Good, warm, waterproof women's coat for Ireland

I opted for layering. I brought a thigh length waterproof jacket with hood and wore a sweater underneath when I needed the warmth.

What waterproof jacket did you use?

I've got an Eddie Bauer thigh length waterproof coat that works well. I took a cashmere sweater with me to layer for warmth and it worked great. Land's End has fairly reasonably priced cashmere sweaters. If you sign up for their emails you will get frequent offers for 30%, 40% and 50% off. Eddie Bauer also has frequent sales at their Outlet stores which is the kind I have near me.

On our first trip, I took a thigh-length LL Bean hooded rain jacket and layered under it with sweatshirts or sweaters (April). With no idea of what time of year you are talking about, it's hard to know if you need something heavier. On a subsequent trip, I took my regular winter jacket (I think it was from Northern Reflections) with the lining layer removed. It was a February trip.

Layering. Insulation + wind/rain jacket. REI, Columbia and LL Bean are generally decent values. Patagonia great at a price. North Face is between REI and Patagonia (in my opinion).

For layering basics:
http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/layering-basics.html

Remember that form follows function and beauty is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to a fashion statement.

PS For Ireland, don't bring an orange outer shell.

And if you didn't bring warm-enough layers, that's a great excuse to buy a handmade Irish sweater.

Thank you!

"PS For Ireland, don't bring an orange outer shell."

WHY?

Jack: I wore my Orange shell while walking around in Oslo during the St. Patrick's day march. My rescue orange colored shell seemed to offend some of the Irish marchers (in a polite way) .

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-18769781
The Orange Order is a 'fraternal' organisation, named for William of Orange, the Protestant Dutchman who seized the thrones of Catholic King James II back in the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688.

http://www.livescience.com/27957-st-patricks-day-5-facts.html
In Ireland, some people still adhere to the tradition of Catholics wearing green and Protestants wearing orange, the colors that represent their respective religious sects on the Irish flag.

Got it... thank you!

I agree with layering, a shell to keep you dry - I prefer with a hood and long enough to have the water slide off below your bottom - and warm layers as needed under it. I'd say use two warm layers unless you are traveling in summer. For example a nice wool sweater (not too bulky or heavy) that can dress up with pants or be layered under your shell, plus either a second sweater or fleece jacket (again not too heavy or bulky). This gives you two layering options when it's cool, and you can layer both together if it gets really cold.

I just got a water repellant down coat from Athleta that I am quite happy with so far. They have a couple of different lengths available and they are on sale right now. Might be something to look at.

I can't love this coat enough:

http://www.orvis.com/p/exofficio-women-s-storm-logic-coat/8T33?item_code=8T330250&adv=127748&cm_mmc=plas-_-SaleOutlet-_-8T33-_-127748&kpid=8T33-02-50&gclid=Cj0KEQiAq920BRC8-efn57XrotYBEiQAlVlMQ---MZ0wmZcKihdyAUDeRHAAqSii0YlXuwGlHVcxpJUaAqVZ8P8HAQ

... and in fact, I purchased it last spring (40% off at Orvis! :-) ) for a trip to Paris/London/Dublin, since I knew the weather was going to be iffy -- probably rainy, possibly really cold, possibly ... well, anything :-D It got me through rainy Paris, freezing-cold-and-gale-force-windy Stonehenge, and cool-but-not-uncomfortably-so Dublin, and was just fabulous.

I later described it to my husband as "like wearing a cloud!" It's super-lightweight but very warm when you need it to be, and the number of pockets and storage spots is just astounding. (My personal favorite: the little zippered pocket on the left forearm sleeve -- perfect for that Oystercard, Carte Orange or LEAP card!) The fit is just right, too -- very comfortable but not "baggy" looking; quite elegant and slimming, actually. I had previously ordered a gorgeous (and similar) coat from TravelSmith (it was called the "Paris Something-or-Other," I think), and had to return it because a) it weighed about 100 lbs., and b) the sleeves were so tight that I could only have worn it with bare arms ... and then only barely :-/ And that was the XL size, which is usually roomy on me; I ordered a size up since a few reviews said it ran small.

One final bonus: The coat rolls up into its own little storage pocket, enabling it to be used as a pillow on long plane or train trips -- incredibly comfy!

(And no, really, they DON'T pay me to say this! :-D