I’m a New England native who lived in New York City for a spell after college. I spent the bulk of my life dealing with cold and brutal winters and learned to adapt my wardrobe to keep warm and comfortable above all else during the six-ish months of the year when it sucks to go outside. Over time, that meant my go-to winter jacket became a puffy, down-filled parka with a faux fur-trimmed hood from Uniqlo. But in 2015, I moved to sunny and warm Los Angeles, which meant the winter gear went into hibernation … until last year when I returned to New England to stay.
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Suddenly, I was met with a conundrum. During my time in California, I came to become more style-conscious — I guess that’s what happens when your career requires you to constantly cover cool brands and products — and I found my previous winter wardrobe to be lacking. While my old down parka was still as warm as ever, I realized that I didn’t always want to look like I had just come from a ski slope. I needed to find a way to look stylish and presented without sacrificing warmth, and I’ve found it in the Billy Reid Bond Peacoat.
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Billy Reid Bond Peacoat
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I had been aware of the Bond Peacoat for years. The coat came into widespread consciousness back in 2012 when Daniel Craig wore it as James Bond in Skyfall. Funnily enough, the coat’s name actually pre-dates its star-making turn in the superspy’s wardrobe. It dates to 2001 and was actually named for the brand’s Bond Street store in New York. I was also a fan of Billy Reid as a whole before acquiring the coat — I own several pieces from the Alabama-based brand. I love its elevated takes on menswear basics, and I tend to think of its eponymous founder and designer as a Southern Todd Snyder.
This winter, I finally got the Bond Peacoat, and I’ve never had a winter coat that makes me feel the way this one does. And I’ve owned peacoats before — I had a black wool one from Calvin Klein for years in my 20s. But that one, like other winter coats I’ve worn, had no shape to it. It lay on me like a burlap sack, giving me an amorphous blob-like shape that I would be destined to recreate every winter. But the Billy Reid coat has changed all that.
This coat is Italian-made and cut like an Italian suit, with a streamlined slim fit that is relentlessly flattering. It’s crafted from sturdy wool and stitched with bound seams, making the coat rugged and warm enough to forego a liner, cutting down on bulk. This allows the coat to wear more like a blazer than an overcoat, meaning it hugs my body where it should and makes me feel put-together regardless of what I have on under it.
