My friend Terri likes to frequent estate sales and imagines the lives of the people whose belongings are up for sale. She pieces together the clues about their lives, with a little imagination thrown in, and that gives more meaning to the few things she brings home with her. So when I showed her the two vintage coats I had picked up recently with my friend Sara she immediately thought outload about who must have donated them.

It was Sara who spotted the coats. The first is a navy blue wool duffel coat with horn toggle fasteners. She tried it on and loved it but it was too big for her small frame. She wanted me to try it on and said she had so many coats already. It fit me perfectly and I was in love! I have always wanted a Paddington Bear coat like this and the tags inside confirmed this was the real deal – made in England and sold at Selfridges, London.

We were at Savers in Saugus, MA, which was off the beaten path for us. We had been to a boutique thrift store right before this but the selection was scant and the prices were high. I personally prefer Goodwill, Salvation Army and now Savers, because I love finding the hidden treasures in amongst the t-shirts and acrylic sweaters.

Just as we were about to check out with the navy blue coat in hand, Sara spotted something else. It looked a bit like a black version of those fuzzy teddy bear coats that have been popular. She pulled it out and we started looking for tags. The snap buttons said “Pege Skinn” and I knew immediately this was real leather and shearling. “Skinn” is the word for leather in the Scandinavian languages (boy does it help to be a polyglot when you are thrifting) and the curly fleece was silky smooth and nothing like acrylic. After digging a little more I found the tag that said made in Sweden and looked like it dated back to the 1970’s or 80’s. Sara put it on, but again it was too big for her so I tried it on and it was perfect!

It was Terri who suggested that perhaps these coats had been donated by the same woman and it made perfect sense. They were the same size, same vintage and from European brands that I had never seen before in the US. Oh and they both had wide collars that look so good when you pop them up.

But how did they end up at Savers in Saugus? Was she a wealthy American woman from Marblehead or Manchester by the Sea who traveled frequently to Europe in her youth? Was she a European woman, from London perhaps, who had emigrated to the US to be closer to her grandkids? Had she donated the coats herself when she tired of them or, more likely, did her family donate them when she passed away? I think an estate sale would offer more clues than this about the previous owner’s life but I know she was my size, liked quality things from Europe and had great taste. I am happy to honor her when I wear these coats.

A few details.

The navy duffel coat was $12 at Savers and I had the leather straps replaced by my local cobbler for $40 plus the $6 leather I got from my craft store. Dry cleaning for the coat was about $30. Total cost $88. It retails new for $500. (It comes new with a hood, but this lady must not have liked that look as it was missing from this coat.)

The black shearling coat was $17 at Savers and I paid $110 to have it professionally cleaned. Total cost $127. A new shearling coat is about $900 and not nearly as cool.

What else can you glean about the woman who owned these coats before me? If you have a good imagination feel free to write a paragraph in the comments about what her life might have been like?