looks vintage. (This chain link puffer coat is also kind of amazing.) Ultimately I think it's the embroidery details on the pictured coat that sell it for me — SO unusual. It's $420 and available in sizes 2-22.

Like this feature? Check out other recent installments!

The post The Hunt: Statement Winter Coats appeared first on Corporette.com.

We recently rounded up statement jackets for winter — fun, colorful, bold jackets — and I was intrigued to see this comment from an interviewer in a snowy climate, basically noting that many new graduates are wearing FAR too casual a coat over their suit for winter interviews. Here's her comment on interview coats for women:

So wonderful to see no puffer coats. They appear on so many fashion blogs (by people who only work from home!) as the only coat a woman needs. More than once when I’ve been interviewing candidates for a junior position, the candidate has arrived in a puffer coat that I know from the branding cost her well over $1k (so it’s not a cost issue for a new graduate.)

But several colleagues (male and female) have joked about [their] collegiate or excessively casual appearance — which is surely not what these women intend to convey. The same comments are made about male candidates in parkas.

Of course, if there is a blizzard going on, all bets are off. . . . [E]veryone needs a basic cloth coat — for interviews, for formal meetings outside the office, funerals, evening occasions.

I don't disagree — the puffer coat has come a long way in the past 10 years; my earliest association with it was the frumpy writer played by Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone. (Highly recommend if you haven't seen it; it's a classic rom com!) These days you can easily spend serious $$$$ on a puffer coat, but it still doesn't make it appropriate for interviews.

As we've noted before, in general your interview attire should be pretty bland — you want to keep the focus on your resume and not your fashion sense. (I've even argued that signs of ostentatious wealth are a bad thing for careers in which you are representing someone other than yourself, especially lawyers who may be in front of a jury.)

{related: check out our entire Guide to Women's Interview Attire!}

As I've also noted before, you should definitely make sure a suit blazer fits beneath your winter coat, which means you may want to size up a size (or three). Another good tip is that your coat should be longer than hip-length if you're wearing it with skirts or dresses… Look for something at least finger-tip length or longer.

{related: how to dress professionally on the coldest days}

This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

Classic Interview Coats for Women

Some of our favorite interview coats for women in classic styles include these styles and brands:

Some of our favorite classic coats for work as of 2024 include: olive / blue / green / caramel / black / gray (not pictured but also) – and don't forget to check out our editors' favorite washable winter coats!

{related: what to wear to work when it's cold outside}

Plus Sizes: The Best Coats to Wear Over a Suit in Winter

Hunting for plus-size coats for a winter interview? These are some of our favorites:

Readers, how about you — what are your thoughts on the best coats to wear over a suit in winter? What do you think of when you think of “interview coats for women”?

{related: how to do business casual in cold weather}

Stock photo via Deposit Photos / arkusha.

The post Interview Coats for Women: The Best Coats to Wear Over a Suit in Winter appeared first on Corporette.com.

Some of our favorite classic coats for work as of 2024 include: olive / blue / green / caramel / black / gray (not pictured but also) – and don't forget to check out our editors' favorite washable winter coats!

Sure, we all know what wardrobe essentials for work professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.

Are you on the hunt for a new winter coat to wear on your commute to work? There are a TON of great options — and some crazy sales happening right now — so I thought we'd do a roundup.

I've always advised here that wool coats are the more formal option and, in my humble opinion, often “look better” with conservative work attire — but I'll be the first to note that down coats and puffer jackets have come a LONG way, and there are a ton of stylish options out there right now.

(I know I've seen readers singing the praises of this particular coat.) Ladies, what do you look for in a winter coat — what are the most important qualities to you? Washability? Pockets? Hood? Warmth? Comfort? Do tell..

This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

Some Recent Picks for Winter Coats To Wear On Your Commute

Some of our favorite classic coats for work as of 2024 include: olive / blue / green / caramel / black / gray (not pictured but also) – and don't forget to check out our editors' favorite washable winter coats!

Hunting for great winter coats in plus sizes? These are some of our latest favorites:

There are a ton of fun trendy winter coats for work at Nordstrom this year – these are our favorites!

Readers, which are your favorite winter coats? Are you on Team Wool or Team Down? Have you bought any great ones recently? 

Like this feature? Check out other recent installments! 

This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

The post The Best Winter Coats to Wear On Your Commute appeared first on Corporette.com.

How can you find a great winter coat, or know when it's time to invest in great winter coats in general?

Reader M asked us to “share some guidance and advice…”

{related: the best winter coats to wear on your commute}

UPDATE: Some Recent Picks for Great Winter Coats

Some of our favorite classic coats for work as of 2024 include: olive / blue / green / caramel / black / gray (not pictured but also) – and don't forget to check out our editors' favorite washable winter coats!

Hunting for great winter coats in plus sizes? These are some of our latest favorites:

There are a ton of fun trendy winter coats for work at Nordstrom this year – these are our favorites!

Our Latest Favorite Washable Winter Coats

Hunting for a washable winter coat? These are some of our favorites:

Pictured above: favorite washable winter coats as of Oct. 2022! Note that any faux fur hoods should be removed before washing. gray* / purple* / gray / black* / green (* = available in plus and regular sizes)

How to Buy a Great Winter Coat

I'm curious to hear what the readers say here, because despite a lot of poking around online, I haven't found a lot of other articles talking about this. Here's what I know:

Go for a blend. I read somewhere once that a wool/cashmere blend is better than a 100% cashmere coat — after looking at this Ask Men article it looks like it may be because cashmere is such a delicate fabric, which makes sense.

Know what level of warm you want. I'm still largely against down for the office, but at this point I think that's my own issue, perhaps caused by memories of Kathleen Turner's puffer coat in Romancing the Stone — the look is hugely popular. Land's End notes that down is technically the warmest insulator.

Block the wind. As someone who went to college on Lake Michigan (where they sent around a shuttle for us to get to class when it hit 20 below with the windchill), the wind is often what gets you more than the “cold” — and underlayers (such as silk long johns) can be almost more important than the coat itself.

Psst: these are some of our favorite long underwear; note that almost all of these brands also come in tops. (Long underwear is also great if you've got unlined suit pants.)

Wear a hat. I don't care if it's a medical myth that 80% of your body heat escapes through your head — I still recommend wearing a hat when it gets cold outside.

Protect your hands. I'm a total wimp, but I wear gloves the second it's vaguely acceptable — when I go for a run or a walk I'll often be in a t-shirt and gloves. Yes it looks dumb, but I hate hangnails, raggedy cuticles, and other dry-winter-hand problems.

Decide where you want your coat to hit. I've always been a fan of a knee-length coat both for warmth as well as the way it looks with skirts. In terms of style, as the WSJ advises, bear in mind where most of your skirts and pants hit you.

Size UP for layers like blazers and bulky sweaters. I have made the argument that a winter coat should be big enough to fit a suit blazer (or very thick sweater) beneath, comfortably. (So watch out in July when you find that amazing coat that fits you like a glove… with bare arms.)

{related: interview coats: the best coats to wear over a suit in winter}

View your coat as an investment. Finally, for my $.02, consider your coat an investment, and spend accordingly — I'd rather have one $800 coat that lasts me five years, rather than eight $100 coats that last me a year each.

(PARTICULARLY considering that it's not uncommon, at all, to find $1000 Cinzia Rocca coats or $800+ Brooks Brothers coats on great sales, bringing prices down to $250 or less (at BB, there was one around this time last year, and I'm stalking the website again.) 

This view is also formed by NYC practicalities, where closet space is limited so it doesn't make SENSE to have eight winter coats.

{related: what to wear to work when it's cold outside}

I'm curious, though, readers — what rules of thumb do you follow when you're hunting for a new winter coat? How long do you expect a winter coat to last? What is your ideal style of coat, if you could only buy one?

Psst: these are some of our favorite shoes for inclement weather for your commute…

Hunting for weatherproof shoes for work? As of 2024, these are some of our favorites — also check out waterproof sneakers like Allbirds, and Tory Burch's rain loafers.

As of 2024, these are some of our latest favorite weatherproof knee-high boots for work…

Social media pictures via Stencil.

The post How to Buy a Great Winter Coat appeared first on Corporette.com.

Alas, I think I've waited too long to do my Hunt for winter coats, as there are only lucky sizes left for everything I like. So instead, let's have a discussion about three things:

• where would you go if you're looking for an AFFORDABLE BUT DEPENDABLY WARM COAT?
• where would you go if you were looking for a STATEMENT COAT (that's slightly affordable)?
• where would you go if you were buying an INVESTMENT COAT?

{related: the best winter coats to wear on your commute}

Some Recent Picks From Our Favorite Stores for Classic Winter Coats for Work

Some of our favorite classic coats for work as of 2024 include: olive / blue / green / caramel / black / gray (not pictured but also) – and don't forget to check out our editors' favorite washable winter coats!

Hunting for great winter coats in plus sizes? These are some of our latest favorites:

My Favorite Stores for Winter Coats for Work

My answers would be these — but I'm really curious what you guys would say. (For those of you who have loved J.Crew coats in the past, would you still put them in the first category?)

• Dependably Warm Coats in a Wide Size Range: Lands' End, LL Bean, Talbots, Eddie Bauer, Uniqlo
• Statement Coats: thrift stores/your grandmother's closet, Mackage, The Outnet, Yoox, ASOS, Reiss
• Investment Coats: Burberry, Mackage (or their more affordable line, Soia & Kyo), Fleurette, Cinzia Rocca, Patagonia

As far as statement coats go, I never got a ton of wear out of it but I was pretty thrilled to find a fake fur coat for $10 at a random thrift store in Evanston, IL during my college years — it's probably still hanging in my parents' basement. I also still regret losing my grandmother's blue tweed coat — I'm still hopeful I'll find it one day.

Finally: it wasn't a winter coat, but rather a lighterweight jacket that was a gray check lined with a red satin that I bought on a trip to Germany one summer when I only packed summer clothes, somehow forgetting that 70 degrees is jacket weather, at least for someone who's always freezing like me. It was bought during my skinnier years, and it's one of those things I stubbornly hang onto, even though I haven't fit into it in years.

How about you — where are your favorite places to go for winter coats? Have you bought any great coats recently (regale us with your sale stories, ladies!)! Have you ever had a statement coat that you were super happy to have? 

More Great Winter Coats for Work

There are a ton of fun trendy winter coats for work at Nordstrom this year – these are our favorites!

Psst: we've also talked in the past about what to look for in a great winter coat, and rounded up washable winter coats over on our blog for working moms.

2021 updated images via Deposit Photos / fotototo.

The post What Are Your Favorite Stores for Winter Coats? appeared first on Corporette.com.