Yesterday in the Toronto Star, Heather Mallick wrote a hysterical opinion piece "Why Canadians Opt for the Same Grim Black Coat Every Winter." I saw myself in this article wearing my black puffer jacket that I picked up second hand as a car coat. Because. Wait for it. It's easy to throw in the wash. And a lot easier than trying to keep the car clean in the slushy wintery weather. Am I at risk of being labelled a Canadian stereotype? Only my sewing skills could save me from such a fate.
I wore a colourful coat last winter and will continue to do so again. I would go full out colour me happy as a bubble-bee yellow if I could only find some yellow coating fabric that wasn't polyester. There has been a blue winter coat once gifted that crossed over my worktable.
Oh and the not to be missed and oh so not practical for Canadian winters but oh so chic. The red cape that I put so much work into but sadly hardly have an opportunity to wear.
I'll admit that there are times that I blend in with the "black Canada Goose parkas and endless puffer jacket" wearing crowd. I'm just glad that sewing gives me an opportunity to break from the crowd. How about you? Will you be sewing black winterwear or is it colour all the way?
Happy Sewing!
Grey puffy coat here, and a black long wool coat for dress occasions. One needs to keep warm in our cold, dreary winters.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Interesting. I avoid black coats because they show every speck of lint, salty slush and dust. I also avoid owning black cars for the same reason, except the lint part. My winter wear has been a self-made burgundy polar fleece coat and RTW grey fleece jackets. There's a piece of tiger pattern fake fur in the stash. I keep waffling between "orange is not my color so get rid of it", and "no on else would have a jacket or coat like it especially at my age sew it up".
ReplyDeleteI recognize myself in the article even though I live in what some people might consider a semi warm climate. A black raincoat with zip out liner for wet and mildly cold days. A black puffer for really cold days. Thanks for the inspiration from your bright outerwear to sew up the crayon colored coating in my fabric stash.
ReplyDeleteI read this too -- I know the orange coated journalist mentioned in the piece so this really made me laugh! I do have a long black puffer coat for the freezing days (a hand-me-down from my sister who no longer needs it as she's currently living in Singapore!) But mostly I wear my purple wool coat or slightly lighter speckled black and white one. If the weather is mild enough I can even throw on my blue toned houndstooth coat! I love colour :)
ReplyDeleteAs your neighbor to the south, I concur! LOL!!!! I did buy an olive coat winter before last...but my C O A T is a black down number. I also have wool coats in charcoal grey and navy. Those are for the mild days of 35-40. Not winter, winter.
ReplyDeleteI have two cuts of black/white patterened coating that I've been wanting to sew up. Maybe this year one of them will become a slightly more chic winter number.
I made a raspberry colored wool car coat last year and love it. But have the dark navy blue wool on hand for a longer coat.
ReplyDelete