Product Review: Watercolor Leopard Kate Coat

Watercolor Leopard Kate Coat
Click here for product page
Item 99455
Regular: $548.00

"Thanks!" to kitchy7 who guest blogged about this {beautiful} coat. The following is her product review:

I fell in love with the watercolor leopard Kate coat the moment I saw it in the new catalog. I thought the print was beautiful, I love the A-line shape in coats, and I thought the combination of brown and black would prove to be quite versatile: I typically wear brown instead of black, but I occasionally wear black, and how nice to have a pretty coat that would work with both!

So I splurged and paid full price for it (although I did receive free shipping with a code). The coat arrived within a couple of days, and I excitedly opened the box. It came wrapped in ordinary plastic without a special box or garment bag like some other collection pieces. I looked past that because I was so excited about the coat. And the coat is beautiful in person – the print is gorgeous, and the buttons have the same print, so they blend right in. But…then I really examined the coat.

The first surprise was the feel of the fabric. It was a lot rougher and less flexible than I expected, to the point where I never would have guessed it contained silk. It almost felt like canvas. The second surprise was the weight of the coat. This is not a coat for very cold temperatures by any stretch of the imagination. It would best be worn like a trench coat – as a fall or spring coat or on only slightly cold days. This was a bit of a surprise to me given the coat’s price. Then I tried it on and discovered the third surprise: the shoulders and arms were incredibly roomy. I have broad shoulders, and this coat gave me more room in the shoulders than any other coat I own from J. Crew. That was great, because I sometimes have to size up for the shoulders to fit. Based on the shoulder fit alone, I could easily size down in this coat. But finally, the fourth surprise, and the saddest of all for me: because of the way the back and sides of the coat are cut and the lack of flexibility in the fabric, it hung more like a banana than an A-line. I was only wearing a t-shirt underneath, nothing heavy, and the coat still puffed out and then back in at the bottom in a very unflattering way. I felt like a watercolor leopard marshmallow.

I really wanted to love this coat in person, but it looked horrible on me. I highly doubt that sizing up or down would have made much of a difference – sizing up maybe would have given the coat a better hang, but the shoulders would have been huge on me, and sizing down would have exacerbated the hang of the coat. Sadly, it will be going back on Monday.

"Thanks!" again to kitchy7 for her great review of this coat!

What are your thoughts on the Watercolor Leopard Kate Coat? Do you already own this coat? If so, please let us know what you think! :)