I purchased this jacket in the color Quill and in the size 1X in September, in preparation for colder weather. We have had such an unseasonably warm fall that I wasn't truly able to gauge its warmth until this week, when temps finally dipped down into the 40s. Color. Purple is my favorite color, and the color Quill is absolutely gorgeous. It is not a gaudy purple but a gorgeous plum. Sizing: I am a pear-shaped, plus-size woman, which means that I carry most of my weight in my belly, hips and thighs. I am also a very short woman at 4'5". Being short and heavy, it is really difficult for me to find things that fit me BELOW the waist without being too big ABOVE the waist. This jacket ALMOST fits the bill. It fits wonderfully above the waist. It is not overlarge in the shoulders (which is a common issue for me) and fits nicely though the shoulders and chest (unlike many plus-size women, I am not very busty). However, it is VERY tight across my belly and bum. As a result, my bum doesn't get as much coverage as it would if the jacket were just a bit larger around the bottom edge. This jacket isn't INTENDED to cover the bum (as you can see from the picture on the product page), but on someone as short as I am, it would cover my bum if it could fall freely over my hips and belly. For comparison purposes, I generally wear clothes that are XL, 1X or an 18-20, depending on the garment. Also, I own an older Columbia Sportswear quilted jacket that is also a 1X and fits fine and covers my bum. Warmth: When this jacket arrived, I could NOT believe that a quilted jacket could fit in that small of a package. When I removed it, I thought "Surely this thing can't be warm!" I had read on the product page about the new technology used in this jacket which is intended to reflect body heat, but it just seemed impossible. I have only this week been able to put it to the test while walking my dog on chilly, damp mornings. I think it is PERFECT for a transitional season jacket; i.e., going from winter into spring and fall into winter. I am not yet convinced that it will be warm enough (for me) when we get to the depth of winter. To go from the house to the car, sure (especially for those who hate wearing a heavy coat in the car). For jogging or power walking when you are generating your own heat, probably. But for sustained slow walking like in walking a dog, this remains to be seen, and I will post an update here when we get to that point of the winter. :) Fabrics: The exterior fabric feels amazing. I have had other quilted winter jackets and this jacket does not feel like those. I just wanted to hug it when I took it out of the package! LOL It is buttery soft. The inside lining is silver/black metallic and shiny. This is the reflective technology part that I talked about earlier. The nice deep collar is faux-fur-lined and felt soft and warm against my face and ears this week while walking the dog in strong Nor'Easter-driven winds. Construction: The jacket has a zip front and 2 external zip pockets, all with sturdy zipper pulls. It also features 1 smaller zipped pocket on the inside left side of the jacket. I almost sent back the jacket immediately upon receiving it because of some weirdness along the lower edge of the jacket. I have been sewing most of my life, so I tend to notice those things that non-sewers may not. At first, the bottom hem seemed defective, but after further inspection, it seems it was purposeful. I think it is to make the front of the jacket longer than the back, but I could be mistaken. It is NOT a straight around hem as nearly any other garment you'd buy would have. The back is straight and then as it transitions into the front panels, there are some weird folds. Because these folds are very consistent between the left and right front panels, I assumed that it must have been purposeful. It bothered me a LOT at first, but now it isn't bothering me as much. 4 1/4 stars - took off 1/2 star for the ill fit in the lower part of the jacket and 1/4 star for the weird folds/hem at the bottom of the jacket. UPDATED 11/21/14: I have upgraded this review from 4 stars to 5. Because VERY cold and windy weather was coming, and because the purple 1X coat was so tight around my hips that I feared that it would not zip over the heavier, layered clothes that I have to wear to walk the dog in that weather, I decided to buy another of these jackets. Rather than return the 1X and buy a 2X as a replacement for it, I decided to save the 1X for the shoulder seasons (transitioning from fall to winter and winter to spring) and buy a second coat in the next size up for the winter. I bought the second jacket in black and in size 2X. I could not BELIEVE the difference between a 1X and a 2X--a huge difference! Not only does the 2X easily zip up over even multiple layers of heavy clothing, it doesn't tug around my hips AT ALL, but falls freely straight from my waist and now covers my bum! I actually went back and checked the labels on both coats to be sure that they were the sizes I thought they were, as I rarely see that dramatic of a difference when going one size up on any article of clothing. But the biggest reason I decided to upgrade my rating is that I have worn "this" jacket (either the purple one or the black one) nearly every day there has been any chilly weather since I first bought the purple one, which was I believe in September. These jackets are SOOOO light for a winter coat, but still warm! We are having insanely cold weather this week for my area. Temps have been in the 20s in the morning with 25 MPH wind gusts, so the wind chill has been in the teens--not happy dog-walking weather! I had myself convinced that this jacket was not going to stand up to that kind of weather (both cold-wise and wind-wise) because it felt so lightweight, but it has! I'm not going to say you can wear a T-shirt under it with wind chills in the teens and be comfortable, but if you wear a long-sleeved shirt or sweatshirt under it, you should be fine. I get compliments on this jacket all the time, especially the purple one. I fall more in love with these jackets every day. You just can't beat how incredibly soft and light they are!
