Need a nice-looking (women’s) jacket for winter travel?

Lola - I always appreciate your recommendations, but I have to say I have never purchased a polyester garment that is "breathable," even though they say they are. I purchased the Marmot sun-protective shirt and I've gotten a lot of good out of it, but it does make me hot. And I have an LL Bean rain jacket - same thing. Both of these are more breathable than garments that aren't advertised as such, but they're not like natural fabrics. I'm just posting this to find out of I'm an outlier here.

Lola-- I just returned from Europe. Your puffer coat will be fine. Accesorize with a pashmina. Bring warm gloves. A beret, fedora, or headband will be that extra panache.

Believe me, noone will notice. You will blend in just fine with a puffer coat. You didn't say when you were going,but this REI jacket would not be warm enough for winter.

I am on a facebook group, travel fashion girl-- and posted pics of my recent trip of what women are wearing. Puffer coats were everywhere. Be comfortable-first and foremost.

Hi Janet, I expect it will be breathable because it is all knit fabric, like regular fleece. It is not meant to be worn directly against the skin as it is outwear. I just tried “breathing “ through it and it seems fine; much better than my N95 mask for sure! Actually it didn’t impede the airflow at all.

I don’t care for polyester against my skin either. The Marmot sun shirt I recommended is an exception, as it has a cotton-y feel to me—-but I still wear it over a very light merino Tee so it only touches the skin on my arms.

A polyester rain jacket like your LL Bean is a different animal—-they are tightly woven and either treated with an impermeable coating (like the old coated nylon rain jacket I had 50 years ago) or layered with a “breathable” membrane like Gore-Tex. I think those make a person sweat when exercising under warm conditions no matter what the ads say. I just tried breathing through my favorite Patagonia Torrentshell rain jacket ( single layer fabric) and it is as suffocating as a plastic bag. And I do perspire in it while hiking. But my more expensive Patagonia H2No “city” rain jacket has a mesh liner, and if I put that side against my face, I can breathe through it a bit. Must be something about the mesh layer, as if I try to breathe through it with the outer layer on my face I cannot.

Not sure what all this means but I was an interesting exercise. Actually for me it means that the Royal Robbins jacket I just bought will do for warmth but maybe not in a cold biting wind. But it is trim enough to layer under my rain jacket ( the mesh-lined one) so I will be taking both to Italy in February.

Thanks for your experimenting, Lola, and reporting on it!