I've been searching for the perfect winter coat, looked at many different ones, but knew I couldn't go wrong with LL Bean. I love this coat! I'm always cold, but not in this - even in the below 0 degree wind-chill we had this week. I bought the chocolate and it's a nice rich chocolate. Only thing I wish it was all 1 color inside and out.
I have been trying for two years to find a really good down parka and LL Bean had it. It is well filled with little to no thin spots. This morning was the perfect 28 degree morning to see how warm it would be with just a turtle neck shirt on and my skit pants. It was very warm and comfortable. I like the way you can sinch in the waist on the inside and the hood fits snuggly so you can see when you turn your head. I look forward to having this coat for many years to come.
I originally ordered a size Medium which was way too big. (I am 5'4" and typically wear a size 8...so medium seemed to be the right guess.) I exchanged it for a size Small and still felt it looked too poofy and broad in the shoulders. Finally I took a gamble and tried the Extra Small and it is just right! Plenty of room for layering underneath and slim enough to be flattering without being tight at all. My only complaint is that the sleeves could be a couple inches longer, but it's not a deal-breaker. This jacket has been so cozy during our recent cold spell!
Excellent except for the double zipper. It is sometimes very hard to line up the zipper insert on one side into the zipper heads (double) on the other side. Unless these are alignerd properly one cannot zip up jacket correctly. The problem seems to be the zipper head was not sown in straight enough,
