The Hunt: Washable Winter Coats

The first, obvious option: Go to the Mom Stores. Lands’ End, Eddie Bauer, L.L.Bean… I’ve gotten way more familiar with these than I ever thought I would. They, predictably, have some insulated puffy coats that are machine washable and super warm — but to my eyes look decidedly like Mom Coats.

Some standout machine washable coats from the Mom Stores:

• Eddie Bauer’s Sun Valley coat (pictured above in purple) comes in regular, petite, tall, and plus sizes, has 2,800+ excellent reviews, and is $299–$329 full price. Love that outside zipper.
• Lands’ End’s 600 Down Winter Long Coat has almost 2,000 great reviews at the Lands’ End site. It’s available in a zillion colors (fine, 12) in regular, petite, and tall sizes, as well as plus sizes and petite plus sizes (hard to find!). It’s $215–$235 new.

L.L.Bean’s long list of search filters for their coats’ various features — hooded, adjustable waist, insulated, packable, waterproof, etc. — sadly doesn’t include “machine washable.” And “washable winter coat” brings up zero search results… Fortunately, the majority of their winter coats are washable, with some exceptions, such as lambswool coats.

Their “Women’s Winter Warmer Coat” (it does what it says on the tin!) is a bestseller and very highly rated, with 1,500 five-star reviews. It’s not the most stylish coat you’ll ever see (although it does have princess seams to add some shape), but it will definitely keep you warm. It’s water-resistant and has a fleece-lined upper body and hood, along with added insulation in the sleeves.

This coat, which is $139, is available in regular, petite, and plus sizes up to 3X and comes in five colors — black, grays, and blues. It’s temperature-rated for light activity to 15° and for moderate activity to -35°

The Active Stores

The next place to look is the “active” stores — after all, no one’s going hiking in a cashmere statement coat unless they’re a character in a Hallmark movie.

Some standout machine washable coats from the active stores:

• North Face’s Arctic Parka (pictured above in gray) — This has 3,600+ great reviews at Zappos, and is available in XS–3X — The North Face website has the most color and size options.
• Patagonia’s 3 in 1 — This has been a reader favorite for years because it’s got a detachable nanopuff interior coat as well as the outside waterproof coat, so you can wear them separately or together. The coat comes in six colors at the moment in sizes XS–XXL for $599; you can find it at Patagonia or sporting good stores like Dick’s or REI. (The brand’s more affordable Nano Puff Parka is only $279 and also a big favorite!)
• (Note that Amazon does not sell Patagonia — but searching on Amazon for the more $600 Patagonia coat pulls up a ton of more affordable dupes from similar companies and previous seasons.)

REI sells coats from Columbia, Marmot, The North Face, and other familiar names, but REI Co-op is their own brand, and it gets excellent customer reviews. If you aren’t a Puffy-Coat Person but you want a Serious Winter Coat that’s machine washable, here’s a great choice, REI’s Powderbound Insulated Jacket. As you can tell from the name, it’s designed for winter sports like skiing and snowboarding, we won’t tell anyone if you’ve never touched a snowboard in your life and simply live somewhere with brutally cold winters. But if you love winter sports — bonus!

This coat is waterproof and windproof has a ton of features, including an adjustable hood, a lined collar to prevent chafing (nice!), a media port, and lots of pockets.

Besides typical winter-coat colors like black, gray, etc., this style is available in this pretty “toadstool,” which on my screen looks like a pale lavender. Sizes are XS–XL, and the price is $199.

Reliable Other Option: Insulated Raincoats

Depending on how cold your winter is, this may or may or not be an option, but: Gallery, London Fog, and other brands offer a number of washable coats that have detachable liners that are pretty warm, in my experience. Shoveling the snow in 20-below weather? Well, no — more like “run/walk to the car.” But that may be all you need. (Amazon also has a bunch under $60!) 

At the very least, these coats bypass the “puffy coat” look and all look conservative and traditional with a skirt suit.

Another noteworthy option here: this reader favorite raincoat from Eddie Bauer (pictured) comes in an insulated option! I found it slightly puffier than I preferred, but it’s always an option. And it comes in regular, petite, plus, and tall sizes, which can be really hard to find.

A Few Other Approaches to Washable Winter Coats

There are a few “department store” brands that I’d consider regulars for machine washable coats — namely Cole Haan, Bernardo, and some of Tahari’s offerings. I’d look to affordable stores like Macy’s if you want something like that. The coat pictured above is a long-standing reader favorite from Cole Haan — look for it at Nordstrom Rack, Nordstrom, Amazon, Macy’s and others.

Another good option: Uniqlo’s coats are always affordable and often machine washable (especially their ultra-light down coats)– their offerings vary pretty widely from season to season (or even week to week), though, so if you like something act fast.

Washable Winter Coats for Pregnant Women

As I’ve suggested before, not every pregnant mama needs a maternity winter coat — it depends heavily on your due date, how you’re carrying, etc. (For my son born in May, for example, I think I just wore my winter coat open when my belly was too big in March/April.)

BUT: I always think these are neat options to keep in mind: There are a lot of maternity winter coats like this that have a zippered panel to adjust to a pregnant belly as well as baby-wearing. (And then the zippered panel zips out if you just need a coat). The pictured one is from Modern Eternity, and a lot of that brand’s offerings are machine washable, including this one.

{related: what to wear to work when it’s cold outside}