Coat of Dreams

The other day, my roommate Kelsey and I were strolling down Broadway, just killing time before going home, and Kelsey points out a clothing store that she'd like to go in. I reluctantly agreed, and upon entering was spit into the middle of the men's section, with the most busy, hip-hop clothing I've seen in one place in a long time. There were long tables of neatly folded t-shirts with graffiti-like graphics, jeans with all kinds of holes and embellishments, and obnoxious industrial jewelry. I immediately thought, "This place doesn't seem like anything that Kelsey would be interested in at all!", someone who loves muted colors, simple clothing. She dashed off to the back of the store, as I slowly made my way through, completely disinterested.

Upon arriving in the women's section, I made one turn around a rack of clothing and there I saw it...a coat. Now I know what your thinking, "A coat?! It's still the summer! Its going to be 90 degrees this week, so why would you be looking at a coat?!" I couldn't help but love it. It is totally, absolutely ME. It was a gorgeous mid-thigh, black wool coat, with a wide double collar, and leather belt. I had to try it on. It slipped on so nicely, and looked fabulous. I could tell this was a high-quality coat. I looked several times for a price tag while I was trying it on, but couldn't find one.

I continued to admire myself in the coat, and dreamt about how great it would be to wear this around New York in the winter-time. Since living here, and even before moving, I've heard not so great things about the winters here, and have been thinking about how I'm going to keep warm. So, no time like the present to be looking at coats, right? After about 5 minutes, I realized that Kelsey was ready to leave, so I slid it off, looking one more time for a price tag. Well wouldn't you know, it did have a price tag, and that price was $600.

Now I have been known from time-to-time, to spend a little more money on quality items that I know I will get plenty of use out of, but seeing as right now I don't have a job, a $600 coat is not really in the budget. Even if I had a job, I'm not sure I could swallow spending that much money on a coat. So reluctantly, I hung the coat back on the hanger, took one last longing look, and walked away.

On my way out, I spotted another coat that looked quite similar to the one that I fell for, and after checking the label, realized that it was by the same designer. I pulled out my Orbit gum packet (since that was the only thing I had to write on), and jotted down the web site for further research. Later on that night, I made the mistake of looking up the company on-line, and lo and behold, I saw my coat heaven. The designer is Mackage, with wool, puffy, and leather coats for males and females with a distinct Russian military feel. Along with the beautiful coats, the models are wearing tall fur hats, leather gloves, and knee length boots. Unfortunately, they don't sell those accessories on-line, only the jackets.

So, the next time I have $600 laying around (yeah, right), you can be sure that I will buy, nay, invest in one of Mackage's gorgeous coat creations.