How much would you pay for a coat?

It depends on a whole host of things, but I reckon I could go mad and spend £25, at a push.

Actually, I did once spend £50 on a coat, but I loved it, and I had it for many a happy year until I ate my way out of it.

Lathyrus3

I paid that (and a bit more) for a down coat from Iceland, where the down is gathered from the eider nests after the chicks have flown.

I wanted down because I was going to spend months in a place where -20C was the norm and manmade fibres are just not as warm as down.

I thought it was worth it because of the known cruelty of plucking. It’s still good many years later, though mostly a bit to warm for the UK.

I understand this. We went to NYC in early Feb a good few years ago, was cold by their standards, the Hudson froze. Luckily I had bought a second hand down quilted full length coat, my DH thought he would be ok in a wool coat, he wasn’t, so a family member in NYC loaned him a down jacket, temps then went down to -20. Have never experienced a cold like it. I wore my Pyjama bottoms under my thick winter trousers and three pairs of socks the whole time.

No I would not spend £400 on a coat or any single item of clothing or accessories be that shoes or a handbag. I recently bought a lovely wool mix coat on eBay for £25. So if I give myself a budget of £400 I still have £375 left to spend. I can have a great time on eBay with that. Job done!

I buy clothes very rarely, maybe one or two items a year, but I am willing to pay for quality and the things I have really last because they are good quality and I look after them. I don’t have many coats and it’s upwards of ten years since I bought one because I haven’t needed to. I couldn’t care less about being seen wearing the same thing time and again because I know it’s of good quality and that always shows.

Boden , not Biden 🙂

Last 2 coats I purchased were winter ones when they were in the sale at the end of the season.
A hooded padded, showerproof Biden coat £75 , half the full price
and a Wallis smart wool funnel neck coat £90 , down from £130.
Very happy with both.

I could afford £400 for a coat ....think the most I've paid was for a barbour ....maybe the equivalent of 200 quid in today's money....my last coat was 70 from zara

I usually buy clothes from Asda or Tesco but last year bought a coat from Evans, at £65. I couldn't afford to pay a lot.

My Seasalt coat, now 3 yrs old and will last for ever, warm, pretty, fully waterproof, not heavy. It was actually a gift but now I have one I would save for it. Nice to know UK made too.

Vice versa I am with you. I needed a longer coat I could zip up l with a hood and have just bought the perfect coat from primark £22.
Can’t imagine spending £hundreds on a coat.

TerriBull

I did pay more than I usually do for a coat from Hobbs last year, it was in the sale, down about £100, it was still about £260. Then my husband stepped in and said "I'll buy it for your birthday" which is in the winter, I said "you don't have to" but he insisted and well I didn't want to start an argument so I gave in Normally I don't spend that much on a coat though.

If your DH is anything like mine ( I too have a winter birthday), he was probably delighted that he didn't have to rack his brains thinking about what to buy you!

I'm self-confessed cheap and cheerful here. My current coat cost me about £20 (maybe £25) from George at Asda and I've had it for several years now. Cannot justify spending a lot of money on myself, so most of my clothes are years old and didn't cost much to begin with. If I do need new things, they tend to be from supermarket ranges or Primark.

Dottydots

No way could I afford to buy a coat for £400 but good luck to those who can.

I am lucky enough to be able to afford nice things but would never spend that much! Why would I when there are plenty of lovely coats about that are much cheaper.
I once had a discussion with a friend who was a whizz at getting a bargain. She used to buy ‘designer items’ which were fake and much cheaper. I asked her if she minded that people might realise she wasn’t wearing the real thing. Her thoughts were that most people wouldn’t know this unless they could afford the designer item themselves. I have never understood the need for designer clothes/bags etc but some people love them. Snobbery, I suppose?

£300 if I'm my proper weight (ie label size 12) - and coat I'm currently wearing was £60 (reduced from around £100) because I'm currently label size 16 and it's not worth wasting money on decent clothes for myself if I'm overweight imo.

It is a complicated question. I always like to have one smart good quality wool coat in my wardrobe. My preferred colour is dark grey. I cannot wear black, it kills me.

About 10 years ago I spent two winters trying to find one in the shops before finally resorting to ebay and buying jacques Vert coat for £55.

Towards the end of last winter, after 10 years wear the coat sort of died on me and went all shapeless, so at the beginning of this winter I started to look again and quite simply, if I want a coat comparable with my Jacques Vert coat, even if I buy it from M&S, I will get little or no change from £200. Most 100% wool coats cost upwards of £200. This time, despite searching I can find nothing to meet my specification on ebay or vinted.

The cause, quite simply, is inflation. The price of food, fuel and all the basics of life have nearly doubled sice COVID and it applies to good quality clothes as well.

My purchase in the end was quite by chance. I was in River Island with daughter when she was clothes shopping when she drew my attention to a long military style coat in a very dark olive green, not a style I had had in mind. The coat is only 30% wool and I have had to replace the buttons because the buttons on the coat were so cheap and nasty, as well as turn it up, I am only5ft 2in., but it still cost me £110 and I am really still not convinced of its longevity. I doubt it will last a decade like my Jacques Vert coat, I feel that in about three years I will be in the market again for a decent coat.

I haven't had a 'proper' winter coat for years, just short jackets.

This year I thought I might treat myself to one in the sales and was prepared to pay £150 for the right one.

I still haven't found one!

So, it is my lovely warm charity shop jacket I bought for £5!

I have a long House of Fraser charcoal grey wool coat, about 30 years old, rarely worn, a knee length black woollen coat about 10 yrs old, both as new, maybe 6 anorak type coats of varying age, weight and rainproofness, a very long thin navy coat 25 years old only worn at two spring funerals, a 5 year old Cotton Traders long coat with hood which I live in, and now the latest, the first proper coat for many years, that’s number 11.
In between I had one which I gave to charity when it was appealing for warm coats.

I will pay good money for things I know will last and I look after all my belongings well.

I paid £300 for some wellingtons, that will “see my out!
I spend a lot of time in my Wellingtons.
My last pair cost £120 ish 20 years ago lasted well, I sold them on EBay for £35 so they were a good investment.

My coat I use for hiking was in a charity shop for £4, it would have cost me £150 new.

My smart coat is a wool camel coat that will never date and cost around £100 in a sale.

I have Fitflop sandals that are 10 years old.

I’m a coat lover, but I don’t think I’d pay £400 now, because I can never find one that I love long term. My current unstylish favourite is a M&S fur lined wax type jacket, which is waterproof, wind proof and just so warm and practical it beats all previous coats, and it can be wiped if it gets mud on it from the dog. From memory I think it cost £85. I’ve got a nice Jaeger wool coat I bought about 20 years ago, very smart - but do I wear it now? No, I’ve got a Joules wool jacket from about 10 years ago that I prefer, but that doesn’t get worn that often either, because I don’t like driving in it. We should have another thread about how many coats do you have, I’d probably be up amongst the leaders there I suspect.

I hardly wear coats at all these days, but in 1989, I bought a trench coat/mac. It’s a well known brand and still going strong, if a little snug!
Just short of £2K now, but i felt it was a good buy at the time.

Lathyrus3

I paid that (and a bit more) for a down coat from Iceland, where the down is gathered from the eider nests after the chicks have flown.

I wanted down because I was going to spend months in a place where -20C was the norm and manmade fibres are just not as warm as down.

I thought it was worth it because of the known cruelty of plucking. It’s still good many years later, though mostly a bit to warm for the UK.

I was pleased to see you mention live plucking Lathyrus. It’s the reason why I don’t buy any down products.

One of the warmest coats I’ve ever bought was in a Primark sale. It’s a Parka very lovely warm fleece lining and the hood. It was £26 about four years ago…
From a charity shop, I a bought a really nice Per Una black coat..£10
I have a couple of jackets from Marks & Spencer‘s and a couple of raincoats…. Nothing has ever cost me more than £60..
Just remembered I have another nice coat up in the wardrobe need to lose a few pounds to get into it but that was also £10 from a charity shop…

I did pay more than I usually do for a coat from Hobbs last year, it was in the sale, down about £100, it was still about £260. Then my husband stepped in and said "I'll buy it for your birthday" which is in the winter, I said "you don't have to" but he insisted and well I didn't want to start an argument so I gave in Normally I don't spend that much on a coat though.

I think that it's a lot of money .
If it's fantastic quality and will last for years I suppose that the cost can be justified .
My warmest traditional coat is over 40 years old and perhaps out of style.
I like it because it's so cosy to wear .
Otherwise , I'm wearing a coat ,which I bought for my mother . Hooded and waterproof I can wear lots of layers underneath .
It's interesting how we budget our money I visit two very elderly ladies who live in bungalows nearby .
One spends money on her house -new kitchen and extension and now a new shower room .
Her huge garden has a regularly cut lawn , but needs replanting .
She's never been interested in clothes , make up nor hairstyles .
The other lady buys very expensive clothes and spends a great deal of money on her garden . She has a gardener to help her .
I think that her kitchen is stuck in a time warp .
It's awful.
And her bathroom doesn't address her needs .

If I really loved the coat I would buy it . I've always put family first in the past and bought them
lovely clothes and cheap for myself but I'm at the age now where you know you can't take it with you
So if I really love something I buy it if I've can afford it .