About May Globus
Vancouver City Editor May Globus is obsessed with the sartorial and all that surrounds it: art, design, culture, music and film. Oh, and she really likes writing about it, too. A left coast girl at heart, her Sweetspot finds just might show why the westside really is the best side.
Coat Crusades
the view from vancity Vancouver
(Sep.22.09)
There was a small, almost imperceptible change in the air that happened about a week and a half ago here in Vancity.
It slowly dialed down the temperature and slinked through the trees lining my street, turning green leaves into that deep orange hue signifying the end of summer. Patio furniture started finding new homes in the back of garages, and the big coffee chains began scrawling on their chalkboards the unofficially official hot beverage of fall: the pumpkin spice latte.
About a week and a half ago, the jean jacket that served me so well on chillier summer evenings no longer felt enough to salvage a little body heat, and it was then I knew I had to begin my annual crusade for a new fall coat, a search I divided into Luxe, Affordable and Cheap & Cheerful.
Luxe coat lovers need not look further than Holt Renfrew, which never fails to have high-end selection of Smythe, Mackage and Marc by Marc Jacobs coats. I fell in love with a Smythe cape-like black number with a single, antique metal hook closure, bell sleeves and extra-extra large hood (very Carine Roitfeld). The price was on the extra large side, too, registering at $525, but believe me, if you have the budget, do it. Eugene Choo on Main Street is also a good choice for very good quality. 
More affordable coats hang from the racks of stores like Spank, where you can find the brands like Only hovering around the $100 dollar mark. My jacket from last season, modeled off the men's tuxedo, was from here, meaning longer in the back, shorter in the front and lined with leather piping (looks like satin from afar). Lushuz in Kitsilano carries Europe's Vero Moda, a label that consistently puts out Stella McCartney-esque coats around this time, but make sure to get yours quick because they're often gone as soon as they come in.
Those on the hunt for cheap & cheerful should make way to H&M, the only sartorial emporium in (any) town that does a decent, fashion-forward coat for $80. The deduction here is simple -- the less you pay for your new coats, the more dinero you have to blow on accessories to go with it. At the place, at the same time, too.
It's time to fall back into those boots, jackets and scarves waiting in my wardrobe.