FASHION | First impressions of four Max Mara coats: Manuela, Doraci, Flint, and Ted

Can you believe it – I don’t own a good camel coat. I have a few in black and also a beige trench coat, but none in camel. I recently started looking to Max Mara, and I wanted to share my thoughts on trying on the various coats that I’ve been trying on from the brand. I was looking to spend as little as possible while still getting a good quality product, and Max Mara also has a few diffusion brands that that are a lot more affordable compared to its main line.

I tried on four models of varying price points: Manuela (from the main Max Mara line), Doraci and Flint (from S Max Mara), and Ted (from Weekend Max Mara). Overall I found that most of the coats I tried on ran very true to my designer clothing size (IT 42 or UK 10 – I normally wear US 8 or UK 12, but for some reason for designer coats my size is UK 10). Only the Manuela coat is made in Italy, everything else is made in Central Asia or China. Despite the other coats not being made in Italy, I found that the craftsmanship in general to be good.

Max Mara so many different styles of coats that come out every year; it only has three classic Icon Coats that that are released seasonally, and the Manuela (C$3,490) is one of them. It is made of camel hair and the only coat of the ones I tried that is lined. I tried this one with both just a simple knit top underneath (first picture above), as well as trying to layer with a thick oversized cardigan underneath (pictures below). There is a reason this coat is the classic style because it is such a versatile coat. Regardless of how much you layer underneath, it still looks really streamlined and classy. It is extremely warm, even without any layering, but I do like the option. I thought it was going to be heavy but it actually is actually relatively light for its size. The camel hair is interesting – I’ve never owned a camel hair coat before (I usually wear wool or cashmere) and it’s slightly longer fibres so it feels very luxurious. In terms of length, it hits me mid-calf which is a bit longer than I would have liked, but it is a length that works on me.

The Doraci (C$1,690) was the coat that got me interested in Max Mara. It is an unlined virgin wool coat that has a Peter Pan collar and is a bit more oversized. I found it on an Italian website (with free ship) for strangely something pretty affordable so I almost bought it. It’s the least versatile of the styles here because it’s not lined so if you wear anything thick underneath, it’ll ruin the drape of the wool. While it is super lightweight and comfortable on, you can really only wear it under certain circumstances as it doesn’t hold up well under the super cold, and I also wouldn’t wear this in the rain. Because of the lack of versatility, I was turned off by the design. I do really like the unlined wool coat look because it is so effortless but you still look really put together.

The Flint (C$2,050) I tried on just for fun because I wanted to see what the beige colour looked like on me. The length and colour combination made it look too much like a bathrobe. I also didn’t like the slits on the side or the hood. If I were to buy a wool coat in this colour, it would have to be way shorter in length. This is also made of 100% virgin wool and was super soft.

The Ted (C$1,190) was my original 2nd runner up. It’s the most similar to Max Mara’s classic coat silhouette, and it’s also the most affordable out of all the coats I tried on. Sadly I felt that the virgin wool was a bit scratchy and not as soft as the other coats I tried on. Even though the Doraci and Flint are made of the same material, the Ted is noticeably rougher and less flowy. I had to size down for the Ted coat because the kimono sleeves made it look bulky when I took it in my original size. I’m wearing my original size (IT 42) in the pictures because they didn’t have 40 available in the camel.

I’m glad I went and tried these on in store. I really dislike store shopping most days because I don’t like having to wait around for a fitting room or wait around for service, but I had a really pleasant time the three times I went back to try on the coats. The service at Max Mara was fantastic and everyone was so kind even though I really was just there for research. It made me feel a lot better about buying products from their brand. Hope this was somewhat useful to someone looking to buy a Max Mara coat!