Pinstripe Coat | Alterations Needed

The Stella McCartney fall 2013 collection was brimming full of beautiful menswear pieces, my favorites of which were the dark pinstripes. A navy pinstripe coat in particular had me drooling, but that price tag was a bit steep, even on sale, for a coat without many petite friendly elements. Even with tailoring, I’d be swamped by it’s robe-like shape!

Happily, a few fast fashion brands recognized Stella’s genius, and made similar pieces with much easier to wear details. My favorite of these was this coat by Zara, with a small lapel, breast pocket, multiple inside pockets, and all over chalk-stripe pinstripes. I waited not so patiently for it to go on sale, and then took it to the tailor for some work.

I’m really happy with the way this coat turned out. Its classic shape and print will make it versatile for years to come, it fits in seamlessly with the rest of my closet, and marks the first topcoat in my wardrobe. Living in SoCal has let me get away without buying a lot of things that people in the rest of the country (or world, even) can’t live without. Anything rain, snow or cold related, namely. Some of my latest travels has left me wishing I had been more proactive on picking up these “just in case” pieces. This coat is just that. It’s light enough for SoCal winters, and while I’m sure those who’ve suffered through polar vortexes this winter would scoff at it’s cold-repelling abilities, it will give me something better to layer under than what I’ve been passing off as winter wear in the past.