5 Tips to Look Stylish in Your Outerwear

Often people are not aware that the piece of clothes they wear the most is their outerwear. Coats are a Must in cold winter climate regions. Over the tenure of winter, wearing them  can become boring. You can fast feel like being stuck in a style rut. Read my tips to style your outerwear to create different chic, cozy looks with your winter coats.

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How Not Get Bored with You Winter Outerwear

Many women do not like winters in the city. It’s cold. Wearing the same coat over and over again is boring. In regions where winter lasts more than four months, women often have more than one coat.  Where winter hangs around longer than four months creating an awesome coat wardrobe is essential. You have to cover the wide range of temperatures. In Interior Alaska, winter stays around seven months!

Nevertheless, you feel winter boredom style-wise!

Why to Style Your Coats?

It is amazing how many different ways you can style a winter coat when you spend the effort. In the following, you see various coat outfit ideas for different types of coats. It’s important to have the right coats for your climate zone. Recall, its original purpose is to provide adequate insulation.

For a fashionista, however, this everyday coverup has to look effortlessly stylish too.

Looking effortlessly stylish takes effort!

You can only have so many coats as your budget and closet-size permit. Thus, a wide range of winter temperatures requires layers for feeling comfortable. At the same time, layering changes the look. Hence, your outfit can differ depending on the ambient temperature.

Denim Duster

This duster is my favorite. It’s so easy to style. Well, denim works with everything. Here I went for a posh casual Euro Chic inspired vibe. In other words, all neutrals.

Faux Fur Frock

A faux fur frock in any cut is already a statement. They look best with a silk or cashmere scarf, tall boots and an upscale hat.

The next suggestion uses tan gloves as an accent. This color is repeated in the oblong paisley print cashmere scarf. Any color of the scarf could act as an accent. The violet, for instance, would make them a bold color statement. This lotd is also an example for how to style black with brown in a chic way.

The above OOTD creates sort of a red-black-gray vibe. The scarf has hints of gray and black in the floral print.

Loden Coat

This example is the easiest. Start with an interesting coat like this lodden coat with a twist (motorcycle jacket cut, but half calf-length). Add a pop of surprising color with a bag (here orange) and wear your coat open with a dress underneath that picks up the colors of the bag and your heels. Of course, in Alaska, this look only works in fall, but it’s a perfect LOTD in warm climates on a mild winter day – think, for instance, dressing for humid sub-tropical climate.

The above look works with nearly complimentary colors contrasting pinks and burgundy with lodengreen.

When it is below freezing a head band is a nice accessory to try.

The following look shows an example that there is no need to have an exact match of the colors. The scarf ties the look together. It picks up the shades of the coat, shoes and jeans. The bag and hat repeat the black in the camouflage booties.

You can find the historic origin of a janker and what to look for to get a high quality one in the post at the link.

Pea-coat

Another classic is the pea-coat. The following outfit inspirations feature variations of the original.

While there are many trendy variations always look for a pea coat close to the original design. These usually have high quality. This means they won’t look dated in the next cold season. A perfect sultry color combination for Valentine’s Day.

Red plus black reads sexy even when no skin (except the face) is showing.

When you like the tips, you may also want to get my style recipe book How to Dress for Success in Midlife for stylish tips in all kind of dressing situations.

Cape

The inspiration with a cape in the photos above works in Alaska in fall and in the south in winter. It plays along the lines of an ageless monochromatic look with a pop of color, but reversed. Black is the neutral, while red is the color. Ok, when you consider red as a neutral like many Europeans do, it’s an all neutral creation.

Shearling Outfit Ideas

In cold winter climate regions, a shearling is a nice alternative to down garments.

In the photos above, the motorcycle cut makes already a statement. In the monochromatic color theme of the look, the accent color of the loafers and hats fabric flower that has also hints of pink pick up the burgundy color of the coat. See this guide to learn how to style ageless monochromatic looks.

The look above gets its interest from the different texture of the black (Crocodile vs. polished leather vs. shearling) and burgundy items (sequins, colored denim pants, suede).

The photo above shows how to add color to a cozy shearling with a Russian floral print wool scarf and matching gloves. The fuchsia bag adds another color. Since the coat, tights and shoes are all black, the bright bag adds a interest.

Which Coat Length is best?

When styling a winter coat keep in mind that the part of your “indoor outfit” may show. This part becomes automatically part of your look. Take the vibe and colors of the showing indoor as your lead for accessorizing. In the photo above, the scarf wrap, stone and leather color of the belt pick up the blue of the polka dot tight.

The above inspiration uses a theme of black, blue and tan. In case of straight up-and-down or bulky coats accessorizing with a belt adds shape. The paisley print ties the colors of the tan bag, belt, and head band, the black coat and boots, and the blue skirt and tights together. It also adds a playful interest with the red in the paisley print. The next look uses the same idea, but around a gray, black and red color theme.

Using a Scarf for Styling Your Outerwear

There are many reasons and ways to accessorize with scarves for style. The next example shows how to style a coat with boy-friend jeans. The casual vibe of the jeans is picked up by the cable-knit scarf. Again a belt is used to add shape to the look. The hat adds height, which is always a nice styling trick to look slim in a thick shearling.

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The styling above evolves around gray tights and gray suede boots with a fringed gray-burgundy-black long knit scarf and a burgundy beret. Nice Euro Chic! The fuchsia bag adds a pop of color to stand out in a crowd of typical black winter attire. Wearing an ageless style or trendy hat keeps your head warm. It adds height for a lean illusion.

You never can go wrong with that strategy.

For the outfit inspiration below, I played with the color wheel, sort off plus belting my chocolate shearling coat for shape. The tan belt with its many brown shades of its tiger-eye buckle ties the outfit of various brown shades together. Orange mixed with black gives brown. Thus, adding blue jeans to any shades of brown always works well as an all neutral outfit without being boring.

Layering Over Coats

Learn how to wear a blanket in this ultimate scarves styling guide. The photo above shows a very northern styling of the shearling coat with a poncho worn on top. The belt keeps the plaid poncho worn-over-coat from looking like being wrapped in a blanket. The black coat, tights and booties ensure a clean sleek line. The bag’s color matches the poncho. The burgundy beret works as it is a darker shade of the pink in the plaid pattern.

Blazer

In subtropical and Mediterranean climate regions, a blazer is often enough to stay comfortable in winter.

The example above shows how to style your outerwear in states and countries in the south where winter temperatures remain in the 50s or 60s (10 to 15^oC). Herein the print of the scarf provided the inspiration for the color combination. Its floral print has purple, pink, red blue and white on a black background. Thus, I pulled items in these colors from my closet, the pink cashmere mock turtleneck sweater, the red suede skirt, and the back-purple-white tweed jacket. Herein the scarf worn as a belt ties the colors together.

Shackets

Shackets are a hybrid between a jacket and a shirt. These overshirts consist of fabric that is thinner than that of typical jackets, but thicker than typical shirts. For more details on the cut and styles as well as the history of shackets see the post devoted to this popular weekend casual garment. Shackets work with all casual attire, and have become a trend in season-transition pieces lately.

Invest in winter accessories like gloves to add interest

When the winter last seven month, investing into great gloves in various colors is a Must-do to not get into winter boredom – outfit wise – or into an outerwear style rut. I invest in my classic basic everyday gloves in standard colors, i.e. the fundamental pieces that are to last. I have made nothing, but great experiences with gloves I bought at LeatherCoatsEtc.

When It Comes to Glove Trends Be Frugal

In this example, I created an outer outfit with my shearling motorcycle coat, chevron cashmere scarf, and beret that all have burgundy in common like the sweater. I added the mirrored Ray Ban purple aviator sunglasses, and Nordstrom Rack gloves to pickup other colors of the sweater. More on how to improve your style with gloves.

On the contrary, I go for a bargain when it comes to trendy gloves like in the photo above. I always browse for unique gloves in thrift- and consignment stores as well as on sales. Trendy gloves typically have minor quality than high end basics as trends are not supposed to last. On the contrary, they are supposed to be just a trend and go. Period.

Upcycle Old Investment Pieces

Also when you have an expensive garment that you have been already wearing for a couple of years, you may consider altering it a bit. For example, I bought my short black  with gray trim shearling shown in some of the style examples in Germany in 1999. I wore it over and over again every winter, ever since. I had it altered a bit (shortened) about 10 years ago (to get rid of signs of wear). It originally was a maxi coat. When you are a regular reader you may have seen the long version in my post on no fear of progress in style.

Winter Outerwear Styling Tips in a Nutshell

Be aware outerwear is an outfit too that needs styling

Always style your outerwear too. It is best to keep the outerwear in sync with your outfit. Doing so allows for wearing the coat/jacket open, when it gets too warm for the coat to be closed, but still too cold for not wearing the coat.  Think about how interesting such a look is.

1. Let the indoor outfit that shows under the coat be your guidance with respect to vibe and colors
2. Create a vertical line by the same color, a tall hat or long scarf
3. Add interest with a pop of color.
4. Belt for shape.
5. Go for unexpected pairings.

Of course, you can also apply any combination of the tips. Would combine the tips, be technically a sixth tip? 😉 Who knows? It doesn’t matter! Have fun dressing for outside. 😉 Stay warm.

A skirt should show about two inch (5 cm) out of the coat for the best look.

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Stylish Monday January – Cozy, Chic Coats

My blogging friends and I host Stylish Monday. Please check the blogs of my friends to see more of their cozy, chic ideas than presented in this short video. You can find them at the linkup party. Furthermore, I tagged them in my instagram post about this party.

Click here to join the linkup party.

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Photos of me: G. Kramm

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