Or maybe I just needed a new winter coat. 😉

Anyway, this here is the (hang on, checking my order history) Swiss Tech Women’s Parka Jacket With Faux Fur-Trim Hood.

I originally found it, or one very much like it, on clearance at my place of employment. And because it was on clearance, naturally finding my size was…. difficult.
See, the version that was at the store was the “plus size” version of the coat, but 1x was too small–I couldn’t even close it enough to zip up–3X was way too big, and 2x simply wasn’t available.
But armed with a smartphone and the store’s app, I was able to look up the coat’s product page and add the 2X to my wishlist, ready for me to find another store that carried it so I could try it on.

And then I looked. And looked. And looked some more. And by the time I caved and decided to just order it online, sans trying-on, even the website was out of stock.

Finally I located this one. And ironically enough, the “not-plus-size” variety size 1X actually fits! I mean, it’s snug around the chest, and I need to lose some more weight before it’s truly comfortable, but I can zip it up, wear it to work, et cetera.

There’s just one teensy, tiny problem….

(Disclaimer: I totally wrote this review for the sole purpose of having an excuse to embed this video. 😉
Second disclaimer: Due to YouTube’s changes, I need 4,000 viewing hours and 1,000 subscribers to monetize my channel. Embedding videos should help with the view time in theory–my motivation for the aforementioned excuse–but anybody care to check out what else I’ve got? The channel is Side Quest Publications, and while monetizing is a goal, I would at least appreciate enough subscribers–100 according to YouTube’s rules–to get myself a custom web address instead of that random letters and numbers gobbledygook. I’m working on adding more booktubing and photo challenges, but at this time of writing it’s mostly unboxing videos and assorted random things.)

*ahem*

Anyway, the coat has a grand total of six pockets:
One zip-up horizontal pocket on the left, about midway up; I keep my keys and (car) phone charger in this one.
Two snap pockets on the sides near the chest area; the size and position are such that I have little use for these.
One zip-up pocket on the left sleeve; not sure what this is for, though maybe all-season runners might keep an mp3 player in there?
And two vertical pockets on each side of the bottom with no method of sealing them off; I keep my hat and gloves in these when it’s hung up for the day.
What else I would like to pocket would be my phone, but the upper pockets are too small and I do not trust it to stay in either of the lower.
It also has two flaps of material that snap into place to seal up…. absolutely nothing. The snaps don’t even close up the lower pockets.

Wait. What?

I’m sorry, no. No no no. There is no such thing as a decorative fake pocket. There is either a pocket that can be decorative, or there is a waste of material designed to trick you into thinking there are pockets.

I will never understand that trend. I mean, who in their right mind could possibly have decided that a pocket was something “decorative” enough that we need to pretend to have one when we can’t actually use it?

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