How to look lean in a shearling High Latitude Style

Downcoat or shearling?

Many women prefer summer over winter because warm winter coats like shearlings hide all the features they worked for so hard at the gym and in endless hours of running. There is no need to feel uncomfortably cold in a light wool coat that still shows the shape. Here are some simple stylist’s tricks to look tall and lean despite of the extra volume a shearing gives even to the slimmest person.

#streetstyle style blogger looking lean in outerwear — Shearling coat with printed cashmere scarf, fedora, leather pants, L.K. Bennett pumps, suede gloves, Halogen leather pants, and structured bag (all own) for a warm urban winter look

I use this simple old styling trick

The most effective trick is to fool the eye by making it to look up and down instead of scanning the width. Another trick is to re-insert shape or distract the eye from the coat. In other words: Create vertical lines! Give the illusion to be taller by adding a hat and wearing heels. Each inch counts to get the ratio of width to height in your favor. 😉

fashion over 40 woman in winter outerwear — Front view elucidating the vertical line created by the scarf, fedora and heels

Belt, belt, belt

In this outfit, I belted the shearling to emphasize the waist. I added a long scarf knotted in the front. The scarf adds a vertical line. Furthermore, I picked a shearling that has vertical darts. Both the scarf and the darts provide the illusion that the body is less wide. The heels and the fedora add height. Thus, the horizontal bulk added by the shearling seems less in comparison to the vertical.

Add height with a hat to look lean in shearling coats. #stylebloggertip Click To Tweet

Try it out! Stay warm in style!

You can find other examples of how to style a shearling coat and winter outerwear at these links. Tomorrow read about how to wear the classics.

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Photos: G. Kramm