Coats for Children.

*In photo above, micro wears a Patagonia hi-loft puffer, Uniqlo sherpa vest (<<site says these will be restocked in September; similar here); and Sperry boots (<<size up one or even two sizes in these, run small in baby/toddler sizes).

I am trying to get ahead of the curve this season — I’m already ordering my children fall and winter coats so that I’m not scrambling at the first sign of frost. In an ideal world, I like to have a fleece jacket for casual wear, a barn jacket for dressier wear when it’s not too cold, an insulated puffer for cold weather, a parka for snow/inclement/super-cold weather, and a dress coat. I don’t always get all of these for my children each season – the past two years, I skipped the dress coat because we weren’t going anywhere thanks to the pandemic and I could usually make the barn coat work in a pinch, and micro’s never had a parka (I’ve just made do with the puffer in snow since he’s not usually outside for all that long). I also really try to make coats stretch two seasons and will size up the first year and squeeze them in the second year — ha. On occasion, I’ve had the foresight to buy certain pieces in gender-neutral colors like navy and red (I made a few Burberry quilted coats work for both of them this way), but I find a lot of the gals coats come in pinks, purples, etc and have feminine detailing that have made pass-downs difficult.

Anyhow, here’s my lineup of picks for each category this year:

+Girl’s fleece: Patagonia. I find Patagonia to be top-notch in terms of quality — hand-me-down material. I’ve passed along several Patagonias to friends and family members. They hold up well to launderings and are incredibly warm. I also think you can get away with sizing up in these and just folding up the cuffs for the first season. Micro wore a size 2T when he was one and two years old; I now bought a size 4T hoping he can wear it at three and four.

+Boy’s fleece: Patagonia. I already bought micro this one since I noticed it was low in stock — I love the blue and red trim! So fun. He had one of these in navy trim as a baby and it was beyond adorable, plus highly durable.

+Girl’s barn jacket: I adore this Old Navy one — the collar is perfection and I love the muted color, and that would be my top pick if mini hadn’t sized out of toddler sizes! I think I am going to go rogue this year and get her a corduroy barn jacket. I just can’t resist the details! Adorable. She does have a barn coat from last year, though, so if that still fits, I’ll probably skip this category.

+Boy’s barn jacket: Janie and Jack. Love the corduroy collar!

+Girl’s insulated puffer: Helly Hensen. I love the orchid pink color. Historically, I have bought Patagonia’s hi-loft puffers but I don’t care for the colors as much this year.

+Boy’s insulated puffer: Helly Hensen. The red and blue block coloring is throwback — 1990 Nautica vibes!

+Girl’s parka: I already bought mini a Reima ski parka. This brand gets really good reviews — if your children actually ski, you might consider their snowsuits. I remember reading a few reviews that raved about these for warmth and specifically mentioned that a full body suit is infinitely preferable to separates (no snow getting in anywhere!). Love the dramatic fur trim. I’d say this brand runs big. I bought mini a 6Y and it is pretty huge — she is usually a size 6 or 7 these days in most brands. I don’t mind though — this will last us two or maybe even three cold seasons.

+Boy’s parka: Reima!

+Girl’s dress coat: The coat I am MOST excited about out of all of these outerwear picks year is La Coqueta’s gorgeous Anisa coat. I’ve been eyeing these for a long time and plan to order mini one size up to make it work for this year and next. She will look adorable!

+Boy’s dress coat: Luca and Luca houndstooth coat. I saw this last winter and have been thinking of it since. Adorable!

I purchased micro this Patagonia fleece already as I saw it was running low in stock, and this is my top contender for mini. I try to make Patagonias stretch two seasons.