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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Product Review: Mint Tweed Griffin Coat

Mint Tweed Griffin Coat
Click here for product page
Item 20401
Regular: $395.00

With the Winter season officially here, there can never be too many reviews for J.Crew's outerwear. This time it is for the delicious Mint Tweed Griffin Coat, which J.Crew describes as:
The coat of the season in luscious mint tweed, finished with vintage-inspired faux-horn buttons and a notched hem and sleeves. It feels incredible on—it's an Italian lightweight wool that allows lots of movement while keeping you toasty warm. Wool blend. Closure anchored with interior backer buttons. Long sleeves. On-seam vertical pockets. Fully lined. Hits just above knee. Part of the J.Crew Collection.
A big "thanks!" to Modern Antique (in this post), who shared her thoughts on this coat with us. The following is her review:
I just received the mint tweed Griffin coat. I was more excited about this piece that any other this season, but I have to return it because of the fit.

I am 5'9" and always wear a size 4 in J.Crew jackets and coats. The shoulders fit just fine. Straight across the chest was more fitted. There is almost no shape to the waist-it's more of a loose/swing style. The killer was that the arms were 2" too short on me. Looking at the model wearing the coat, I think you can see sort of the same thing-the sleeves only hit her high wrist. Due to the way the sleeves are sewn, I'm not sure a tailor could lengthen them. The fabric isn't folded under, the seam is right there at the bottom edge of the sleeve.

The mint tweed fabric, however, is absolutely gorgeous. The color and the marble faux-horn buttons could not be more beautiful.

On a side note, I was disappointed with the way this item was packaged. The coat was quite rumpled when I received it. It was just folded in half over a piece of cardboard. There was no hanger or anything else to differentiate it as a collection piece.

Hope this helps.
"Thanks!" again to Modern Antique for her great review!

What are your thoughts on the Mint Tweed Griffin Coat? Are you considering or already have purchased this coat? Have you seen this coat in person? If so, please share with us your reviews too! :)

14 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review, too bad it didn't work out. That fabric is fab, and I LOVE the color, but the pricetag was too rich for my blood.

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  2. I really appreciate this review as I was considering the mint tweed or the light berry Griffin but I wasn't sure about the sleeve length. I had the same reservations about the Wisteria Mohair Jacket, they look even shorter on that one. Beautiful coats but I'm tall and those shorty sleeves just won't work for our Canadian winter.

    Thanks for the review!

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  3. I have it and like it. I agree that it could use a bit more shape throughout the waist, but if I sized down the shoulders would be too tight. The sleeves do hit at the wrist and could be a bit longer, but I could overlook that and the lack of thickness because I absolutely love the color and tweed fabric.

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  4. ^Those are ways I think J Crew has cut back. They bring in a great fabric but it is too light-weight for a coat.
    Their blazer fabric doesn't even compare to years past. It is so thin. I also think they need to find a new fit model or just consider ridding of the boxy shapes on the shorter jackets and start giving some shape by nipping the waists of the standard length blazers. Although I still feel the blazers are nice/cute, I think they aren't worth their price until they are on sale for maybe $100 or sometimes less (like some are now). The starting price is all kinds of wrong.

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  5. I fell in LOVE with this coat when I saw it on the website. Love that green. I had already purchased the Vintage Serge Spy Trench in the heather salmon, so another special coat wasn't in my budget.
    Too bad about the fit of the sleeves. The flipside is it might be going to sale section!

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  6. I received this coat about a week ago and love it. It came shipped to me on a hanger and nicely packaged.
    I am 5'8 and have very long arms and didn't seem to have an issue with the sleeve length. I absolutely love the fabric, the color is beautiful. I agree the coat could have more shape around the waist but that's just the style of the coat, it's meant to be on the looser side.

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  7. I got the Mint Griffin coat with 30% off. I agree with all the reviewers. The fabric is TDF. Looks very luxe and I imaging is flattering to most skin tones. It was one of the prettier girly coats I ever tried. The sleeves were just right on me but i have short arms despite being 5'7". I mean I can roll up the cuffs in most of the perfect shirts. I took my usual 6 but i was wondering if 4 would be better. I had plenty of room in the chest area (I am 36D) and the shoulders were not too tight. Since it is lightweight i did not anticipated to layer too much under. I was thinking It would work as a spring coat even being tweed because of the color. That was a plus for me but I was not really looking for a heavy coat. The buttons are so pretty too. I liked that it is single breasted. I was no sure about the shape or lack of thereof. With all that said I returned it for 3 reasons: price was still hard for me too justify, I already have a green coat (which ties with no 1), i was not crazy about the swing shape. That said if I did not spend so much money in the last month I would have kept it but I just had to make a choice. Now i really wonder if I made the right decision :( I kept the long puffer in slate but I already have a long down coat from Athleta, so this is a duplicate as well and Griffin is so much prettier and unusual, and .... agrrrh... the constant dillema of a compulsive shopaholic... happy holidays to all

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  8. sweetsy I'm with you on the blazer fabric. I really love the look of the Professor and Schoolboy blazers but once I felt the fabric I was not interested, even on sale. It was so thin and the texture was not smooth and silky like finer wool fabrics J.Crew has used in years past. The super 120's fabric is really nice though, I have a couple of suits and a dress. Highly recommend it.

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  9. Totally understand everyone's thoughts on the boxy shape. J. Crew used to have these great waist nipping jackets called Hacking jackets. Because I'm short-waisted, it is easy for a jacket to go straight down to my hips with no defined waist, even though it's definitely there. I don't need my clothes to work against me! Those Hacking jackets were perfect and very flattering.

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  10. i can do a review of the ruched viva party dress this weekend if anyone is interested!

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  11. I have the wisteria mohair jacket (also a Griffin), and i love it. The color is pretty, and i quite like the A-line, swing shape. The fabric is very soft, light-weight but warm. Since it's mohair, though, it can get a bit matted, so a comb or shaver would come in handy.

    I got my usual size in coats / jackets, which fit fine if a light snug in the shoulders, which is usual for me. (A larger size would have been too big.) I will admit that the sleeves could have been a tad bit longer as well as the coat length. For the latter, it does not hit right above the knee as described online, but more mid/lower thigh. Overall, though, my favorite coat this season.

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  12. I tried this coat on at my favorite JC outlet store. I reeeeeeeeeeeally wanted it, but I think it was one of those things where it looked better on the hanger. For my complexion, the mint color didn't look as flattering, which was a shame, as I'd always loved that minty green. I didn't even mind the shorter sleeves, as I have long gloves, but if it doesn't look right, then it's just the same as it not fitting.

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  13. I just received this coat in the mail and love the shape/ length for a petite frame. I am 5'2'' ish and since this coat was not offered in petite the short sleeves worked for me. I typically wear a 4 petite or 2 regular in coats --- but for this style the 2 regular worked well. The fabric is gorgeous from a slight distance-- but I did not care for how the green color is achieved by many loops of itchy green (nylon, acrylic?) thread woven into the wool base of the coat. I think up close you can kind of tell that the green is synthetic material also. I think that this looks a little cheap and for such an expensive coat I would hope that they could have achieved the look with a better green thread/material. The itchy feel of the coat bothers me-- although the only place you would really feel it is on the unlined neck. That said--- it is a very cute looking coat and unusual/special. I want so much to totally like and keep it (and I might) but for the price I would have expected it to both feel and look good.

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  14. Swoon worthy and got mine on mark down plus 30% off sale. Im 5'2" and 120 lbs. 34 B. Got the size six. The sleeve length/ chest/shoulder just right. The color is superb but a little greener than the washed out photo on jcrew. Overall and flattering with my dark hair and freckles. The rounded collar notched hem and a-line is 1950's prim and proper. The proportion is excellent. Warm too.

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