My Friend Gave Me A Really Nice Coat, and Now She Wants It Back

And other conundrums solved in this month's advice column.

Live shot of me composing this issue. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

My friend gave me a long wool cashmere coat 5 years ago. Her mother gave it to her, and she said she doesn't wear navy and had sat in her closet for 2 years. I love navy and have always wanted a really long coat. I loved that coat and would wear it all the time. 2 weeks ago she went to Paris and said she was coming to get the coat in case it was cold in Paris. No can I borrow, I don't think I am getting the coat back. It's going to cost me a fortune to replace it. I am trying not to be pissed about this but I am. What do I do.

Many years ago, I bought a cute sundress. I wore it a few times and then decided that I didn’t like how it looked on me, and I offered it to my friend Emily. She was delighted: she also thought the dress was very cute and she had been looking for something just like it. Well, would it shock you to learn that as soon as I started seeing Emily wearing my old dress, I began to regret having given it to her? What had I been thinking, giving her this perfect sundress that was of course no longer available in stores because I had gotten it at some fast fashion emporium like Forever21?