I agree, unless you live somewhere where it drops below freezing then a down jacket isn't needed.I live in the Northeastern US and I see these jackets allllll the time. I think if you live somewhere where it gets extremely (like dangeriously) cold, it's understandable. But, where I live it's pretty temperate. It rarely gets below freezing.
I personally think it looks a little silly when I see girls in mukluk boots and full length down coats when it's 40-something degrees outside. Somewhere like Chicago is a different story, though.