The Swing Coat

April and May, like their fall counterparts October and November, are tricky months for outerwear. The weather isn't warm enough to forgo a coat, and we want to be prepared should the temperature do a 360 and either rise or drop at the bat of an eye. Fall coats prepare us for winter in that they tend to be wooly or dark colored, while spring coats connote something light and give the warning that warm weather is ahead.

I feel like the above sentences were written much too seriously and in the style of Harper's Bazaar, whose pages are filled with essays that espouse the importance of midi skirts as if they're related to PITME. (That's what Model UN used to refer to peace in the Middle East, duh.)

I told my mom that one of my immediate priorities this month was finding an April coat, to which she responded with a look that asked more or less, "what did I raise?" In the spotlight today is the below coat from J.Crew. I like the idea of trench coats, but much like high heels, they might be too grown-up for me. I don't think I'm mature enough to wear a trench coat and take myself seriously while wearing it. The swing coat below contains what I like about trench coats -- the khaki color, oversize cut, and flap in the back (what do you call that thing?). It also gives off a late 50s/early 60s vibe reminiscent of the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. I went to the J.Crew on Prince Street yesterday to buy it, but the sales associate seemed to think I was crazy for thinking I'd be able to waltz in the store at 6 PM and expect them to have any sizes below 10 left. Sorry, didn't realize trench coat wannabes were in so high demand.