The sleeping bag coat

I have a winter coat that looks kind of like this one. I call it my sleeping bag coat for reasons that are pretty self explanatory.

This is my second year with the sleeping bag coat, and I've put off wearing it for as long as I possibly could. Part of that is just mental, if I know I've got this super-warm coat that I'm not wearing, that means it isn't really winter yet. Since winter in Boston can last through March, it's important to pace oneself.

The other reason I put off wearing the coat is that it looks absolutely ridiculous. The one I have is, perhaps, slightly less "puffy vest" looking than the one you see here, but only slightly. The added bonus is that it was clearly designed for women much taller than my meager 5'5". If I were two inches shorter, I would not be able to wear this coat. As it is, walking up the stairs without tripping can be a challenge.

This weekend I pulled the sleeping bag coat out of the back of my closet. It was 26* and I didn't see any reason to put on 8 layers just to go to the gym. It was time. I zipped the coat up over yoga pants and a t-shirt and walked out into the world.

As I walked down the street to the gym, I felt superior to all the people walking around me, heads down, huddled into their scarves, wearing hoodies under their performance fleece jackets. I was not cold! I was not wearing a scarf, or a hat, or even gloves! and I was warm!

Over the course of my five minute walk, my superiority disintegrated as I realized that I was basically walking down the street wearing a down muumuu. Suddenly I was Anna in The King and I and all the passersby were ladies of the court, thinking I dressed like that because I was shaped like that.

I'm sure as it gets colder, more people will bust out their hard core winter coats. Then I'll just be one amongst many, a whole tribe of sleeping-bag shaped people, wandering the streets of Boston.