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The drive to make this coat came from two sources. The first was that I was heading towards needing a new winter coat. Since I've lost weight my ski jacket now gaps at the bottom, letting in one fantastic draft. I got thinking about that, and figured if I was going to shell out for a new coat, maybe I should make it myself and get exactly what I wanted. With this in mind I went to Joann's one day just to relax (what can I say, I find all the fabric bolts soothing) and found the black moleskin with the arabesques cut out in it. It was a beautiful and perfect fabric, and is what tipped me over the edge to make the coat. After that I drafted my concept art (to the right) and went on the hunt for a lining fabric. The lining took me a while to find, but eventually I found it also at Joann's. I had somehow passed it over the first time and missed it, it is a polyester damask and is extremely light and silky. In order to give the coat appropriate warm-factor, the interlining is made of polar fleece. Once I had my fabrics, I just picked out buttons and a zipper and I was ready.
I decided to put a zipper in this piece because I often find that button coats tend to let in drafts through the gaps (for me). I like the look of buttons though, so this coat has both. The zipper is attached to the lining/interlining, and there's no external sign the zipper exists. The final coat has a neckline that appears more open than the concept art. This is a combination of the fact that I made the gap in the mandarin collar wider than originally pictured (a bit of a slip, but I decided to just go with it instead of ripping it out) and then the neckline is not pulled closed. At the tops of the white lapels there is actually a hook and eye in the lining that can hold the tops of the lapels closed together to make the coat more weather proof. It just looks better in photographs open.
All in all this coat took work, but wasn't a nightmare, though the fleece interlining was a bit of a pain in the butt. The end result was very good, and I ended up spending a grand total of 70 bucks on the materials, which is about how much I'd be willing to pay for a coat in the store at this time, but got me a LOT more coat for my money. I now have a coat that noone else has, fits me like a glove, looks quite elegant and keeps me warm. I win!
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