How to Choose a Shearling Toggle Coat

The Toggle and the Loop

Choose a shearling toggle coat by how its front closes over the layers you wear. A toggle is the bar-shaped piece you pass through a loop. You push one end of the toggle through the loop, then turn the bar across the opening to hold it in place. A large toggle gives your hand something to grip, while a short stiff loop can still make it awkward to fasten.

The Gloverall women's duffle coat guide shows two common combinations, wooden toggles with rope and horn toggles with leather. Use those names when you ask for a close photograph. Shearling describes the coat's material. A duffle coat is a style with a toggle front and often a hood.

Look Behind the Fasteners

Fasten the front from top to bottom and look at the space between each pair of toggles. Check whether one front panel overlaps the other or whether the two edges simply meet behind the toggles. A coat can feel roomy while it is open and still show a gap across the chest when you close it over a sweater.

Look at the inside of the closed front before you judge how much coverage you have. If a secondary button or zipper is important to you, look for it in the product description or ask for a photo of the inside. Visible toggles do not show whether there is another closure underneath.

The Hooded Merino Coat

The hooded South African Merino shearling coat lists a toggle front, a hood and a detachable raccoon fur collar. The front view shows the fastenings down the body below the collar. Removing the collar changes the area around your face. The listing confirms that the fur collar is detachable; it does not describe the hood as removable.

Try the hood after fastening the coat over a layer you already own. Look left and right. If the collar presses into your jaw when the hood is up, try the coat with the collar removed before changing sizes.

The Shawl-Collar Coat

The Galaxy Gala shearling coat has a broad collar, leather-trimmed straps and horn buttons, according to the product description. Its front photo shows the wool edge around the opening. The coat leaves more of the neckline visible when worn open, so a scarf or folded knit collar will show inside the opening.

A wide collar can take up room when it folds back. Wear the bag you normally carry and see whether its strap sits over the edge. The shearling outfit guide has more examples of what to wear underneath when the collar is the most prominent part of the coat.

The Coat You Can Close in Real Use

At a fitting, bring the gloves and sweater you are most likely to wear. Close the middle fastening first, then the one at the neck. If you can grip the bar but cannot open the loop with the same gloves, take them off and try again. If the toggle passes easily without gloves, glove bulk is affecting your grip. If it is still difficult, try the fastening with the coat open and the two front edges slack. A loop that works when slack but pulls tight across the chest points to limited room over your layers; a loop that stays stiff even with the coat open needs closer inspection.

Sit down with the front closed. Look for a gap between the fastenings at the waist or pulling across the shoulders. A coat you wear closed outside needs to pass this check even if you prefer its shape open in a photograph.

Compare the fastening and collar together in the toggle-front shearling coat collection.