Gap's Parisian Coat

This is Gap's Parisian Coat, a wool coat that is currently on sale for $89.99, marked down from a whopping $128. I somehow managed to get this coat for a bargain $30.99 back in the middle of the fall, so I was pretty surprised when I saw it on sale yesterday on Gap's website.

On to the review! This coat is not a very good winter coat. The temperature ranges for my area yesterday (when I was actually outside, wearing my coat) were 32ºF to 45ºF. I wore this coat, as opposed to a heavier winter coat, because this was considered a "warm" day where I live. I would recommend it for mid-to-late fall and late-winter-to-early spring days, when you don't mind if you're a tad bit chilly.

As for the cut and fit of the jacket, it is more tent-like and A-line than the picture would suggest. There is definitely not as much definition at the waist as the model in the picture would have you believe. The sleeves are 3/4 length, which is pretty good for me, as I am petite (read: short arms), so this really equates to almost normal length sleeves for me. One downfall to the 3/4 sleeves, even for me, is that if you are wearing a long-sleeved shirt, you can look a little silly, with so much of your sleeve poking out of your coat sleeves.

The length is very nice - not too long to look overly formal, but still long enough that you can wear it to work and out for the night. It pairs easily with dress, work, and casual clothes. I have been using this coat for a lot of the winter in lieu of my traditional peacoat, and longer wool coat.

On a final note, if you don't like wool (like I don't), this coat shouldn't bother you too much, as it has a nice lining. I find the wool most irritating when I am driving in the car, and the seatbelt rubs the collar against my neck, but this is mostly a seatbelt issue!

All in all, this is a great buy. It seems to be available only in XXL right now, but it is a cute, versatile coat that I plan to have for a long time!

Thumbnail picture and product information are below, from www.gap.com.

Sympathy for stupidity

This is Amber Eaton. She's one of the top stories on CNN today. She wants you to throw her a pity party because in July 2007, she left her job as a corporate compliance officer to go to law school, and then after a year of law school, decided she no longer wanted to do that, but couldn't find a job. Oh boo-hoo-hoo.

Seriously? The economy was already showing signs of crapping its own pants in July 2007, so why on earth should I (or any logical person) feel bad for a 35-year-old woman who didn't have the foresight to attend law school part time?

And CNN's marking this as a top news story? Just pathetic.

On a size of 2 to 14...

Much has been made of Jessica Simpson's fuller figure that she showed off over the weekend in Florida, so I won't really comment on that. (I think it's pretty obvious she has gained a little bit of weight.) Jessica's cosmetically enhanced sister decided to weigh-in on the headline-battle that is currently raging by posting on her MySpace blog.

I actually somewhat respect Ashlee's decision to defend her sister, and I was on board with her telling the media to back off and stop criticising her sister until I got to this part:

"All women come in different shapes, sizes, and forms and just because you're a celebrity, there shouldn't be a different standard...How can we expect teenage girls to love and respect themselves in an environment where we criticize a size 2 figure?"

First of all, women are basically judged on the standard set by Hollywood, so Jessica would be called "fat" or "chunky" or any other euphemism you can think of, even if she weren't a celebrity. The only difference would be that it wouldn't be making headlines.

Secondly, I don't know what planet Ashlee Simpson inhabits, but there's no way her sister is a size 2! One person put her at about a size 14 now, which I'd be inclined to agree with. If Jessica Simpson is a size 2 as her sister claims, then I should probably start shopping at Gap Kids.

Maybe next time Jessica should skip the sausage-casing, high-waisted pants. Please?

Picture source: People, photo by INF

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