My daughter is going to London and Belgium in February and wants to take a heavy long wool coat. I think this would be way too bulky for traveling and she should take a lighter short raincoat and layer underneath for warmth. How many of you travel during Winter with long wool coats?

I personally think a better option would be a nice raincoat with a zip-out liner. Rain is a bigger problem than cold. It will be cold but layers take care of that. A London Fog-type raincoat is perfect.

Agree that a raincoat, preferably with a warm liner is more practical. I've used a "peacoat" style, as well as a dressier looking knee-length belted style (both are black) for several trips to England/France/Italy. For warmth and a bit of style, I bring a scarf or two, warm-lined leather gloves (and occasionally silk long underwear!) These take up little room, but have made the difference in being comfortable in truly cold weather.<BR><BR>A full-length wool coat is warm, but bulky and heavy to carry indoors. It is not water-resistant if it rains, and tends to get creased from being folded/sat upon/etc.

I think a young woman should wear a long wool coat. Raincoats with zip out linings and London Fogish ones are so frumpy and old for a young person. <BR>The wool coats are water resistant and she would have a bumbershoot (umbrella) so she will stay dry.

I would never wear an old person's raincoat. Wool all the way with boots!

I've seen plenty of stylish-looking microfiber coats from brands like Kenneth Cole, 9 West and others that are be geared towards young women. Perhaps that is what Lesli was suggesting? I see lots of them here in San Francisco, and this type does seem like a more practical travel coat.

I take a knee length raincoat for day , great over pants and a long raincoat keeps getting wrapped arong your knees with the liner in. But I toolike a long slim wool coat for dress, I dress in the evening! I fold it and use a plastic travel bag to pack , it folds into about 1" thick package after squeezing out air. It feels good to look good!

I agree, I always take my wool coat to Europe in winter.

Another vote for the long wool.

I agree with Susan, there are beautiful lightweight microfiber raincoats available that are very chic. And I wouldn't call the new Burberry raincoats frumpy at all. Most well-dressed women I know would kill for one. I have taken a long coat with me to Europe during the winter months and it was very bulky. I also felt very stupid tramping around the Lake District of England, walking through fields etc., in a long formal coat. Travel is hard enough as it is, and I think we should all take the easiest options available to ensure a comfortable trip.

Normally, the lined rainbow combo is fine BUT check the weather before you go. There was a cold snap last week and a lined raincoat would have been inadequate--temperatures went down to about 10 degrees F. However, in Belgium, I've found that long raincoats are not the winter wear of choice--most younger women wear either long wool coats OR a mid length parka with fur trimmed hood (de rigeur if you live here!). Older women wear either of the two above or fur coats. Raincoats seem t be put away in November and don't reappear until late March. London, of course, may be different. But again, doublecheck the weather forecast (we found weather.yahoo.com -no www--has been more accurate lately than CNN). <BR>BTilke (Brussels)

I vote for the microfiber. Warm and light can be stylish, too. The last time I walked around London in a heavy wool coat, I was so tired of it by the end of the first day, I went out and bought a warm light one. <BR><BR>Not to mention the discomfort of lugging a heavy coat through airports and on planes.

Well, I just looked out our windows and it's snowing--HARD. Definitely not raincoat weather!! So doublecheck the weather forecast before you go. If there's a cold snap predicted or sleet/snow, a raincoat, even lined, will not be enough. FWIW, I wear a long wool coat on day trips to Paris and don't find it bothersome. My coat doesn't wrinkle either.

I have never been colder in my life than when I spent a weekend in Brugges in February '94. I was wearing a heavy, lined leather jacket, a thick wool sweater, a turtleneck, leggins, jeans, and a wool scarf and I was freezing. It was about 20 F before the windchill. After the windchill it was 0 - 10 F. <BR><BR>Check www.wunderground.com and www.accuweather.com and you will see that Belgium is VERY cold in February. She will definitely need an insulated jacket, thermal underwear, wool sweater, etc. A light short raincoat will not be enough.

There are these great microfiber coats with quilting and lined with something warm, MaxMara makes one that is sort of along the lines of the "puffy coats" they wear in Paris - I have worn mine(bought in Paris) to London/Paris/NY in the winter, it is as light as a feather warm as toast and sheds water like a duck .... silly but True~!

Quite the debate going here! Though I did not specify, the coats I travel with are microfiber, and, IMO, stylish. <BR><BR>The last time I went to London, my friend brought a beautiful full-length Calvin Klein wool coat. It became badly creased by day two as a result of getting wet and then being sat upon in the Tube. No amount of steaming in the shower helped, and I wondered if it would even be restored after a trip to the cleaners once she got home....

Hi Brenda:<BR><BR>This "old person" took both a raincoat and my long wool coat when we went to London in February a few years ago. I wore the long wool coat (too bulky to pack) on the plane with no problem, and wore it to the theater and dinners, etc. Used my lightweight trenchcoat type raincoat (which always goes to Europe with me and guess what, I never felt I looked frumpy) for sightseeing, visiting museums and some day tours we took. Wore sweaters underneath so no need for a lining.<BR><BR>To each her own--just what worked for me.<BR><BR>j

Bill, the new mircrofiber raincoats can be worn in the most fridig weather. I have one that is knee-length and filled with goose down. It also has a soft, quilted lining and a detachable hood. I can roll this up, use it as a pillow on a plane, sit on it, throw it on the ground, and it never wrinkles and you can wipe dirt off of it with a wet rag. Since it is from Ferragamo, it is classy enough to wear over a suit by just removing the hood! So, I have a coat I can ski in, walk through the woods in, or wear to Le Gavroche, all in one!

People are free to wear whatever they like, but the vast majority of women in Belgium simply do not wear long microfibre coats or puffy coats in winter--they wear long wool coats, midlength parkas (those often are microfibre) with fur trimmed hoods, fur coats or a few--only a few--in leather coats. I spent all afternoon today volunteering in one of the huts in the Brussels Christmas Market; hundreds of women passed by, not one in a long raincoat or puffy coat. The weather was chilly, with bouts of snow and a little sleet (pretty typical for Belgium winters). I wear a wool coat, either long or "swing" style, both made by Searle, and they are very warm but not bulky and are wrinkle-resistant. Curious to see what the report is from women in London...I'll be there in two weeks.<BR>BTilke (Brussels)

I am surprised that the women in Belgium dress so differently from the ladies in Paris and London!Although there are many wearing slim long black wool coats, with big scarves, there are plenty wearing trim "puffy" coats and especially on the coldest days..there is nothing more uncomfortable than a heavy wet wool coat!