Let me be clear: I did not need another winter coat. I already had three that I wear regularly—black, white, and red—in addition to two more black coats waiting for me to get it together to donate them to charity or bring them to a clothing swap, a traditional Scandinavian jacket from Norway that was my mother’s, and a vintage lambswool swing coat with a fur collar that must weigh about ten pounds. Obviously I had enough options to ensure that I would not freeze to death looking nondescript. Yet I’d always wanted a down jacket.
