It takes a long time for trends to grow on me. I started wearing skinny jeans a good two years after they became popular, and it took me even longer to jump onto the leggings bandwagon. I don't think parkas are quite on par with skinny jeans and leggings in terms of being a lasting and widespread trend, but I've been seeing them in stores for a few years. There are other jacket styles (a trench coat, a leather jacket) that I've actually talked about on this blog as potential additions to my wardrobe, but recently, I've also spent my time browsing for parkas. They appeal to me because I've been leaning towards a very casual vibe with my weekend clothes.
Because parkas are so casual and not intended to be particularly fitted, I would only want to buy one at a lower, more fast-fashion price point. Especially with other jackets I want and the coats that I already own, a parka is not something that would see particularly frequent use in my wardrobe. There's still a good chance that I might try on a few more styles and eventually decide that I just wouldn't wear a parka enough.
I started at H&M because they typically have a wide range of parkas and other coat designs. I even had decent luck with H&M coats back when I was a student, generally getting a good two to three years of semi-frequent wear out of H&M's peacoats. The first problem there was that I didn't see anything in my size, and after comparing them to the styles at Uniqlo, I decided that the Uniqlo ones felt a bit higher-quality and for a price range that was workable for me, especially at the current online and in-store promotional price of $99.90, off from $129.90. Behind the cut, I have fitting room photos and impressions of one of Uniqlo's Military Jacket parkas.
Because this is a rather baggy style and also has a detachable faux shearling lining which I left attached while trying it on, the coat looks rather bulky and fits similarly in both the medium and small. Above is the medium. On me, it is a tiny bit longer and the chest a little roomier than the small, but I otherwise found both to fit rather similarly. From the pictures, it does seem like the medium has a noticeable amount of additional room in the back, but some of that contrast is from the different way I'm holding my arm and angling myself towards the mirror. Both sizes are a bit roomy in the back.
There is a drawstring at the waist and the pulls are inside the coat, but I didn't adjust the drawstrings while trying it on. I'm much more satisfied with the quality on this than with the ones available at H&M.
Here is the small. I was wearing a tunic-length top and the hem of it would sometimes peek out of the small, but not the medium. Because I'm a bit busty, the chest is also right on the edge of being snug. I think I still have a tiny bit of room in the chest with the small when the faux shearing liner is attached, but that makes it a lot closer to being tight in the chest than I'm used to with other jackets and coats.
I ended up grabbing the small at the store, though I'm fairly certain now that it's not the right size and might not even be the correct style for me. The small is too snug in the chest, though I also find the medium a bit too boxy. Uniqlo also has another longer women's Military Jacket parka without chest pockets that I'm interested in trying before I make a decision, though it wasn't in stock at the store yet. I'm ordering that to try on as well, with the bonus of an additional online-only promotion for $15 off orders of $100 or more with the code Fall15 on top of the price being discounted to $99.90.
Because parkas are so casual and not intended to be particularly fitted, I would only want to buy one at a lower, more fast-fashion price point. Especially with other jackets I want and the coats that I already own, a parka is not something that would see particularly frequent use in my wardrobe. There's still a good chance that I might try on a few more styles and eventually decide that I just wouldn't wear a parka enough.
I started at H&M because they typically have a wide range of parkas and other coat designs. I even had decent luck with H&M coats back when I was a student, generally getting a good two to three years of semi-frequent wear out of H&M's peacoats. The first problem there was that I didn't see anything in my size, and after comparing them to the styles at Uniqlo, I decided that the Uniqlo ones felt a bit higher-quality and for a price range that was workable for me, especially at the current online and in-store promotional price of $99.90, off from $129.90. Behind the cut, I have fitting room photos and impressions of one of Uniqlo's Military Jacket parkas.
Because this is a rather baggy style and also has a detachable faux shearling lining which I left attached while trying it on, the coat looks rather bulky and fits similarly in both the medium and small. Above is the medium. On me, it is a tiny bit longer and the chest a little roomier than the small, but I otherwise found both to fit rather similarly. From the pictures, it does seem like the medium has a noticeable amount of additional room in the back, but some of that contrast is from the different way I'm holding my arm and angling myself towards the mirror. Both sizes are a bit roomy in the back.
There is a drawstring at the waist and the pulls are inside the coat, but I didn't adjust the drawstrings while trying it on. I'm much more satisfied with the quality on this than with the ones available at H&M.
Here is the small. I was wearing a tunic-length top and the hem of it would sometimes peek out of the small, but not the medium. Because I'm a bit busty, the chest is also right on the edge of being snug. I think I still have a tiny bit of room in the chest with the small when the faux shearing liner is attached, but that makes it a lot closer to being tight in the chest than I'm used to with other jackets and coats.
I ended up grabbing the small at the store, though I'm fairly certain now that it's not the right size and might not even be the correct style for me. The small is too snug in the chest, though I also find the medium a bit too boxy. Uniqlo also has another longer women's Military Jacket parka without chest pockets that I'm interested in trying before I make a decision, though it wasn't in stock at the store yet. I'm ordering that to try on as well, with the bonus of an additional online-only promotion for $15 off orders of $100 or more with the code Fall15 on top of the price being discounted to $99.90.
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