I’ve been shopping for a winter coat for Princess. I’m lucky because Buddy’s coat from last year — an Xpedition 3 n 1 Jacket system from Walmart — still fits just fine. He really likes the way the system works too–it’s got an inner liner that can be worn as a light jacket on it’s own for fall or spring, an outer shell that can be worn as a windbreaker, or if you zip the two together a pretty warm winter coat. I like that I got 3 jackets for the price of one, that it still fits and that it’s stylish enough for him to want to wear it.
But back to Princess. I had been looking at coats and had pretty much decided what I wanted was a packable down coat. You see, Princess and Buddy have to walk to school every morning now that they are in the middle school/high school complex. It’s only a block, living in Upstate NY in the winter that can be a cold block to walk at 7:30 am. This morning it was 17 degrees. Brrr. So a warm coat is a must. Here is where the problem comes in.
Problem #1: Lockers.
The school has those skinny full length lockers for the kids–only about 6″ wide. Once Princess gets all her books, her bag, her lunch and assorted girl stuff (girls always seem to have a ton more stuff than boys) in there, there isn’t a lot of room for a coat. I figured a coat that could pack small would fit well, and that real down would keep her warm.
Problem #2: Growing.
Princess is still pretty darn petite for an 8th grader, although she’s grown a lot over the last year. Now I have no problem buying good quality items that can be used for a long time, but I was balking at spending $90-$160 dollars on a coat that might not even fit next year. I considered buying women’s medium and hoping it didn’t look too big and would fit for a while.
While all this was going on I had Walmart ask me as one of the Walmart Moms if I would share about their outerwear selection. I figured what the heck, I went on to Walmart.com and typed in “packable down”. . . and couldn’t believe it! Up popped Faded Glory Women’s Packable Down Coat. The best part? It was $39! It comes in black, pink and navy blue. I ordered a women’s small for Princess and had it shipped to the house.
This is a very thin jacket, but it has real down in it–according to the tag it’s 80% down and 20% feathers. Down is renowned for being able to retain heat. It has a slender profile and princess seaming that keeps the jacket trim to the body. It has a hood, which is good for the girl that seems to always forget her hat. It also packs down into a small included bag (I’d prefer it packing into it’s own pocket like some others I’ve seen–I just know we’ll lose the bag). Princess tried it out by wearing it to the ice rink for her skating lesson. She liked how it looked and said it kept her warm.
She’s been wearing the jacket to school as well, and it squishes into her locker no problem. Now I’ll admit–this isn’t a jacket you’d wear to go skiing. It isn’t thick enough (even if it is down, it’s a relatively thin layer of down). I wouldn’t be hanging out in sub freezing weather with it for long periods of time–but she’ll be just find for her walk to school, for activities with exertion (like shoveling the walks & deck) and for running around town when we are jumping in and out of a heated car and heated buildings.
I’m extremely pleased that I was able to get exactly what I wanted at Walmart, and at such a great price too!
So if you are looking for a coat for anyone from toddlers up through the man of the house–make sure you check out the selection at Walmart. And don’t forget, if you don’t see it in store you should check online as well.
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