My Mail Order Winter Coat Boutique

Winter arrived in Chicago with medium-ish force this week! We had a pretty first snow and our first frigid temps. I had promised myself last season that I would buy new winter coats and boots this year - no matter what size I was. I stretched my last two coats waaaaay too long. I was cursing myself this week for not doing it sooner.

I have no doubt that one of these would have been Slender Tina's Winter Coat '11:

{Source: j. crew.com}

Believe me, it is *tough* to find plain, tailored ANYTHING for plus size women. Everything is bejeweled, shiny, and patterned. Which makes sense given that my biggest challenge since packing on the pounds is finding clothes that draw attention to my girth AND MAKE ME LOOK BIGGER.

But I digress. I have no idea why I went to the Talbot's site, as I've never set foot in a Talbot's because I'm not 60. But they had me at these two pictures:

{Source}

Orange! Green! Jewel tones! Now *this* is back in my comfort zone. And even better, they were offering 50 percent off and free shipping on outerwear. I ordered four coats and vest.

{Source}

{Source}

So many options! Two of the long ones have to go back, but the short black will hopefully be a keeper for weekends and when I travel to slightly climates for work in the winter. Unfortunately, I'll be gone this week when they arrive. Booo!

I also ordered this puffy Calvin Klein coat from Macy's, as down coats aren't even negotiable for Chicago winters.

{Source}

Next I'll be ordering new boots. We're supposed to have a wet one, so I think that I'll buy some big guns.

{Source}