I think it's great you have multiple Manuelas. I am a huge believer in buying repeats and multiples of items you love, especially items that look great on you! I am sure the Manuela looks fabulous on you.
I think navy in the Manuela is a seasonal color, similar to red, so if you want to get a new navy, now is the time! I saw it on the NM website when I was browsing for new colors this year. There is also an EGC promotion now at NM, so you would be getting about 22% off for the coat (you get $750 back in an EGC for the $3,450 coat).
Ripples! Okay.... now that I started this talk about the ripples, I should probably elaborate.
I'm horrible with photos, but here are some I took as an example of the "ripples". Your post is good timing as I am going to give away my old coats tomorrow and re-home them. Hence, I can't take comparison photos after tomorrow!
To summarize the terms I use. To me,
Ripples... are the curvy flowing nap you see in the camel fabric, like the ripples of water on the ocean.
Bubbles... are the round, rolled up camel hairs on the fabric, like little curly bubble hair on an actual camel's undercoat.
The first four photos show my new Manuelas with the ripples. You can see the nice curvy, flowing ripples on the arms in the first two photos. Photos 3 & 4 show the ripples in the collar (e.g. black collar and red collar), which it is very easy to see. I love how that looks and the effect.
The last two photos show a photo of the new camel coat with ripples (photo 5) and the old camel coat with bubbles (photo 6, last photo).
You can see in photo 5, the camel has that nice flowing ripple effect; it's so beautiful.
You can then see in photo 6, the ripples are no longer quite there, and they have turned into more a bubble effect.
I am not a fabric expert, and I know I am using the wrong words to describe the nap, but I hope this makes sense.
I think it's great to refresh items, especially classics. I do it all the time. Coats and other clothing get worn out looking, as they should, if one wears it often. After a while, it's no longer a beautiful Max Mara coat; it is now just a worn out looking coat. I am sure you have seen some folks wearing worn out coats. Some people love that look, but for me, I prefer a fresh coat look which if why I decided to refresh. It's all preference of course. As you said, it does not affect the warmth.
And yes, I agree with you... let's wear our camel coat more often this season! I plan to wear mine a lot.
Just my two cents and thoughts to share. I hope this was helpful.
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