My Excuse: Most Winter Coats Are Giant Puffy Rip-Offs

I've been cowering on the couch all morning, fearful of my ten minute scooter ride through the freezing air. When I moved to D.C. last March I bought an adorable Calvin Klein DOWN jacket from Filene's Basement. It has a fur-lined hood (real raccoon) and everything. Little did I know, feathers don't always equal warm. I roasted in the dressing room but the fashionable thing doesn't stand up to rain, wind, anything colder than 35 degrees and certainly not the gale-force feeling of motoring on a wobbly little hunk of metal at 40 miles an hour. So this weekend I pooled all my Christmas checks and bought a water-proof, expedition-ready monstrosity from North Face. I promise to come to work in time to see the most courteous cleaning guy in the city as soon as it arrives in the mail. For now, I'll just suck it up. On my way, boss.