In the Dead of Winter: THE BEST COAT EVER!

If I got a dollar every time I complained about how crappy Minnesota's winters are, I would be so rich that I wouldn't have to worry about things like not having health insurance! As that is not the case, the best way to get over the winter blues, I have found, is through, of course, FASHION!*

Thankfully, thrifting provides a myriad of opportunities to spice up your boring winter wardrobe, as well as allowing for the purchase of quality, necessary items to make it through the season, like Sorel boots and huge down chopper mittens (both of which I have found thrifting for approximately 10% of what they would cost new). On the more fashionable scale, I have curated quite a collection of coats throughout my years of thrifting, all of which allow for the occasional "coat mix-up" that is so very necessary in the dead of winter. While the Onion joked last week that it was "cold enough for the ugly coat," I've been forcing myself to wear different coats, especially the new Icelandic wool coat I found at Savers a couple weeks ago.**

My collection, however, doesn't stop there: I have faux fur coats (which you have seen here, here and here), classy trench style coats (stay tuned for some of these in springtime fashions), smaller fall/spring coats, vintage coats, capes and sweater coats. The ultimate coat, however, cannot be confined to any of these categories, and to this day, may just be the best thing I have ever found thrifting. Ever.





The oversized hood wool Navajo(ish) print tie coat!

Every time I look at this coat I get jealous of myself. The only downfalls are the fact that it is best to utilize a hat pin to keep the top from flapping open too much (a must for the super chilly days) and that the shoulder pads embedded in the lining are a bit extreme. But then again, when you have a coat like this, I say go extreme or go home!

The beauty of it is that, like my accidental stumble into the first day of the Halloween Bootique at Value Village this fall, I found this baby on the first day Value Village put out their winter wares last year. It was a major thrifting freak out moment—not only was the coat in excellent condition with an amazing print/color combination, I had never seen anything like it and it was ONLY $15!!!!!!!!! This coat exemplifies two of the greatest things about thrifting—affordability and uniqueness.

Needless to say, it is pieces like this that make it all worth it!

*See also: drinking adult beverages, watching Twin Peaks, big fluffy snowflakes, walking to bars in snowstorms, fires (intentional and inside), cheese curds, being excited for spring and snowshoeing.
** Another "best thing about thrifting?" When you buy a piece that unexpectedly ends up being a constant "go-to."