I was on the hunt for a new winter coat, and my journey led me to the Aritzia in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood.
The Canadian retailer is known for its polished and minimalist silhouettes. However, it has another viral specialty that I wasn’t aware of until this year.
The Super Puff, Aritzia’s puffer coat, seems to have a dedicated following. It’s recognizable from the “S” logo printed on the hood, and I’ve been seeing it everywhere this winter — from the sidewalks of New York City to colleagues in my office to viral videos of people trying on an oversize version in stores.
Finally, I gave in and ventured to the second floor of the SoHo Aritzia, where people swarmed the seemingly endless racks of puffer coats. From knee-length jackets to cropped vests, they took up two-thirds of the floor. I took a deep breath and dove into the chaos of shoppers.
I wanted to see if the Super Puff lived up to the hype
After browsing among the throng of shoppers, I flagged down an associate with a simple question.
“What’s all this hype about?” I asked.
She launched into her spiel about the weather-resistant, goose-down-filled, and reliable coats. They come in a variety of styles, which Aritzia expanded this year. The SuperSnug, which I spotted in the store, cinches at the waist. The prices range from less than $200 to nearly $400 — the priciest style being the waterproof SuperSnug.
The online hype also appears to be real. Intelligence platform PeakMetrics analyzed a sample of TikTok and Instagram posts about the Aritzia Super Puff from November 3 to December 14, a period that includes the year’s biggest shopping holidays. It found that the conversation volume across the sites increased by 8,100% during that time as the temperature dropped and people picked up their warmer coats again.
The overall tone of the conversation was positive, with some posts calling the jacket “INCREDIBLE 10/10,” PeakMetrics told Business Insider.
Aritzia did not respond to a request for comment.
However, the demand was evident when I saw for myself that the racks were mainly filled with sizes small, extra-small, and extra-extra-small. While searching for options in black in my size, the associate told me that many of the styles and sizes were sold out companywide until an expected January 8 restock. She said the store was wiped out of most sizes during its Black Friday sale.
My plans changed quickly
I hadn’t planned to buy a jacket that day, but I was still bummed that my size wasn’t available in any black styles. I called my mom in frustration, hoping this could be my Christmas gift if I was lucky enough to find a large. She told me she’d already bought me a black puffer coat from Gap on Black Friday.
Dreams deflated, I decided to venture out of my comfort zone and try out more bold colors. That’s how I found an extra large in the shade “modern taupe.” The “liquid shine” fabric, as described on the label, gave it a shimmering gold or Champagne color.
The original silhouette was $298 before taxes. I found the price reasonable compared to other popular winter coat brands, such as Canada Goose or Moncler, which can reach over $1,000.
I tried on the extra-large, and I immediately knew it was a serious contender. The only other option was the white Supersnug in a large. I liked the cinched silhouette, but the color didn’t suit me.
After some convincing from the sales associate and a conversation with my mom, I decided to go ahead with the modern taupe original Super Puff.
As a native Texan, I consulted with my New Yorker friends who assured me I’d made a good choice. They’ve all had their Super Puff coats for years (I wasn’t aware so many of them owned one).
I’ll be the judge of whether it was a worthy Christmas gift to myself as I get as many wears out of it as possible.
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