The Moose Knuckles story starts in Winnipeg. Noah Stern's family ran an outerwear factory there that was about a hundred years old, and the brand's own history says the family has made cold-weather gear since 1921. Stern and Ayal Twik, both fashion design graduates of Toronto Metropolitan University, bought the Moose Knuckles concept in 2010, when it was making under 300 coats a year. The name comes from a moose that leaves only a knuckle trace in the snow. Their idea was a body-conscious take on the Michelin Man puffer, and you can see it in the Soho down bomber coat, the Everest hooded down bomber and the Elora slim down puffer jacket. The Tegan belted down coat and the Watershed 3 down parka with removable hood are the longer, warmer choices. For something lighter, the Iceberg lightweight hooded puffer and the Debbie satin bomber with removable hood and pom poms are easy to layer. The Eaton cheetah-print faux-fur jacket and the Roslyn Bunny hooded coat are the playful ones. Since fit is the whole point, my list of designer winter coats is a good companion.

The second group runs from heavy parkas to light denim. The Stirling shearling trim down parka is the one that did well in Forbes testing against Canada Goose and Moncler, a test that came down to warmth. The Andesite is available with a removable hood and shearling trim, and as a shearling and down parka. The 3-in-1 wool parka gives you layers you can separate. For the days that are only damp, the Laurier rain jacket is simpler. The Aurora trucker, the Frontier cotton blend denim trucker and the faux fur-trim denim down trucker give a parka's warmth a lighter, denim shape. The Rose de Lima Bunny jacket and the Bunny Ember faux-fur jacket are the soft ones. If you are choosing a long coat, a funnel neck coat has its own history worth knowing. What I would skip is wearing a belted or slim parka over a bulky chunky sweater, since the cut is meant to follow the body.

The smaller pieces are for the days when a parka is too much, and they are where the brand's down expertise shows up in a lighter way. The Tegan lightweight fill down vest and the Iceberg quilted down puffer vest give you the same quilted look without sleeves. For an easy fall layer, take a look at the puffer vest edit. The Dua Bunny sweater and the mixed media hoodie round out the group, and a camel quarter-zip is another knit that sits well under any of these vests. A simple test: keep the sleeves slim, so the vest lies flat over the knit, and try the vest on with the sweater you plan to wear under it.

Moose Knuckles was making fewer than 300 coats a year when its founders found it, and it now has a Toronto Yorkdale flagship, which opened in 2017, and an investor in former Coach CEO Victor Luis, who came in during 2021. I would keep the look simple: one parka, one vest, and a black layer under both. The design team works in Montreal, the furriers are in Toronto, and the core parkas and bombers are made in Canada. For a shorter option in black, my leather biker jacket edit is a fit.

If you want to keep going, Source Unknown Outerwear and Helsa Dresses & Outerwear pair well with this edit.