Women Travel Jackets dilemma

Gooday. My family is now planning a winter trip for December, combining Japan and Korea. We will be travelling a fair amount and would expect to see a bit of snow. We were in Japan December 2010 and the girls (wife + 2 teenage daughters) took ski jackets which were the only things that we can get in Australia to combat sub-zero temps. In any event, they are all very petite, not quite Japanese level of petite, but pretty small, ranging from 5'1" and about 42kg to maybe 5'6" and 50kg. The puffy jackets make them look like golf balls, they would like something stylish that doesnt look like a ski jacket. Unfortunately being on the Gold Coast, where winter rarely gets below 10 degrees celsius, there is virtually no stores that sell a real winter coat, and I havent found anything much online. Has anyone got any suggestions of where I could look and what search terms I could use?

I am also from Queensland and have been in Tokyo in December.

Are they prepared to wait until they get there and shop at somewhere like UNIQLO?

It could be the first day's job- shop; that way they can get the latest fashion and the right weight for the season.

I've always found UNIQLO has a good range and similar to Target pricing here.

Hi, we looked at Uniqlo at Kyoto station when we went in December 2010, but they couldnt find anything that suited them. I stupidly convinced them that they would love Canada Goose jackets when I found them half price on a website, but after doing so I've come to the conclusion that the site is probably not genuine and I cant get them on Amazon either. I might be able to order them in from NZ though.

Before I went last December I ordered stuff from Amazon Japan and it was waiting for me at the hotel when I arrived.

That might be possible for you if Amazon JP have what you're looking for...also every UNIQLO store I've been in has a different range...some only have tshirts, some have a full range incl kids wear...

Pious,

What do you mean when you say they couldn't find anything in Uniqlo that suited them? Uniqlo's long down jackets were very popular last year and a couple of female friends loved the slender-but-warm-yet-cheap characteristic of these jackets.

As a woman, though, I can well understand that you can't just go to a store and expect to find something you feel great wearing. A stroll around a mall in winter will give you almost all the general options you can get for women's jackets, and if you don't like it that is that.

But brands like Land's End and Eddie Bauer also offer quality winter wear on-line if you're interested.

http://www.landsend.com/ix/womens-clothing/Women/Outerwear/index.html?...

http://www.eddiebauer.com/EB/Women/Outerwear-Jackets--Blazers/index.ca...

Thanks, those links are excellent. Yes, our problem is that a stroll around the mall in Oz wouldnt give any winter jacket at all, anything would be very lightweight. And no, I dont understand the Uniqlo (sp?) difficulty, but suspect that they all had something in the nature of Pea Coats in mind (see, I looked at the links) and they dont like the puffy looking things. I'll check out those links some more and see if we can get them into Oz, also Amazon for collection in Japan. Thanks again!

I live in NSW, and have lived/travelled northern Tohoku and have found Ebay great for winter/ski jackets. Also, the surf/camping/ski shops around our winter time have bargains. I think in Brisbane there are a few ski shops. Hope this helps. :)

I would second the recommendation of looking at Lands End if you can get their stuff easily in Australia. They do some great lines in winter clothing and also layering items (which is probably the best way to go as it makes it easier to adjust your clothing as temperatures change in different places). For example, my other half has a jacket from them that has a waterproof layer and a fleece layer that can be worn together or separately.

Good luck!

I'm not trying to be rude, but my advice is to forget about what they look like and just enjoy the travel. No one else will really be bothered by how they look.

Pious,

If they have Pea Coats in mind, they might want to check out department stores if they were to shop in Japan. But frankly, Pea Coats aren't as warm and efficient as down coats.

Just for your reference, this is a photo of a sold-out Uniqlo down coat. As you can see, it is puffed warm and light yet makes you look slender due to the sort of an A-line sillouette.

http://www.google.co.jp/imgres?imgurl=http://im.store.uniqlo.com/goods...

But again, I personally am in love with my Eddie Bauer down jacket, because it's super-warm (the shop-keeper told me that someone traveling to a minus 30C zone had bought it) and yet the sort of non-curvy sillouette makes women look handsome. The downside may be that it costs a lot, but it's worth it.

By the way, I can understand that it's not about who looks at you but about how you want to look for yourself.

Yes I can understand the girls wanting to look sharp, we stay in some nice places and sometimes eat out in good restaurants. The uniqlo jacket looks good. At this stage I'm trying to get Canada Goose Montebello jackets which look pretty snappy and rate well, if I cant I figure we'll hit Uniqlo in Kyoto station and have another try. Thanks everyone.

Just an update, bought a few jackets from Lands End which seem ideal for the daughters (and because they were on sale, ideal for me too) they have arrived already and we are very happy with quality. Thanks a lot for the tips.

That's great! Hope your wife gets something nice, too!

...ahhhh, got the Canada Goose Montebello coming over in black from Amazon for the missus. They are supposed to be the duck's guts, and it just so happens that I snagged that on sale too, lucky with it being the end of the US winter I suppose.