Over 25 years ago, I vividly remember my older brother showing me his new winter jacket from LL Bean. It had a special feature that he was very excited about ~ a two-way zipper. I never saw one before and was intrigued. The coat was rather long, past his butt, but when he sat in his car, he didn’t have to unzip the entire jacket to get comfortable, he simply unzipped several inches from the bottom up to make it very easy to sit in the car.  It is an excellent feature during the cold winter months in the Northeast. Funny, but after that show-n-tell, I never gave it another thought, even though most of my jackets had the same feature. Well folks, after over two decades of wearing shell jackets I finally used my two-way zipper, and let me tell you ~ it was so liberating! I cannot believe I never tried it before.

In the winter, I am a layerer. With the temperature dropping below 20°F, I tend to get very bundled up, so when I need something from my jean’s pocket or to sit down, unzipping and then zipping up my entire coat is such a hassle. But no more! I simply unzip from the bottom and voilà easy access and comfort! So, you may be wondering why I never used this feature before ~ me too. Perhaps, my middle-aged body doesn’t fit as well in my clothes as it used to. Or better yet, I need and am wearing more layers. Yeah, sure, that’s it; I wear more layers when I go out nowadays. Beyond the shirt and turtleneck, there is a fleece or wool sweater, and then a fleece jacket and finally the shell. It really doesn’t matter the reason, because I have now my two-way zipper to use now and again.

What features do you love in your clothes? Could it be pit zips? There is nothing like hiking in the rain and being able to stay dry and still well ventilated is there? Please share and I will continue to share.