I’m not sure about the rest of you, but we’re currently experiencing a cold winter here in the Washington desert.
As I’m writing this, temperatures have dipped below 0f degrees, so a warm coat is a must!
I decided that with all the changes my body has been going thought due to cancer treatments, that a new coat was in order for me.
In many years past, I have always opted for something less expensive with outerwear, as it use to be my least favorite category for fashion.
But as I’ve gotten older, I have come to realize that outerwear is as much an investment in my closet as any of my accessory pieces.
A quality coat can last decades, making the upfront cost worth it.
So I decided to splurge a little bit and pick up a coat from Max Mara.
I figured that at this point in my life, I really wanted to expand the nicer coat options in my wardrobe and that this would be an investment I could use year after year from fall through spring.
So in this blog, I will be detailing the specs of the Max Mara coat I purchased, as well as going over the history of the brand, its splinter companies and giving you my honest opinion of this coat as well as where you can find the best deals on these coats.
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Shop Max Mara Studio coat sale on Cettire
Table of Contents
Save The Most On Your New Coat
You know I’m all about saving the most money on luxury items when I can!
If you’d like to purchase your coat brand new, then you’ll want head over to Rakuten first.
For those of you who don’t know, Rakuten is an online cash back rebate service, partner with many of your favorite brands.
Simply shop through Rakuten first either with your browser or in the app and then click on the store you want to shop. Rakuten takes care of the rest, adding cash back from your shopping automatically to your account.
Then every 3 months, they will send you your cash back for the quarter in one “Big Check” with the method of your choosing.
Many of the luxury department stores frequently run promotes with Rakuten where they offer 10% cash back routinely, and I’ve seen it as high as 15%. That’s a steep percentage of cash back, especially when you’re talking about luxury items.
New members to Rakuten can get an additional $30 cash back as well when they sign up through this link and make a qualifying purchase.
Shopping this way can save you a few hundreds dollars when you are shopping these bigger ticket items, so I really just like to make sure that ya’ll know about this option.
Search Max Mara coats with cash back on Rakuten
Shop this look on Shop.Style
Quick History of Max Mara
Found in 1951 by Achille Maramott in Reggio Emilia, Max Mara is one of Italy’s oldest major fashion houses.
Deciding to focus on classic stapes and not trendy pieces, Max Mara (who are mostly known for their luxurious coats) keeps in line with clean elegant styles produced with high quality materials meant to last.
While the brand was very successful throughout the 50’s-70’s, They really found their stride in the fashion world in the 1980’s when they debut in Paris, capturing all our attention with beautiful and iconic pieces (which have now become a brand basic)
Over the years, Max Mara has worked with many major designers too such as Karl Largerflied, Docle and Gabbana, Franco Moschino to name a few Jean-Charles de Castelbajac. However, the brand has always decided to make sure that the no designer ever clouded their original vision of timelessness.
Max Mara Studio
Max Mara Studio is one of Max Mara’s many diffusion brands.
While keeping to their history of clean and sophisticated line, the Max Mara Studio brand offers a more modern and causal feel for this brand.
These pieces are meant to easily integrate with your with your day to day wardrobe will still giving you that touch of elegances.
Just like the main house collection, Max Mara Studio uses premium and luxurious materials to craft their coats,
These coats are typically hand stitched, lightweight, transitional pieces that are breathable and can adapt to a wide range of temperatures.
Which Coat Do I Have
I have the Max Mara Studio Cles Belted Coat in this beautiful caramel brown color.
Currently on the site, it’s retailing for $1,640,00USD, but you can often find it on sale either at Max Mara or another luxury reseller, or buy them second hand for less.
This coat features wide lapels on the front with their signature kimono sleeve structure.
It comes with 2 buttons securely sewn on to the front and a nicely tailored fabric belt so that you may close the coat in a wrap stye.
Because it’s made from double faced wool, the coat has no lining, except for in the pockets which are lined with silk.
The coat itself is made from 88% virgin wool, 6% cashmere and 6% silk.
The coat is about 115cm long or 45″ long
What Surprised Me About My Max Mara Coat?
The thing that surprised me the most about this coat is just how thin it is.
I know the brand offers thicker coats, but several of their models, including the one that I have are designed to be as thin as a sheet of felt.
Having tried many Amazon cardigans (this is the one that I really like from Amazon BTW) I was a little worried about the thinness. Because although they are cute and comfortable, they are NOT a winter coat.
But this is where the quality of the material really shines here; despite (or maybe because) of the material being thin, this jacket is warm.
And just how warm is, is also something that surprised me.
I took the pictures for this blog out in 0f degrees with wind chill making it feel much colder.
And when I tell you I was starting to sweat moving around with this coat, I mean it!
From my research, most of the wool used to make the Studio line of comes from Suri Alpacas, who live at an altitude of 5,400 m compared to the 3,000 m most Alpacas live at.
This would mean that their wool is evolutionarily adapted to deal with colder temperatures while still being lightweight and breathable.
The last thing that surprised me, and not in a good way, was how then the belt loops are.
At this price point, I was expecting the belt loops to be thicker. And to be fair, although the loops are thin, they are strong and durable.
However, I noticed that my belt slips out the loops a lot if it’s not tied in the front which is very annoying.
Things to Consider With This Type of Coat?
When buying a coat at this price point, I think there are a few things to consider.
The first being: which style is best suited for you?
I know that longer, slightly tailored style coats are what look best on me. Max Mara has plenty of style to choose from, which can be overwhelming, so going in with an idea of what type of coat you looks best on you is a good starting point.
You’ll also want to consider your climate.
These coats are made for the cold, and it did okay in the snow. But I’m not sure how well it will do in the rain.
So if you’re in a location that is raining all the time, then maybe this isn’t the style for you. Likewise, if you’re in a climate that 70+ degrees all the time, then again, you’re going to want to consider a different style of coat.
You’re going to want to consider when to buy as well.
Some of you have unlimited budgets and that’s awesome! But for the rest of us, we’re going to want to get the best deal possible, which probably means shopping spring sales in preparation for next season.
This may mean that you get last seasons model instead of the latest version. But I feel like that doesn’t really matter much since these coats have such a timeless design. They’re going to look mostly the same from year to year.
Currently, Max Mara has a selection of coats for sale, including this one for a few hundred dollars off.
Or you can search Max Mara on Rakuten to fine deal like this one on Cettire for under $700 (still expensive, but way cheaper)
Do I Think This Is Worth The Money?
Generally, I can only say if something is worth it for me in these reviews because I don’t know yall’s life like that lol.
But I’m going to make an exception here and say that I do think that if you live in a colder, dry climate and have the money to spend, then absolutely grab one of these coats for yourself.
The reason being that unlike accessories and make up, a coat is a necessity and a good quality coat is a closet staple that you’ll have for a long time.
This makes the initially investment makes sense as this purchase category is one that you’re going to make anyways and the higher investment cost (should) be outset by the fact that you won’t need to by another cost for a long while ( weather or not you decide to buy another is entirely up to you)
Getting back to the coat itself, the wool is soft and thin which means that I can easily wear a sweater under it, and it’s warm enough to wear in subfreezing temperatures.
I’m thinking back to when I was in Leavenworth for Christmas just a few weeks ago and how I was freezing in my Coach trench coat– which is nicely constructed by the way, and wasn’t warm until I wrapped myself up in my Burberry cape (also made from high quality wool).
The quality materials used in this coat and others from Max Mara a long with the sophisticated tailoring makes this an easy recommendation for me that I say go ahead and splurge on.
Though I still highly suggest stopping by Rakuten first and seeing what type of cash back or discount deal you can get off your coat first.
Shop Max Mara Coats on The Real Real.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m so happy that I made this purchase and know that I will be getting a lot of use out of this coat!
I’m still blown away by how thin this overcoat is and yet, I was able to prance around in the snow and feel warm.
I’m also in love with the beautiful tailoring of this coat and how it neatly lays on the body. You can tell that it was crafted with care.
The styling of this coat is very classic with a chic modern twist which will likely look timeless and relevant for years to come.
And because of the high quality of the materials used with the right care this coat will last me a long time.
I totally get the obsession the girlies have with Max Mara now and I’m a fan!
Would you buy this coat? I would love to hear your opinion down below! Also come join us over on Instagram and Youtube to continue this conversation!
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