Winter is Coming: A Quest for Warmth

Comprehensive Apparel Product Analysis on Men’s Outerwear

Yvette Purser

The Client: Joe

(Joe in his current leather coat, on the day he purchased it several years ago.)

Joe is a college student in his mid-twenties studying mathematics, and he spends much more time writing proofs for class than he does proofreading his

wardrobe. As a result, he has found himself quickly approaching the cold weather months with a flimsy,

cracked, faux-leather jacket that has a broken zipper. Joe walks to his classes and takes the bus most of the time when he needs to get somewhere, and he desperately

needs a coat that will hold up in the bitterly cold Illinois winter without being overwhelmingly bulky.

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Fiber content: Shell-100% Nylon

Lining-100% Polyester

Insulation-Goose Down (75% Minimum Down Cluster)

Stitches and Seams: I saw 301 Lockstitches on most of the garment. There is an LSc Flat Felled seam towards the top of the garment, probably because this is outerwear and these seams tend to be more waterproof and durable.

Components: Full zippered front, drawstring cinched inner hem, Velcro adjustable cuffs, two zippered outer pockets, interior zippered pocket.

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Elements of Fit:

Grain: This jacket was very much on grain. The crosswise grains, shown by the horizontal stitching, lined up perfectly with Joe’s torso.

Set: Other than the unavoidable wrinkles that showed up because of the build of the jacket, everything hung very smoothly. The garment hugged the body well. Joe did mention that the coat was a little tight in the chest, but that he could easily overlook that simply because it felt so comfortable on.

Line: The structural lines of this jacket aligned well with Joe’s torso. All of the seams were straight; care was clearly taken with the construction.

Balance: The jacket seemed to be in equilibrium when Joe had it on. When I examined the coat after he had taken it off, I couldn’t find anything that was off-balance.

Ease: Joe tested fitting ease on all three coats by doing a few movements that he would often be doing if he purchased the coat, like moving his arms in all directions and reaching his arms above his head. He said that he had never worn a coat in his memory that allowed as much movement as

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this one did. There was some style fullness added because of the way the garment was stitched, but it in no way affected the way the garment performed on the ease tests.

Design Principles:

Proportion: It’s almost like this jacket was made for Joe. As a stocky and shorter male, finding clothes that define his body in a positive way can be difficult for him, but the arm length and torso length were in perfect proportion.

Balance: This jacket was in symmetrical balance, and all of the details on it (like side pockets)matched with each other. Additionally, the stitched strips of down did a good job of evenly distributing the visual weight of what could have otherwise have been a very bulky looking jacket.

Emphasis: On both the front and back of this all black jacket is the North Face logo, stitched in white.

Unity: The jacket shows great unity because it is all one single color, including all zippers and snaps, other than the white North Face logo. While it would have been easy for this logo to look out of place, everything else on the coat was so unified that it wasn’t a huge issue.

Aesthetic Features: For an item that needs to perform more than it needs to be aesthetically pleasing, I found this coat to be both attractive and appealing. It was as sleek as a big winter coat could be. It fit Joe well, which was the most important aesthetic feature.

Functional Features: After having it on for just a minute with simply a thin t-shirt on underneath, Joe commented that he was already getting too warm in this jacket. This told me that the jacket was clearly going to function for the intended use—to keep the wearer warm. The pockets add utility as well, especially the inner 11 x 10 x 5 zipper pocket for the jacket to be stored in when it is not in use or needs to be packed in a bag—perfect for those days when the weather has changed halfway through the day.

Online Evaluation:

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Customer Reviews:

None on website, which was concerning. I had to go to a different seller’s website to find any comments on this jacket.

Pros: “Very comfortable”; “Snug enough to keep you warm”; “Light and easy to shovel in”; “…is as well suited for the mountains as it is for a walk downtown”

Cons: “Armpits are too tight”; “Zippers are hard to shut and get caught often; “The down stinks when you get it wet”

Company Transparency:

Nothing on the Von Maur website about where this jacket was made. The tag on the coat says that it was made in Bangladesh, but I found nothing on the website. I even looked a little harder and went straight to The North Face’s website, and all I found was “Imported”, which tells me this company isn’t very transparent about where it does business.

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Fiber content: Shell-(Coating) 100% Polyurethane

Fabric: 100% Nylon

Filling: 100% Polyester

Lining: 100% Polyester

(Exclusive of Decoration)

Stitches and Seams: This jacket was made up of 301 Lockstitches. The LSc Flat Felled Seam was a huge part in the costruction of the garment, especially around the shoulders and armscye. This seemed to be a stylistic choice more than anything else.

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Components: Double front closure (zips and snaps), water resistant shell and hood visor, fleece lining at collar, bungees at waist and hood, quilted ripstop lining and inner pocket, lower and chest zip pockets.

Elements of Fit:

Grain: I couldn’t find any serious grain issues. All of the horizontal and vertical stitching lined up with Joe’s frame.

Set: This jacket was incredibly wrinkly, probably because the shell is 100% nylon. As a result, this jacket didn’t hang very well, and added weight to Joe’s frame. Joe also mentioned that the coat seemed roomy, and if he were to purchase it, he would go down to a small, even though he normally wears a medium.

Line: The structural lines of this jacket were well aligned. All observed seams were straight, and seams were exposed in a way that added to the jacket’s style.

Balance: It was hard to tell if this jacket was in equilibrium or not. The nylon made everything look more exaggerated, which Joe didn’t like. I didn’t find any huge balance issues after spending time looking at the jacket.

Ease: Joe told me that the jacket was tight in his arms when he was moving his arms, and he only felt comfortable when he was in the limp position. The jacket didn’t appear to have any style fullness.

Design Principles:

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Proportion: While the jacket length was well proportioned to Joe’s torso, the arms seemed a little long, even though they were the same length as The North Face jacket.

Balance: All of the details on the coat were very well balanced, which was important for this specific coat because of all of the fashion details.

Emphasis: This coat was all black, except for the silver snaps and the small white patch on the side. This made the coat look well-designed.

Unity: Since the coat was all black other than the snaps and small patch, it had great unity. The silver snaps are easily hidden and the white patch is so small that it is barely noticeable.

Aesthetic Features: This coat seems to be a fashionable interpretation of a military jacket, and it does a very good job of being modern and making a small statement. However, the wrinkles did take away from some of the aesthetic appeal.

Functional Features: While the jacket is marketed as a winter coat, the only feature that reminded me of winter was the lining, reminiscent of a puffer coat. Joe commented that this coat did not seem to be very warm, and probably wouldn’t serve its purpose well.

Online Evaluation:

Customer Reviews:

Pros: “Fits great”; “Love the cloth mock turtleneck”; “It will surely keep the cold wind out”; “Five stars”

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Cons: No negative reviews on website

Company Transparency:

No indication as to where the coat was made online. I knew it was made in China because I saw it on the tag in store, but had I not seen it in store, I would not have known. Despite the “AEO Better World” Campaign that the company touts, they don’t seem to be transparent with where each item is made.

Fiber content: Shell (Coating)- Polyurethane

Base Fabric- 100% Nylon

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Lining-100% Polyester

Filler-100% Polyester

Tag: The large sewn in tag near the neck sports the brand, and a small flap underneath that states the size and country where it was made. The care label is sewn in the side.

Fit Construction: This jacket hits right below the waist, and is slightly fitted through the body.

Elements of Fit:

Grain: I thought that some of the horizontal stitching seemed a little off grain, so I can’t say that this coat passed.

Set: Based on what this coat was made out of, I thought it hung very well on Joe. For a jacket that could be considered a little on the bulkier side, it fit well. Joe liked that the wrists had elastic, and was excited that this coat fit his short arms.

Line: The structural lines were okay. I had some issue on how things were stitched, but nothing serious. I thought the lines on the side pockets were a little awkward because of how close they were to other lines.

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Balance: This jacket seemed to have some small balance issues, mostly related to the stitching and choice of notions/color, but other than those, nothing serious.

Ease: Joe didn’t love the way the arm movements, but did say that they were not awful. The coat was comfortable and he also mentioned that it had good stretch. Some style fullness that added to the look of the coat.

Design Principles: Proportion: The jacket was a little long for Joe’s torso,

but did fit well at the arms. Balance: As mentioned before, there were a couple balance

issues that all related to stitching and color choices. Emphasis: Other than the fact that the coat was bright blue,

the only thing my eyes were drawn to on this coat were the copper snaps.

Unity: The coat had okay unity. Perhaps using snaps/findings that more closely complemented the bright blue color of the coat would have been a better, more unifying choice.

Aesthetic Features: The bright blue color is the main aesthetic feature of this jacket. While I liked the blue, Joe would have preferred a darker color, so the aesthetic features have to do with personal taste for this coat. There were also some other aesthetic features, such as the external stitching on the pockets.

Functional Features: This jacket seemed like it would be pretty warm because it was had a little bulk to it. The detachable hood is a good functional feature as well.

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Online Evaluation:

Customer Reviews: No reviews for this coat yet. The version of this coat that comes without a hood did have a few reviews, however:

Pros: “Nice and warm”, “Light weight”, “Easy to clean”, “Nice jacket for the price”

Cons: “Seems to ride up in the back”, “Kind of thin…for fall weather only”, “Polyester fiber came off in two days after washing it”

Company Transparency: The coat was made in Vietnam according to the tag, but online, it only said “imported”. Old Navy doesn’t seem to be very transparent with their production.

Conclusions

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This was by far Joe’s and my favorite; I expected this because The North Face is a well-known, “better”, brand, making this the most expensive coat at $220. Since this jacket is made of real down feathers and is black, which will go with everything, it would be worn often and would keep Joe the warmest. I think the cost per wear of this jacket would actually be the best. Despite how expensive it is, it would likely hold up the longest and would prove to be the best value. Functionality is important with winter jackets, making this another reason why this would be the best buy and would deliver fair value. Joe loved how this jacket fit and found it to be the warmest of all three coats. There were some wrinkles, but overall, the coat hung well.

The North Face v. American Eagle: Joe tried the American Eagle coat on right after trying on The North Face coat, and said right away that he missed the North Face. The American Eagle coat was made of cheaper materials and did not feel as warm. It also did not seem to be true to size and did not hang well, whereas the North Face coat did hang well.

The North Face v. Old Navy: Joe liked the shorter arm length of the Old Navy coat because of his proportions, but still found that the North Face coat met his needs better. He also liked that the North Face coat seemed to have a shorter length, even though the measurements were exactly the same.

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This jacket was our moderately priced coat. As someone who has several items from American Eagle, I thought that this coat would be better than it was, but this was the least favorite. At $129.99, especially being made of nylon and polyester, this coat would likely not hold up well and would have the worst cost over wear of the three coats. This jacket would not deliver fair value because of how thin it is. Joe liked that it was black and was the least bulky of the three, and did comment on the fact that the inside was lined like a puffier coat, but even he realized that the puffy lining was just a gimmick to make the buyer think that the jacket was warmer than it actually is. The coat did not hang well on Joe, added weight, and didn’t seem to be the functional winter coat it is marketed as.

American Eagle v. The North Face: The North Face jacket was warm and looked good on Joe, while the American Eagle jacket was not as warm and did not hang as well. Joe’s arm movements felt restricted in the American Eagle jacket, but in the North Face jacket, he felt like movement wouldn’t be a problem.

American Eagle v. Old Navy: The Old Navy jacket, despite being the cheapest of the three, felt better to Joe and looked better on him than the American Eagle jacket. The only thing that the American Eagle jacket wins on here are the aesthetic features—the Old Navy jacket was bright blue and bulkier than the American Eagle jacket, which was black, thinner, and would go with any outfit.

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The Old Navy jacket, at $69.94, was our budget jacket, and I expected it to have the worst performance of the three. It actually came out to be right in the middle. This jacket is made of cheaper materials like polyurethane, nylon, and polyester, but because of its bulk, seemed like it would do okay on a colder day. Some reviewers seemed to think otherwise, however, which is certainly a concern. However, based on the price point, this coat would probably deliver fair value. The arms were Joe’s favorite part of this coat—he liked that they fit a little shorter. The color was not ideal, neither were some of the aesthetic features, but it would be a decent buy.

Old Navy v. The North Face: The North Face jacket outperformed the Old Navy jacket purely because it was made with read down feathers and was black instead of bright blue. However, the North Face jacket is $220. For a reasonably priced jacket, the Old Navy jacket does a pretty good job.

Old Navy v. American Eagle: Joe tried on the Old Navy jacket right after the American Eagle jacket, and commented that Old Navy’s felt so much better. Neither of these coats is the best—the materials are cheap. However, based on the price point and ease of the Old Navy coat versus the American Eagle coat, Old Navy wins here.

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