Please, don't make me wear a parka

[Assembler]

I live in Toronto and finally bought a long parka last year to deal with the commute to work (I have to take public transit, and the GO bus is almost always late which means i'm waiting for 15 - 30 min in the freezing cold). I thought it was hideous, and still get embarassed when I get on the subway in it, but it's WARM. It goes to mid calf. I got long boots on under my pants, incredibly warm hat, scarf, gloves (not too warm, need to get the leather pair from Marks' Workwearhouse... not as stylish maybe but very very warm) and I just look in amazement at the other people waiting for buses in their teensy jackets and no hats. I hate the cold though, and just about everyone makes fun of me when I break out all this stuff atleast a month earlier than anyone else. It's been a warmer winter than normal, so I probably could have gotten away with my regular coat, but I've been stuck outside in a quick onset of freezing weather enough times that I don't risk it anymore.

I make up for it by having atleast one gorgeous wool coat in my closet. It's just not too warm. I take it out of the closet every now and then and look at it with admiration though.

 

[Assembler]

I have seen too much of this trend around here already, worn in really bad ways.. please make it stop.

And I don't really get how they can be so warm? I mean.. the most I've seen are made of this really thin material.

It has to do with trapping air. I think. Air is trapped in the puffy section, or between the layers of the parka. Heat doesn't transfer as quickly through air as it does through anything solid (so less heat loss from conduction). Since the air is prevented from moving around it acts like an insulating layer (less heat loss through convection). In the end a very light jacket can leave you very warm. Yum.

 

[CHEAPandCHIC]

See by Chloe
I hate parkas but this could look good!

net-a-porter.com

 

[mazzystar]

i love my parka, it's a short (waist-length) parka/bomber jacket hybrid with a fur trimmed hood that i bought from topshop a couple of years ago. not only does it look really fierce (i have actually started using that word in a non-ironical sense lately) with the hood pushed up around my face with skinny jeans outfits or over a party dress with a hands-in-pockets insouciant slouch but it is also huuugely practical when the wind is zipping around london at 60mph and the rain is horizontal. i can't see myself giving it up for a few years yet, regardless of trends.

 

[Womanolo]

Cheap - that looks trench-coatey, and isn't too bad at all. Still prefer a trench to this though.

 

[CHEAPandCHIC]

^ Hmm well according to net a porter it's a parka

 

[softgrey]

i have always heard sporty nylon jkts with a drawstring like the see by chloe referred to as an anorak...

wikipedia says that anorak and parka are synonymous...
but that just isn't true...

a parka usually is padded for warmth and has a fur trimmed hood...

but i do think that people are using the terms loosely and freely...
most of the people running those website shopping sites do not have any formal fashion training so they often take liberties with terminology...
and i also think that they sometimes just use terms that they think the consumer(who almost DEF does not have formal fashion training) will understand....

ie- a cape does not have sleeves- but i see little swingy cropped jkts called capelets all the time lately...
which is completely wrong of course!......
but then girls see it on the site and start using the term themselves and before you know it...everyone is calling cropped swingy jkts capelets...
it happened with a little moschino jkt that sienna miller wore...
i think some magazine like people or something(hardly fashion experts) called it a capelet...
and then so did net a porter...or vice versa...and before you know it..
a whole generation of girls is using that term incorrectly..

...

i have come to think of all puffy padded jkts as PARKAS...
with or without the furry hood...

 

[iyemstoopid]

i really adore the acid hue parkas at dries... so lovely. i have a parka that i love but its not padded, but it still keeps me pretty warm. interesting to see so many parkas for summer though

 

[rollagasper]

Most of the ANORAKs on the runway this season look to be made from rather thin materials, some silk-like, others cotton blends. I don't think they'd stand the northern cold in places like Canada (where i live). They're more of late-winter early-spring jackets.
The difference between anorak and parka i'm not sure.
But here is an editorial from Vogue US with Gemma.


Scanned by Lucyinthesky. There's two more from Gemma's thread.

 

[finalfashion]

I just bought a parka and I love it. I don't understand this need to be sexy and chic all the time, when it's so uncomfortable. When I see girls on the street in high heels and thin wool coats shivering I don't think they realize how silly they look.

It's not the way clothes look that makes me love them, but the way they make me feel. When a garment can make you feel warm, safe and comfy when the wind is cold and harsh, it feels like a million bucks no matter what it looks like. This garment will take care of you. The parka is a truly functional classic.

It's worth paying for a quality parka with good down (no quills). It will keep you warm for many winters.

The Canada Goose Parka is popular in the film industry and has been photographed on many actors - probably one of the reasons why this might be identified as a "trend".

via http://www.canada-goose.com/
the Resolute parka, the archetypal down parka with coyote trim, created for arctic expeditions.

 

[Couture_Tribe]

They are inspired by construction workers especially in Canada.... nice

 

[dsq]

the canada goose jacket, the two reflector strips remind me of the purple TTC jackets the bus drivers wear but you are right, it's important to feel comfortable and warm. unfortunately i don't always live by that rule; sometimes, i just wear a single layer shirt underneath a wool coat which is definitely not warm enough for canadian winters.

 

[finalfashion]

the canada goose jacket, the two reflector strips remind me of the purple TTC jackets the bus drivers wear but you are right, it's important to feel comfortable and warm. unfortunately i don't always live by that rule; sometimes, i just wear a single layer shirt underneath a wool coat which is definitely not warm enough for canadian winters.

It's not really a rule... I'll defend to the end the right of people to wear what they want... I used to wear weather-inappropriate outerwear too... it's just recently that I've come to the realization that I'd rather look warm.

The thin wool jacket and heels look is really best worn by those who can afford a car and driver (in Toronto climates)... like assembler I take public transit ... it's no use pretending I'm not working class... so I wear it with pride.

 

[pinksatin]

i have always heard sporty nylon jkts with a drawstring like the see by chloe referred to as an anorak...

wikipedia says that anorak and parka are synonymous...
but that just isn't true...

I was thinking the same thing. All those spring-y thin coats look like anoraks to me. I think of anorak as a coat that is water and wind resistant and not insulated. Parkas are like what those Iditarod people would wear. Parkas don't have to be that terrible though. Think of celebrities at SUndance or in Aspen. Not that celebrities always dress well, but in a lot of ways they set a standard for trends.

boston.com

 

[dsq]

It's not really a rule... I'll defend to the end the right of people to wear what they want... I used to wear weather-inappropriate outerwear too... it's just recently that I've come to the realization that I'd rather look warm.

The thin wool jacket and heels look is really best worn by those who can afford a car and driver (in Toronto climates)... like assembler I take public transit ... it's no use pretending I'm not working class... so I wear it with pride.

yes, not a rule per se, i just couldn't find the right word. i don't use the metro, so i guess i can get always get away with wearing something less than warm

 

[emma peel]

i love parkas when it gets cold-- very mod.

most "winter" coats are only fall coats, really; they won't take you through a winter in nyc. i have a nice helmut lang one with fur trim, and a durable juicy couture one in grey I got at Barneys which are totally appropriate to jan-feb chilly misery.

 

[annamac]

heres some pictures of Ashley Olsen and Kirsten Dunst wearing them, i think that can look quite chic

taken from MK&A TFS forum - creditolfoto.dk

credit: kirsten-dunst.org

i think they both look amazing with the mini skirts and black tights, suits the army green well.

 

[shutterbug]

Wow, Lucy Liu is dressed exactly the same as the majority of the girls in my school! Hooded jacket with fur trim, jeans, and the exact style of boots too... A little originality wouldn't hurt.

 

[Assembler]

My butt gets too cold if I wear a jacket that ends at my waist. I have a BIG butt so there's a lot of surface area for heat transfer, so I need to keep that thing well covered!

 

[honeyisle]

It's funny but coming from Montreal where it's FREEZING a good part of the year, the parka was never in or out, it's just a given that at some point you'll own one because it's so cold. I never saw it as a trend...