The 5 Jackets You Need for Fall/Winter
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
OK, so I'm having a love/hate relationship with the snow on my lawn right now. I hate that it came out of nowhere the minute after Halloween, but I love that my kids have spent every waking moment sledding on the hill behind our house while I stay inside and watch Love, Actually and cry.
Dat movie!
I also love layering, so that's one of the major pluses for colder weather. I love jackets and am always buying them, but it occurred to me that not everyone has an extensive jacket collection. And by "not everyone" I mean "no one."
Still, if you want to layer up during the colder weather without looking like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, it's a good idea to have different jackets for different purposes. I'll detail my must-haves, but know that I also have like, snowmobiling coats and whatnot that have no place here. They are for snowmobiling and that's it.
The rest though, you must.
1. A Leather or Moto Jacket
These are by far my favorite type of jacket. I love how you can throw them over anything and there's an instant cool factor. I also love that they aren't a bajillion degrees so they're OK to wear shopping, even if they aren't super warm for like, a blizzard. I wear mine with skinnies and boots, but they're super cute over dresses and tights too.
I tend to splurge on classic colors, like brown, cream and black. Then I buy less-expensive colors, like red, maroon and yellow. The basic colors will always be in style and the brighter shades are just for funsies.
2. A Military-Style Jacket
I wasn't all that sold on military jackets being a staple until my husband bought me one last year. Now it's in constant rotation because it goes with everrrrything I own. Look for a girly shape -- mine has cute drawstrings to cinch in the waist and I wear it with flats and skinnies. I also love wearing it with ankle boots and I try to keep 'em low. Too high and you'll actually look like you're in the military.
There's nothing worse than wearing a fancy dress and then covering it up with an ugly parka. OK FINE racism is worse. But not having a formal coat is like, a close second or third at least. Seriously though, there's a reason that pea coats have been in style for a century. They're classic. I have two in red and black and one of them was given to me -- I kid you not -- 11 years ago when I was a teenager living at home. Moral of the story: A good-quality wool pea coat looks amazing with dresses, skirts and boots and will last you forever.
Just take care when you choose the length. You want it to cinch in at your natural waist. If you have short legs, go for a shorter coat so it doesn't cut you off.
I'm not dumb -- I live on a mountain. And while I value fashion, I also value warmth. So when it's freezing out, I pull out the big guns -- my parka. When you choose a parka, I think it's important to look for feminine details like a nice shape, faux fur -- whatever it takes so you don't look like the abominable snowman. I like a fur-trimmed parka with cuffs because driving my kid to preschool whilst cold is a nightmare. I also wear mittens because I'm 5.
OK, all of these are just making me want to layer up and go crunch through some leaves with boots on like a child. Are there any jackets I'm forgetting?