Put Away the Parka. What You Really Need Is a Technical Coat

According to one useful definition, technical fabrics are textiles “manufactured for nonaesthetic purposes.” And indeed, to stroll among pedestrians whose winter coats give them marshmallow silhouettes is to witness exactly how very nonaesthetic technical garments can be. As Fran Lebowitz once said to Elle, “Are you skiing, or are you walking across the street? If you're not an arctic explorer, dress like a human being.”

Today’s technical coats—all those gaggles of Canada Goose, for example—descend from military gear, most notably the Russian Army jackets that inspired Eddie Bauer’s classic Skyliner and the N-3B snorkel parka introduced by the U.S. in the 1950s. Those coats had the volume of layers of blubber, appropriately, as their mission was to ward off hypothermia on a battlefield or flight deck swept by polar winds. For the purposes of this article, we’re talking about the technical coats used for everyday wear during the winter.