Norway!
Pristine. Happy. Uh, fjord-y. And no stranger to –20°F and below when Old Man Winter rolls into town.
It comes as no surprise, then, that the best new name in the outerwear game is Norwegian Wool, a collection of superior winter coats available now.
NW was started by former Wall Streeter Michael Berkowitz, who couldn’t find a warm coat that looked stylish and formal during the harsh winter months.
“The winter coats I saw weren’t designed for life,” he told us.
So he looked to Italy for his fabrics and Norway for the cold-weather know-how (with an assist from Oslo’s Norwegian Fashion Institute). “They get cold weather there, and they get style.”
NW’s initial line keeps things toasty, with a 90% pure white down/10% feather lining under Italian wool and cashmere outer layers.
All models are wind-resistant, totally waterproof and sport a zero-bulk, tailored fit.
And even their shortest coats will cover a suit jacket.
Personally, we’re partial to the exceedingly handsome and svelte Velmuden, available in both navy blue and midnight black, along with the all-cashmere Nordlikht and Lyngen, their 100% Italian merino wool car coats.
They also feature some dashing details: a transparent interior sleeve to place a business card, two-way zipping, multiple inner pockets and deep fleece-lined outer pockets to keep your digits warm.
Comes in handy when you need to text everyone you know to remind them how much better your coat is than theirs.