It's pea-coat season!

After a long and exhausting week away, I'm home just in time for Thanksgiving, frigid temperatures and cozy, dark evenings. And lo and behold, another autumn delight: pea coats!

Isabelle enjoying her new navy pea coat on the treetop walkway at Kew.

Ludwig Bemelmans' Madeline in a stunning Parisian version

... And Paddington Bear stepping off the First Great Western from deepest, darkest Peru in a sturdy wool number. Actually, I think the toggle buttons technically make this a duffel coat, but who cares?

The high-fashion Paul Smith version.

To me, navy pea coats and autumn go together like hot chocolate and marshmallows. They are the first day of school, a long afternoon raking leaves at Grandma's and icy noses and cheeks at a Friday night football game. I have vivid memories of stomping around campus my first year at college in a pea coat that was woefully underequipped for the subzero central Illinois winter, stuffing it with multiple sweaters and insulation to keep out the cold. But hey ho, aren't they cute? They deliver something a down puffa or a sleazy parka simply can't: timeless preppy style. Hope you're keeping warm and cozy this winter, too!