New Year, New Coat

As winter closed in around 2016, ready to take it with both hands and sweep us all into the cold, tragedy befell my wardrobe. My beloved khaki parka was sick; dying. It all began with a temperamental zip, sometimes closing effortlessly; others, sticking, failing and protesting against the harsh November chill. I was heartbroken. That coat served me almost two years. I adored it! The pockets were still stuffed with confetti from the night I took it to see Taylor Swift. It had traces of the various perfumes I had worn over the years. It was my coat. I didn't want to replace it, not really. 

 Christmas was vast approaching and I gave into the fact that I needed a new coat. I could no longer walk around hugging each opposing side around my body. By this point, various parts of the coat had ripped or come loose including the buttons holding my fur trim into place. It was slowly failing to keep me warm and each day we got closer to losing each other. I tried on many coats with my Mum looking for a potential Christmas present. Most were too long, too big, the wrong shade of camel for my skin tone. Truth be told, I just didn't want a new coat. I settled for one I liked a little from TopShop. A grey number that cost around the £70 mark. Much over what my parents had left of their budget for Christmas and much beneath my expectations of what I wanted my new coat to be. In the end, I decided to go without.

 Have you ever had an image in your head of something you desperately want but it doesn't actually exist? 

 Since early secondary school I've had a picture in my head of a khaki trench coat. I didn't know the name of the shade or style back then, it was just an image in my imagination. But early on Christmas morning, I found myself waiting for sisters to wake up and I journeyed onto the MissSelfridge website to see about getting myself a coat for Christmas. 

 There it was. £53 in the sale and in a size 4. 

 It was fate. The exact coat I had created years before was a real item on a real model and it was really there for me to buy! The fact that it was in my exact size (which no shop ever seems able to stock very well) seemed to me like a sign. I bought myself the coat and said a tearful goodbye to my parka. 

 (just kidding, it's still in the coat cupboard in case it ever magically fixes itself) 

I adore my new coat. It will never match up to the memories I made with my parka but I'm sure I will make lots of new ones. It fits me perfectly. I find that when having to shop in a petite section, MissSelfridge is the most accurate with smaller sizes. Everything I buy from them fits perfectly, including this coat. It's very thick fabric so it keeps me warm and it looks really smart. It's perfect for wearing to sixth form if you want to look smart and also out and about to perfect your winter look. 

 There are still plenty of days left of the January sales so it's never too late to treat yourself to a new coat!