Rain or Shine: Feller Seattle Outerwear

Photography by Kirsten Beeksma Morse

Coat season is upon us, which suits me perfectly since I have more than a little obsession with outerwear. While I have myself covered, literally, for almost every kind of weather, I have never really found a raincoat that I loved. Until now.

Feller Brand is a Seattle based company began by Wendy Feller, who has a long and successful history in the business of fashion. Feller, a New York native, first began her career in 1986 with the sweater line "Wendy Feller Knitwear". The collection was quickly picked up by Henri Bendel which inspired her to continue knitting and designing patterns. The distinctive sweaters sold to over five hundred boutiques in addition to prestigious department stores including Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys New York, Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Wendy Feller's latest venture is an outerwear collection inspired by the ever changing weather here in the Pacific Northwest. Launched in January 2016, Feller coats are designed to be the perfect combination of form and function. Made from traditional British waxed cotton, the coats have a ton of great features. First, there is a hood, which is huge. It is amazing how many outerwear pieces do not feature a hood, and I love that the Feller hoods also zip off. The interiors are lined with colored cotton and when the weather turns colder there is an interior zipper to add an additional Feller wool vest liner you can purchase separately. The big roomy pockets rock, and there is also interior pocket to keep your phone safe and dry as you dash about in the weather.

Feller Queen Anne Trench in brown tartan

I am wearing the Feller Queen Anne Trench in brown tartan and it was the perfect length with the sweater dress I had on. The rest of the collection includes the City Pocket Jacket and the Seattle Parka. All three designs come in three different color schemes and are made to add liners added to them if you choose to buy this additional piece. We were down at Green Lake for our photo shoot on a drizzly and chilly morning last week and this coat was so perfect. It was so chic that it really stood out amongst the puffy coats at the lake. Feller has the "looking cool while being warm" down perfectly.

Wendy Feller tells me she was inspired after not being able to find a raincoat that she could wear every day and into the evening. She wanted to wear something with a hip vibe that had a print and realized there was a hole in the market, and so it began. She worked on the designs for a year before launching them at Wear Wednesdays at the W Hotel in Seattle in January. And there is more to look forward to from this talented designer. You can pre-order her Spring 2017, which includes some new silhouettes like this super cool cape.

And finally, a word about boots. This fall the look seems to be clearly either a bootie or an over the knee style and not really much in between. Of course as my friend Tamara and I were discussing, the classic riding boot style will always be around, but the boot scene is definitely one of highs and lows these days.

I love these Stuart Weitzman 50/50 City Boot in Slate. I have them in navy too and with their over the knee style and gorgeous suede and stretch combo they are my go-to boots all fall and winter. I consider them a worthy investment. Booties are huge too, and with good reason...they come in every kind of style imaginable from tall sexy heels to on trend chunky ones. You definitely need them with all the great cropped flares, dresses and other fall silhouettes.

You can see the entire Feller collection online at www.feller.clothing, and Feller is also available in Seattle at Mercer, Anthropologie (online and in stores), Jack Jerome, Clementines, and at Oxalis in Portland, Oregon. Stay dry out there!