Well, ladies... I have been on a mission to find a non-wool, non-down, non-leather (VEGAN) coat since September. I am pretty picky when it comes to coats, anyway (there's always something I don't love about it... ::)), and now that I wanted to find a vegan coat, it was much more difficult. I searched high & low, far & wide, and every time I Googled "vegan coats" (or some variation), all I could find were blog entries from people talking about how frustrating it is trying to find a vegan coat! ;D I have been in the market for a new coat for the past few winters (never bought one because I was too picky & before I found the "perfect" coat, it was spring!), so I didn't mind making a bit of an expensive investment in the right coat. But it was seriously impossible... If it wasn't wool, it had a leather belt on it... If it didn't have leather on it, it was filled with down. >:(

I was about to give up, when finally I decided to look on Target.com... Seriously, Target really rocks sometimes. They surprisingly offer a lot of vegan shoes! I am not sure if I am totally comfortable with where they get their clothes (I am not entirely sure if it's sweatshop or not, and that concerns me), but I know they're not Wal-Mart, and most clothing stores sell goods manufactured in sub-par working conditions... BUT, what I do know is that Target (from my experience with my many friends who've worked at them either in high school or college) is that they treat they employees with respect, offer vacation, benefits, decent raises, etc.

ANYWAY, I settled on this coat:
http://www.target.com/Mossimo-Black-Puffer-Walker-Jacket/dp/B000P9EITK/qid=1195340090/ref=br_1_7/602-7461785-1035008?ie=UTF8&node=14272291&frombrowse=1&rh=&page=1

I freakin' love it! :D The belt is sort of higher than in the picture, like an empire waist, and it's nice enough where I can dress it up or down. There are several colors, too (I chose black). It's also very warm!!

Good luck on your search... It seems REALLY hard to find a warm, quality coat that is cruelty-free. :-\ Columbia coats are nice, too, and those are vegan (the ones I've had, anyway), but I wanted a dressier coat, myself.

long-winded....thorough...same dif.  :)

I REALLY like that coat you linked, JessaCita!  that's just the kind of coat I've been wanting to get....except I cannot stand that fir-looking stuff, even if I know it's fake.  :P

Yes, I know! Typically, I hate even faux fur, too, but I thought I needed to settle somehow... ::) I'd spent too much time looking, and the temperatures are dropping! I do think it looks kind of cute on this coat, though (maybe because I own it now & have to wear it? ;)), and it makes the puffer-style a little more dressed up. Even though I'm not a huge fan of the look of faux fur, it's not down, it's not leather, it's not wool, and it's not real fur--so I bought it & called it a day! :)

And propinecone, I would say that this coat will definitely not keep you that warm! For those purposes, I agree that you'll have to go with something not very "pretty," but oh, well--you'll be warm! You could always find a cute coat for those non-extreme days!

P.S. I was very surprised by the amount of coats I found that had real fur on them... I thought that fur was kind of a "faux paux" nowadays. I don't know anyone (even omnis who wear leather) who thinks that fur is okay. (It's kind of contradictory, I think, to wear leather but think fur is so appalling, but I'm just sayin'... I used to have that mindset, too.) I think it just makes you look selfish & desperate to flash your wealth around... ???

I always get my "serious" outerwear from L.L.Bean. They have a number of synthetic fabrics, even "faux shearling" coats, and most of the parkas come with down insulation as an option or "Thinsulate"(synthetic insulation). Not much in the way of fake leather though... for boots I got some by the brand "WANTED" (they sell them at Shoe Pavilion, a shoe outlet... dunno where else). They have fake leather and fake suede boots. And when I was up in New York, I got snow boots from veganessentials: http://store.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=vegane&StoreType=BtoC&Count1=950390040&Count2=867530465&CategoryID=15&Target=products.asp  I looove this boot. pretty darn water resistant, warm, and comfy.

gah, i hate that about the veganessentials site. yup, it's the icebug one... not sure what category it's officially under, but you'll find it on the first page if you search for "boot"!

P.S. I was very surprised by the amount of coats I found that had real fur on them... I thought that fur was kind of a "faux paux" nowadays. I don't know anyone (even omnis who wear leather) who thinks that fur is okay. (It's kind of contradictory, I think, to wear leather but think fur is so appalling, but I'm just sayin'... I used to have that mindset, too.) I think it just makes you look selfish & desperate to flash your wealth around... ???

I just read this stupid thing in the October issues of Self magazine that reminded me of what you're talking about.  It was in the fashion Q and A section:

"Q: I like the look of the pony skin I've been seeing this fall- but is it really made from ponies?
A: Not at all; it's a fashion term for calf leather with short hairs left on, giving it a bristly texture..."

Oh, well as long as it's baby cow and not baby horse!

:P

ok, I have to admit, I have two coats - one is wool and the other has down feathers. but I bought them BOTH second hand! so cheap too. I have no qualms with wool or down when it's used.

and, since I don't take to the cold very well, I NEED a coat that will keep me warm - the down filled one is probably the warmest coat you'll come across, aside from hefty utilitarian things (and it was only $5 because the zipper was broken!)

therefore, I'm happy with my warm purchases. :)