How to buy a coat that actually fits

A coat is the most expensive mistake a wardrobe makes. It's the piece that shows your proportions first and the one you can least afford to have altered — shortening a coat properly means moving pockets, re-setting a hem and often reshaping the sleeve, and most tailors will quote you half the price of the coat to do it.

Three numbers matter more than the size label

• Garment length. Measured from the highest point of the shoulder to the hem. On a 5'3" frame a "knee-length" coat is roughly 90–97 cm; the high-street regular runs 100–110 cm, which lands mid-shin and makes the whole outfit look borrowed.
• Sleeve length. From the shoulder seam to the cuff. If it covers your knuckles, the coat is cut for someone taller — no amount of cuffing fixes a sleeve head that sits too low.
• Shoulder width. Where the sleeve joins the body should sit on your shoulder bone, not a thumb's width beyond it.

What works at 5'0"–5'3"

Single-breasted styles that end at the knee or just above; cropped bombers and hip-length jackets, which read as deliberate rather than short; belted trenches at 95–100 cm if you're 5'2" or over. Oversized can work — but only if the length is right; volume plus length is what swallows a shorter frame.

How we list coats

Every coat on our site carries its measured garment length in centimetres and the heights it's made for. Compare it with a coat you own that fits the way you like; a 1–2 cm difference between garments of the same size is normal.