Find the Right Puffer Coat for Your Figure

3 Puffy Coat Problems Solved

“My Puffy Down Coat? Not So Puffy Anymore”

To revive down that’s been flattened, follow these steps from Brady Barry, a sales and marketing coordinator for Helly Hansen.

1. Wash the jacket in a front-loading washer (a top loader’s agitator is too rough) in warm water on a gentle cycle. Use a non-detergent cleaner, like Nikwax Down Wash ($10, reicom). Remove any fur trim first; if you can’t, dry-clean the coat.

2. Run the coat through two rinse cycles (the second one should be detergent-free) so that the coat is free of all soap residue.

3. Throw a couple of new tennis balls into the dryer, set to low, along with the coat; the balls will prevent the feathers from clumping. Dampness can cause mildew, so run the dryer until the coat is totally dry. Note: This may take several hours.

“Do Flattering Plus-Size Puffers Actually Exist?”

They sure do! Head straight for these brands.

• Columbia Sportswear: Sizes 1X to 3X, columbia.com.
• Dress Barn: Sizes 1X to 3X, dressbarn.com.
• Eileen Fisher: Sizes 1X to 3X, eileenfisher.com.
• Larry Levine: Sizes 1X to 3X, macys.com.

“It Rained, and Now My Down Jacket Is Soaked”

The first thing to do is wash the coat. Then you’ll be able to treat it so water will bead off its surface during the next downpour. Complete step 1 of the directions above. But instead of following step 2, put about three capfuls of Nikwax Down Proof ($12.50, rei.com) in the machine’s detergent dispenser and set the water temperature to warm. (That’s one cycle for cleaning and a second for waterproofing.) Dry the coat as described in step 3. Reapply every six to eight washes. You may want to treat your well-worn ski jacket, too, since a built-in water-resistant coating can fade over time.