I reviewed a J. Crew’s bestseller, the Wintress Puffer, last winter and found it slightly underwhelming. I was excited to see it brought back this season with a removable faux fur trim and ordered it immediately to try.
QUALITY The puffer’s material and workmanship are more or less on par with other J. Crew outerwear styles (so declining, but still adequate). The shell and lining of the coat are 100% polyester, and the filling is a “minimum 70% down” with the “reminder waterfowl feathers (Class II).”
WARMTH The coat is perfect for around freezing temperatures. When I wear this coat and am moving around, I start to sweat at around 45ºF. And the coat isn’t warm enough on its own at below 20ºF (which is why base layers are so important; I personally like Uniqlo’s affordable and functional HEATTECH “innerwear”).
As much as I like this coat, my experience is muddled. I think the style is flattering and sufficiently warm for my purpose, but within a week of getting this coat, I started noticing down seeping from its seams. J. Crew promptly sent me a replacement but I remain skeptical.
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| J. Crew Wintress Puffer Coat with Faux-Fur Hood | Gap Stripe Boatneck Sweater | Gap 1969 Legging Jeans (similar) | Converse Chuck Taylor® All Star® Ballet Lace Sneakers |
SIZING After trying the style in both regular and petite lengths, I went with regular length for longer sleeves and slightly more coverage. I ordered my size in regular (XXXS)—regular sizes are about a half to a full size larger than petite sizes—which fits perfectly with medium layers.
| XXXS | XXXSP | XXS | XXSP | |
| Chest Circumference | 34.75 | 32.75 | 35.75 | 33.75 |
| Waist Circumference | 33.5 | 31.5 | 34.5 | 32.5 |
| Hip Circumference | 41 | 39 | 42 | 40 |
DETAIL The style is cut slightly slimmer than similar puffers that I tried this year. I don’t feel it adds bulk in an unflattering way and, as mentioned before, the faux fur detail adds sophistication to an otherwise unremarkable design. I like that the coat is designed as a three-piece set: the faux fur trim can be detached from the hood, and the hood can also be detached from the body.
I also like that the pockets are lined in fleece (even for the awkward boob pockets but I don’t use them and they don’t protrude prominently so they are a wash) and that they have rib knit storm cuffs with thumbholes like the Nordic Parka (reviewed here).
PRICE The Wintress Puffer with Faux-Fur Hood retails for $298, which is a little overpriced but not egregiously so. Most outerwear promotions can be applied to this style so I strongly recommend waiting for a 25% or 30% off promotion, when possible.
The style in navy is currently on sale (I am tempted to get another) and code STARTSHOPPING will take 25% off most outerwear styles.
Happy shopping!
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| Double-cloth Lady Day Coat with Thinsulate® // Nordic Parka // Chateau Parka in Stadium-Cloth |
