Parkas vs. Duffel Coats: FITE!

I want a parka.

vs.

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:wjNerRvsCQcC:www.merc.fott.ru/merc/parka.

Does the indie kid come with it?

However, I once had the ultimate UNDIE outer garments: yes: a BIG FUCK OFF ORANGE PUFFA. If you'd met me you would know how k-absurd this is. Looked good in philosophy class, but did absorb smoke inordinately. I was at this stage a big Wu-and-Saint-Etienne fan. It was 1996.

I have a pretty basic charcoal grey overcoat and a leather jacket that do the trick here in London. Although in Canada I did have a big, bulky parka-type thing for the extreme cold, but it wasn't one of those cool army green ones with the sheepskin hood. I did always want one, though, but I was afraid it would make me look too much like a mod-poseur (Toronto has a strangely large 'mod' scene). So in a roundabout way I guess that's a semi-vote for parkas.

Where to anoraks fit into this? Aren't they the most indie of outerwear?

I really need to resolve this winter coat issue because it's getting cold. Or maybe I should dig through my stored clothes and find my big Ukranian Russian Army coat thing, but it's a bit too formal-looking for every day occasions.

Though other sites did make note of the fact that British usage is often "windbreaker" or "windcheater".

= what, in inuit circles?

Kate, this one's for you:

Back through the years I go wonderin' once again
Back to the seasons of my youth
I recall a box of rags that someone gave us
And how my momma put the rags to use
There were rags of many colors, every piece was small
And I didn't have a coat and it was way down in the fall
Momma sewed the rags together, sewin' every piece with love
She made my coat of many colors that I was so proud of
As she sewed, she told a story from the bible she had read
About a coat of many colors Joseph wore and then she said
Perhaps this coat will bring you good luck and happiness
And I just couldn't wait to wear it and momma blessed it with a kiss
My coat of many colors that my momma made for me
Made only from rags but I wore it so proudly
Although we had no money I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors my momma made for me
So with patches on my britches, holes in both my shoes
In my coat of many colors I hurried off to school
Just to find the others laughing and making fun of me
In my coat of many colors my momma made for me
And oh I couldn't understand it for I felt I was rich
And I told them of the love my momma sewed in every stitch
And I told 'em all the story momma told me while she sewed
And how my coat of many colors was worth more than all their clothes
But they didn't understand it and I tried to make them see
That one is only poor only if they choose to be
Now I know we had no money but I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors my momma made for me

Duffel coats, I tend to feel these days, are a bit... twee.

I have since become fascinated with the closing mechanism of Nigel Spivey's bomber jacket. It seems to involve not just zippers but some kind of leather straps across the neck as well. This seems highly kinky to me, and I must investigate further!

Otherwise, try Uniqlo and especially charity shops.

so my question is: which is warmer? the duffel or the parka? the cheap parkas that my friends have seem to be thin and hardly warm at all. are there any that are actually toasty warm?

even though i grew up in semi-arctic michigan, i have very little tolerance for being cold.

So now i am afraid of them, i would rather freeze thanks.

A Duffel coat says: bit odd, bit shy, harmless, may have hidden depths of musical knowledge.

Duffel wins slightly but they're both a bit cak. What isn't cak is my just-above-knee-length, black wool/cashmere, three button, very warm, looks ace with a scarf, overcoat (not sure of it's official name but it's very smart and very nice). A friend once said that it made me look like Camus. I suppose this is a good thing. I also have a grey coat similar to the above but with more extravagant lapels and a little belt, I consider to be the kind of overcoat that Leonard Cohen would have once worn. A friend tells me it makes me look like a character from It's A Wonderful Life. I'm sure this is a good thing.

So it comes down to The Undertones vs Paddington Bear vs Cary Grant.

so is this http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1f/Snorkel_parka.jpg/180px-Snorkel_parka.jpg really what Brits think an anorak is?

anoraks are parkas you pull over your head - they don't have full-length zippers like jackets.

http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/support/advancement/msgso-merchandise/images/mens-anorak.jpg

http://www.beatsnothing.com/thepaper/wp-content/hoodedseagul.png

This is an anorak.

In case it's not obvious from the picture, it is made of seal gut.

Anoraks are the most disgusting indie outer gear in all the world imo

"so is this really what Brits think an anorak is?"

no, brits would think that was a parka.

wikipedia: "A snorkel parka - synonymous with 'anoraks'."

so that girl is wearing an anorak, but she is not an anorak because she is not wearing a snorkel parka

i'd say most british people know the difference between a snorkel parka and an anorak.

need a new coat...it's hard