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What better for a curated life than a curated coat. My coat is from The Curated, a sustainable luxury label, founded by Nicola Harlem. I’ve had this coat for over two months and I’ve never received so many DMs about an item of clothing since sharing a few photos of me wearing it during recent morning walks. It is the coat that I’ve been mostly reaching for now that the temperature has dropped here in Sydney so I thought it would be worthwhile to share my thoughts now that I’ve had a chance to wear it a bit.
Sustainable production is at the core of the business with the brand’s clothing items made from leftover fabric remnants. It means quantities are limited and that their pieces almost always sell out. The considered approach to production also proves more ethical in that it encourages consumers to invest in quality staples they can enjoy for many years, rather than opting for cheaper, lower-quality items that have a shorter lifespan.
Aside from being sustainable and female-founded, The Curated is refreshingly transparent with its pricing. There’s a lot of information about the concept behind the brand on their website, including about pricing, where Nicola discloses the components that go into the mark-up of her coats which, in turn, provides insight into the high price tags of designer goods.
Apart from coats, which is what put the label on the radar for me, The Curated also produces a considered collection of silk basics, leather bags and cashmere scarves.
I’ve got the Modern Coat in Khaki Melange in a size XS. The khaki melange is a lighter hue that can be best described as a warmer version of their creamy bone colour that features in their classic and tailored coat styles. The coat is comprised of an organic double-faced cashmere wool blend (70% merino wool, 30% cashmere). It retails for $625 AUD ($375 USD) – a steal for a cashmere coat in my opinion. It also comes in lush camel colour.
In this post, I address the most common questions I’ve been fielding, including sizing, quality and how I’ve styled my coat.
Design
The coat is a collarless style, features two side pockets and has no buttons or closures. The sleeves of the coat are a more relaxed fit, making for easy layering during the colder months.
It can be worn either open or belted and comes with a matching belt as well as two swatches of fabric so you have the option of sewing on belt loops if you’re so inclined. Personally, I don’t think belt loops are necessary for wearing the coat belted, but I have kept the swatches in a safe place just in case I do change my mind.
When worn open, it looks like a chic and effortless duster coat. When belted, it creates a clean and sophisticated silhouette. I’ve had my eye on The Curated coats for a while and I was tossing up between this coat and the Tailored Coat but I ultimately settled for the Modern Coat as for me – it oozes sophistication with its clean design.
Sizing & fit
Sizing, by far, is the most common query I’ve received. Personally, I was tossing up between the XS and the S but I settled on the XS as the coat is modelled on someone who is taller than I am on the store page (she’s 168cm tall and wearing a small).
Unlike the Classic Coat, which is a more relaxed cut, the Modern Coat is cut to a more fitted silhouette and I didn’t want to risk it looking oversized on my petite frame in going for a size S. I’m glad I went with the XS – I’m 5’2″ and I typically wear a size AU 8 in clothing. The coat sits well across my shoulders and is a great length. If anything, the arms are still a tad long, probably by around 2 to 3 cm. It’s not a huge issue for me and it would be no big drama to get my tailor to take it up slightly.
If you’re still on the fence about sizing, you should get in touch with their customer service team or DM their Instagram page. Nicola and her team are very responsive and helpful.
Styling
I’ve managed to wear the coat to the office a couple of times but since the lockdown measures were implemented, I’ve been wearing this coat on chillier days during our morning walks. While I envisaged a more dressier/corporate catalogue of looks by this stage, I’ve really enjoyed styling it in more relaxed casual ensembles as you would have seen on my Instagram feed lately, some of which I’ve included below.
The coat is amazingly versatile and can be styled both for work and when off-duty. Its versatility is what ultimately swayed me into choosing this style. During normal programming, I spend more days in corporate wear than I do casual so it was important to me for the coat to be able to work for both areas of my wardrobe.
Top Left: Coat* styled with Everlane mock neck knit*, Nobody Denim jeans, Gucci belt, Everlane boots Top Centre: Coat* styled with Uniqlo knit, Scanlan Theodore skirt, Tony Bianco mules, Celine bag (see my full review here) Top Right: Coat* styled with Acne Studios scarf, Nobody Denim jeans, Everlane boots, Celine bag, Ray Ban sunglasses
Bottom Left: Coat* styled with H&M linen tee, Nobody Denim jeans, Everlane flats, Acne Studios scarf, Celine bag, Ray Ban sunglasses Bottom Centre: Coat* styled with Everlane mock neck knit*, Nobody Denim Jeans, Everlane boots, Acne Studios Scarf, Celine bag Bottom Right: Coat* styled with Tony Bianco mules, Celine bag
The verdict
The quality of the coat is unlike anything I’ve ever owned. It’s lightweight and luxuriously soft, thanks to the higher proportion of cashmere in the fabric (most brands go for a 90/10 mix in their cashmere coats).
It is perfectly suited to a Sydney winter. Our winters are mild (average highs of between 8-15°C / 46-59°F) and the coat provides ample room to layer a chunky knit underneath for the winter season. While it’s currently Autumn here (with temps of around 12°C / 53°F during our morning walks), I’ve been getting some good use out of it so far. At the moment, I’ve only got one layer on underneath and the coat is keeping me nice and toasty.
While $625 AUD isn’t a sum of money to take lightly, I do think it is great value for anyone in the market for a quality cashmere coat. The Modern Coat is very similar to the collarless coats released by Loewe and The Row – both of which retail for 5-10 times the price of The Curated’s version. If you do decide to invest in one of their coats, you can rest assured knowing that you’ve made a considered purchase with a piece that will serve you for many years.
Thanks again to The Curated for sending me this coat. For full disclosure I did select and receive the Modern Coat as PR product from the brand, however I was under no obligation to post it or share a review. All thoughts are my own.
P.S. The five Autumn workwear pieces you need and an Autumn outfit I wore during a morning walk with the family.
