How To Look Good In Outerwear
Ah, winter. Love it or hate it, it’s going to happen. (Unless you live in a warm climate and never planning on ever traveling somewhere cold—in which case, you can stop reading if you want to.) I’m not a WINTER H8R like many of my contemporaries, but I do get a little bummed about putting outfits together when those temps dip too low to wear an outfit without some warm outer layer on top. So many coats just aren’t cute. And even the ones that are, how many coats are we supposed to own? There are only so many ways you can look put together both over and under that coat. Thankfully, I’ve put a lot of thought into this. (Well, enough.)
01. Pick A Palette.
One way to create some visual intrigue with a winter look is to commit to a head-to-toe palette, which can be quite striking. This old look of mine is one of my all-time faves. Neutrals look good on everyone, so opt for a cream-colored coat, then build the rest of the outfit from there. For this particular look, I even added a yee-haw kinda hat which carried the neutrals theme. This, obviously, works with any sort of palette, but winter coats can be expensive and you must choose your colorways wisely for optimal mix-and-matchability. (In 2019, we’re smart with our money.)
02. Mix Aesthetics
One thing I’ve been loving about fashion these days is that we’re all mixing highs and lows, sporty with chic, casual with formal. If there’s a line, it can be blurred. It’s been next-level cold so I’ve been rocking a knee-length puffer (one that’s a little on the sporty/casual side for me—someone who tends to choose natural fibers like wool for my coats over GORE-TEX, etc.) with sleek statement boots and a chic wool scarf. The key here is to choose one dominant aesthetic and one accent aesthetic: the more organic shapes of the natural fibers in my scarf and hat, elegant bag, boots, and denim juxtapose nicely with the coat.
Conversely, this looks if you toss on a long wool coat over athleisure. Picture leggings and a hoodie, sneakers, topped off with a sleek, chic trench or duster. Or, as I’ve done here, a simple pair of mom jeans, sweater, and sneakers dressed up with a long wool coat.
When in doubt, stick with mixes that are more on the simple side. Solids, suble patterns. Maybe mostly neutrals with one pop of color? Or maybe a simple look with one bold pattern? Play around with different combinations until you find one that both looks and feels good. (Which, unfortunately, is much easier said than done when the weather feels like this day after day!)
03. Keep It Simple
This one sort of undoes the previous two points but: why wear more clothes when you can wear less? When in doubt, less is more. Especially if you’re going to be in a situation (looking at you, Market-Frankford Line) that may require you to peel back layers as to not arrive at your destination (looking at you, the office) a sweaty mess. (Looking at you, my armpits.) Find a coat you like, wear something warm under it, and call it a day.
Here, I dressed up a simple jean/boot combination with a big ole teddy coat. Really though, don’t overthink it.
04. Accessories, Of Course.
Let’s call this one minimum effort, maximum results. And if you truly don’t give a shit, at least have some fun with accessories. For real, there comes a point in the winter time when all you want to do s go home and curl up under a blanket. Some days, you don’t care about what your outfit is saying about you—however, if you’re anything like me, you still have to find a way to be creative. Accessories are a great and VERY easy way to do that.
This is for when you want to keep it simple but also need to send your creative energy doing something simple. Statement bag? So easy. Pink sneakers? Yes please.
What do you think? These simple tips will help me through the winter. (Though we’re not even halfway through and I’m already speeding towards #4…)
xo, e.m.