and I have now purchased a new winter coat.

One funny thing about shopping here in germany is that it seems all the stores carry the SAME style of everything. Finding a winter coat (or well, any clothes) that is suited to my body style/shape is really difficult. Let me explain. For those of you who don’t know me, I HAVE CURVES. God made me with a figure – with curves in all the right places. Bluntly, I have a chest, I have an ass. I am built to be athletic – to be a pack horse (as some would say) but I’m not a stick skinny little chick.

That being said, I don’t need my hips, my ass, or my chest to look any bigger than they already are. So, why do designers put big wide belts around the middle of a coat? WHAT is up with the military pockets that pooch out and make your hips look bigger? And why do they have to have them on the chest too? Really, they make me look short, fat, and NOT nice at all. End of story.

Now, that being said, the vast majority of coats here offered are black, dark brown, olive green, or white. Let’s think a minute (I know logic doesn’t play into this at any point) but it’s Germany. This is Northern Europe. It’s going to be winter soon. This means that it will be pitch black by 5pm for at least 3 months out of the year. WHY oh WHY do they want to give us dark coats? I mean the majority of the population is outside waiting on buses, trams, etc. Would it hurt to at least add some reflective qualities? Do they like the fact that people wearing these clothes *MIGHT BE HARD TO BE SEEN?* Ok I’ll grant you that at least these do hide the dirt….

Re White coats. WHY would you want a white coat in a city that it rains in nearly every day during the winter? I mean I’ll grant you some of them are very cute, but again, IMPRACTICAL. The dirt here is dark colored. Most people don’t really have a washing machine and “dryer”. No, everything is hung up to dry because it’s more economical. So, that being said, White coats would get dirty easily, be washed frequently, and require time to hang up (3-5 days) to dry. Who buys these? Who wears them? Do normal people really keep these clean? (Apparently I’m NOT normal because my winter coat gets washed at least 1 time a month – because it’s dirty around the cuffs and sleeves!)

At any rate, after much hunting – 3 stores near me, a trip to berlin, and finally to potsdam’s stern center “mall”, I’m pleased to announce I have a new winter jacket. Not only is it down, has no “military style” pooch out pockets, and fits, it’s also my favorite color. RED. *big cheesy grin*

I’m sure I’ll have pictures posted soon. Now the hunt begins for accessories (think scarf, gloves and hat – since this doesn’t have one with it). *Does No one here wear red? Oh wait… I already know the answer to that question. Only if you’re a guy or…. ME.*