The Upper East Side Coat.

7 Shares

There are two things at this moment that I can't believe. 1) That I got this Upper East Side Coat 5 years ago, and 2) that people are still asking me about it.

Straight outta the bag, complete with wrinkles. The coat I mean.

The Upper East Side Coat

I was browsing around on Instagram years ago when I came across an Instastory by a friend of a friend. Actually I have no idea if they're friends because this is the age where people who have never met and would almost certainly gouge each other's eyes out in real life are "friends".

As a matter of fact I've never met my "friend" in this story. We have however spoken on the phone and have a strong connection due to our shared love of the laughing with tears emoji.

So. Friend of a friend shared this coat in a post. It was being referred to as "The Upper East Side Coat". Friend of friend is a fashion designer who happens to actually live on New York's Upper East Side.

I really liked the coat but I liked the idea of wearing a mythical "Upper East Side Coat" into my small town Dollar Store even more. So I immediately began my investigation in the place almost all investigations begin. The refrigerator.

Standing there with the door open, I looked inside the fridge waiting for a package of bologna, a Kentucky Fried Chicken breast or some other delicious thing I didn't actually buy to magically appear. As I slid out a jar of olives I imagined my Upper East Side life.

In it, I live in the corner unit of a very old apartment building with marble floors, a centre hall table and I always eat apples. And of course, I have "the coat".

I'm not an idiot, I know this kind of an apartment could only come with a lot of hard work. I'd have to write at least one newspaper column a month to afford that kind of luxury. I've seen my share of Sex & the City. I know how it works.

I closed the refrigerator door and made my way upstairs to the second most popular place to start an investigation; Google. It didn't take long to track down the coat. According to Google, the coat dated back to a travel blog called The Blonde Abroad. And sure enough, in a post she wrote about packing for winter travel in 2015, there the blonde stands in The Coat. She had packed it to wear on a trip to Canada. CANADA.

The Coat and I were meant to be together.

This was all starting to get a bit mind blowing. I ate an olive. Back on Google I read more about The Upper East Side Coat.

Apparently, after an Upper East Side kindergarten teacher spotted the coat on the travel blog she bought it. Then someone else on the Upper East Side spotted it on the kindergarten teacher and bought it. From there it was a free-for-all with every Upper East Sider sashaying up and down their sidewalks wearing the coat in one of its four colours. Green seems to be the most popular among the crowd.

Looking back on it now, I think the reason this became such a huge deal was partly due to the fact that this was a really cheap coat. It was ... an Amazon coat. On the backs of glamazon people.

Not convinced this coat phenomenon was a real thing I texted my emoji friend who happens to live downtown Manhattan, in Tribeca. She not only verified the popularity of this coat on The Upper East Side but also confirmed it was indeed contained to The Upper East Side. They do not wear it downtown. Downtown everyone carries a certain quilted bag, but they don't wear The Coat.

5 years ago at least, I'm sure everything has changed now with people on the Upper East Side wearing quilted coats and the downtowners wearing 4 or 5 performance artists as coats.

It was all too exciting. The opportunity to walk around in a genuine Upper East Side coat without ever once having to worry about finding a rent controlled apartment or eat apples. The first Google article I read about the coat, from New York Magazine, attributed the design to a Chinese company Orolay that makes folding chairs. Um. O.K. Those New Yorkers are eccentric aren't they. But if they think that a chair company makes the best coats who am I to argue?

I ordered the coat. It was here in 4 days. I loved the coat immediately. It's weirdly comfortable for sitting.

Why am I talking about this coat again?

To tell you 5 years later I still love it. I have washed and dried it countless times. It is warm, there are lots of pockets for keys, wallets, snacks, Kleenex ...

Plus it looks great. Or it used to look great.

The coat is still getting compliments even in its current ripped, mangled, stained, 5 year old, embarrasing to wear in public state.

I wore it to train & walk Philip while he was a shark-toothed puppy. That was really the beginning of the end of the coat.

I decided this week that I was still so in love with the coat that I was going to order the exact same one again.

When I first bought the coat it was $80US. 5 years later it is now $150 US. The coat is worth that, but ... it makes it less fun.

BUT ... I found a copy of it for just over $100 so if you'd like to partake in the Upper East Side fun, 5 years after everyone else I still recommend it.

They seem to be the same coat but the prices range depending on who is selling it.

By the WAY

If you're in Canada and you ever have something shipped to you from the US, before you pay anything for customs or duty read my post about how to self clear the item. You CAN refuse to pay UPS broker fees and self clear the item yourself.

And that is the story of The Upper East Side Coat. Now I just have to decide whether or not I'm moving on up again or not.

Have a good weekend! Christmas House Tour on Monday. And if I happen to take a fun photo between now and Sunday morning, there will be a puzzle post too.