i bought this online based on the picture, love the look of this jacket and the color online. but when i got it in the mail, i was unhappy with several features. primarily the fit, i ordered a petite medium, and the shoulders were still quite big and even had a boxy effect. which led to my next objection, in that when you are wearing it, i had the overwhelming feeling i was wearing a Star Trek uniform. i have worn items with similar patterns and not had ever had that occur to me! LOL but couldnt shake the thought. also, the color was quite different in person, almost a Cookie Monster Blue, certainly not turqiouse which is more who it appeared online to me. i returned it. customer service in the store was wonderful!
This jacket functions for me just as it is marketed. The Wind Pro 300 fleece blocks the wind totally and the thick, lush inside fleece layer holds in warmth extremely well. Unlike other performance jackets that I have tried, this jacket has a warm feel even before I get moving to generate heat. This jacket has great stretch panels that allow full range of motion for arms and torso, with no riding up of sleeves or jacket body. In my XS 5'7" 117lb frame, it ran true to size. It is definitely more of a sport and casual jacket than a work jacket (at least at my job), and gets to display all of its wonderful features with performance use. I am using this jacket for winter walks, snow-shoeing (if we get any snow!), and cross-country skiing. I would recommend it for any active person who likes to be warm and unrestricted during their preferred outdoor activities.
The jacket is pretty and soft. I normally wear a Medium (5 ft, 3 in, 115 lbs), sometimes regular and sometimes petite. In this case, because I intend to wear layers under the jacket, I got a Petite Large.
The sleeves are perfect in length. Sometimes the sleeves of Petite items are a bit short or tight fitting under the arm. The jacket did not have those drawbacks. A Petite Medium would probably have fit as well, but I like to wear clothes on the loose side.
The body length is fine. If the bottoms of my tops peek out from under the jacket, I don't mind. I wanted the jacket for function, and this item meets that need.
I've worn the jacket in temperatures in the 40a and layered with a medium weight sweater, and I have felt comfortable. I consider this jacket something to wear for spring or fall weather when out with my dogs.
Other reviews have cited a problem with the stiff backing for the zipper, but while the backing is on the stiff side, this does not bother me at all.
For anyone who is on the small side, like me, this jacket is a tough fit. The jacket runs big (hello vanity sizing), so I ended up returning the S I ordered for an XS. The S fit great for length, but it was very big everywhere else. The XS fits great everywhere else, but is WAY WAY WAY WAY too short. It barely reaches my waist let alone fall anywhere near my hips where the S fell.
Just because someone is a size XS does not mean he/she is short. LLBean needs to adjust their sizing to reflect this. If you'd like to offer a petite which would be shorter, then do so, but do not shorten the length of a jacket when decreasing the size.
If the jacket had been long enough, I definitely would have kept it. As it is I had to return both jackets.
