How to Choose a Coat for Fall & Winter

Every woman must invest in a high quality, classic overcoat. In fall and winter months – regardless of how stylishly you’re dressed underneath – your coat is the first thing people see, which means it creates your first (fashion) impression.

Your overcoat should be at least as stylish as the clothing you’re wearing underneath it. Wearing nice clothes under a shoddy jacket or windbreaker is pointless. However, there have been many women who have dashed out to get the paper in their long overcoats with sweats (or even their skivvies) underneath, only to look fabulous: your overcoat can make a statement even when the rest of your ensemble is in shambles.

Don’t get left out in the cold: find out how to spot your essential winter coat.

Menswear-Inspired Fashion

Once upon a time, woman wanted to get noticed in the corporate world. Along with working her butt off and quashing weaker-sex stereotypes, she donned a set of ham-sized shoulder pads, covered up in a button-down, and boxed her figure in a straight skirt and oversized blazer. This was the eighties and she was a powerful woman in a power suit.

Boy Meets Girl: Menswear-Inspired Elements

Since lapping up the realm of menswear two decades ago, the “fairer sex” has never turned back. Creased trousers, fitted blazers, crisp button-downs — all staples in the closet of the woman who wants to be taken seriously. But this season, fashion has taken those staples and let them flourish in the limelight.

• Menswear Fabrics for Women
• Button-Down Shirts, Knits & Pinstripes
• Vests & Blazers
• Trousers & Pencil Skirts
• Plaid, Herringbone, Tab Details & Oversize Buttons
• Dashing Trench Coats & Fedoras
• Dapper Details: Boots, Ankle Boots, Tassels, Wingtips, Studs & Plaid
• Hats, Gloves & Handbags

Menswear Fabrics For Women

Traditionally masculine fabrics such as herringbone, tweed, plaid, check, pinstripe and flannel, are now front and center in women’s wear. And the classic gentleman silhouette is cropped, tailored and cinched to create conservative yet sexy styles that drip in old-school class. But with a whole closet to choose from, your no-flub philosophy is to embrace moderation and respect the diadem of detail. Avoid matchy-matchy head-to-toe fabric frenzies and choose signature pieces that give a masculine flair to your otherwise ultra-fem style.

Button-Down Shirts, Knits & Pinstripes

To master menswear, begin with your basics: the button-down shirt and the crease-front trouser. These unisex garments, in a trimmer, more feminine physique, easily transfer from his closet to yours. Up top, layering’s the word and knitwear, vests and blazers work their masculine magic. Over a flirtified dress shirt with ruffle-front detailing, slip into a heather-gray cable-knit V-neck that’s aglow in academia. A pinstripe button-down will fall in love with a sweater vest, and a crisp white shirt is begging to be tucked into a waistcoat.

Vests & Blazers

For button-up vests, masculine shapes that date back to when chained pocket watches were a necessity are seen from a feminine perspective, resulting in tailored and trim pieces that flatter a lady’s curves. Single or double-breasted, these miniature vests are painted in the season’s palette – tweed, herringbone and plaid — and are lined in signature menswear shirting.

Though not new to your wardrobe, blazers are playing a lead role in your borrowed-from-the boys production. In luxurious tweeds and herringbone, these classic pieces are seeing leather and corduroy elbow patches and a slimmed, sleek line. Black tux jackets (velvet optional) provide a red-carpet option – or at least the laywoman’s version – for dressing up while dipping delightfully into menswear.

Trousers & Pencil Skirts

Below the belt, the man’s closet is a wee bit sparse. You’ve got trousers, and that’s about it. And that’s why fashion has used menswear as a spring board to much greater heights. Yes, love your cuffed, wide-leg, crease-front trouser, but also adore a trim pencil or flouncy skirt in our new favorite fabrics.

Plaid, Herringbone, Tab Details & Oversize Buttons

Combine manly with girly by dousing a ruffle-back skirt in bold black and red plaid, or pair herringbone up top with a pair of cropped trousers equipped with tab details and oversized buttons.

Those mysteriously adorable (yet wildly impractical) formal short-shorts can also work here, but wrap your lower limbs in opaque hosiery and slip your feet into something flat.

Dashing Trench Coats & Fedoras

Style’s love affair with menswear hasn’t left you out in the cold – bundle up for the chilly season in classic coats that whisper of dashing detectives, feathered fedoras and dark alleys. The trench coat has been suped up with the signature masculine fabrics, while feminine curves are drawn with empire waistlines and ribbon-tie belts. The traditional trench is not to be forgotten, though, giving you the houndstooth-, plaid- and tweed-free option of a sandy beige or warm taupe. Keeping in tune to our desire to give the boy-borrowed pieces a much-needed slice, this season features oodles of cropped jackets with shortened hemlines and sleeves. Most stunning in a bold, inflated black-and-white herringbone print, these round-collar jacket often come to a single-button close and succeed at being both dashing and adorable.

Dapper Details: Boots, Ankle Boots, Tassels, Wingtips, Studs & Plaid

Toss aside your needlepoint stilettos and slender sexy boots and make room for chunky heels and clunky lace-ups – menswear-inspired footwear charts brand new territory. Keep rocking your peep-toe pumps and your sleek patent leather platforms, but save some mileage for a round-toe shoe that’s got some meat on its heel. Look out for such masculine detailing as antique metal accents, fringe, lacing, tassels, wingtips, studs, perforated leather trims and clunky soles. Fabrics range from your classic and reliable leather and suede, to daringly of-the-moment flashes of tweed, herringbone, and, you guessed it, plaid.

Hats, Gloves & Handbags

Such footwear perfection deserves a bookend of similar style success, and, when used sparingly, menswear-inspired accessories have got the right ingredients. When it comes to hats, all the boys are out to play — baker boy, newsboy, derby, fedora, bowler, oxford, and cabbie! Cute and coy, these tête-toppers in menswear-inspired prints keep you toasty without straying from style. Save your fingers from the cold, too, with a dashing pair of cropped and cuffed leather gloves, and wrap yourself up in a classic red plaid scarf. Chunky over-the-shoulder bags, doused in loads of leather detailing and swimming in herringbone, tweed and plaid, are right on cue, as are our favorite little clutches finished off with leather, metal or wooden hinged openings.

Add Feminine Flair to Menswear-Inspired Clothes

As this season continues its love affair with menswear, don’t let all the gentlemanly charm scoop you up and cloud your judgment. The trick to owning menswear-inspired style is to wear it all in moderation. We may adore the trusty trio of masculine fabrics, but head-to-toe pattern is never a good thing. And even though you’re borrowing from the opposite closet, aim for feminine silhouettes featuring details that are anything but masculine. With the perfect mix of masculine and feminine, you’ll be one stunningly stylin’ woman.

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Mod Fashion

If there’s one decade we could nibble on over and over again, it’s the fabulous sixties and all it has to offer.

Beneath the  flamboyant florals and psychedelic swirls lie the clean lines of the often repeated look of the crisp, minimalist mod.

Mod Fashion Revival

We’ve seen it before: the shapeless shifts, the multi-colored flats, the geometric prints, the plastic bangles and the walking cubism. But this time around, we’ve left behind the paint-by-numbers flamboyance and we’re left with merely the essentials. Never mind emulating your grandmother’s lamp shade — let this look of the past take you flying into the future.

A-Line Dresses

For frocks, this season’s “it” shape — the mini-dress — has been knocking at fashion’s door for a while. But the mod-inspired miniature shift has now taken on an A-line cut, ditching the skin-tight and bubble looks of the 80s in favor of the sculptural style born in the 60s. If anywhere at all, waists are popping up under the bust line or loose at the hips, creating boxy or tent shapes that are just begging for a twirly dance-a-thon.

Embellished Necklines

The seams and gathers that usually busy about your middle have gone for a hike up north, setting up camp around your neckline. Defined yokes and cinched collars give an otherwise shapeless shift a little definition and mock turtlenecks, bows, ruffles, rolled collars, pretty peter pans and bold boat necks are as prim and proper as the dresses beneath them.

Style Simplicity

Ditch the fussy details for simple, eye popping accents like a bold-colored boot or a simple coat topped off with a covered, over-sized button.

Hiked Hemlines: Mighty Mini Skirts

Hello thighs! Mastering mod means hiking up those hemlines and embracing the two pretty stems poking out beneath you. 1960s shifts are known for their derriere-skimming lengths so don’t be shy and get shorty in a mini skirt or dress! Since these boxy shapes hang far from the body, there’s no risk of getting into “what was she thinking” territory — just slip on a pair of opaque or textured tights and don’t forget your knickers (Britney).

The cropped look has trimmed away at outerwear, too, bringing back the 1960s mini coat with its three-quarter sleeves and big-button detail. Found in basic black or bold rainbow solids, the cropped jacket is baby-doll adorable. This coat should come to a halt at hip-bone height — or for a longer take, around mid-thigh — and should mimic the same boxy cut of its mini-dress companion.

Ankle Boots

Boots have also been hacked down to miniature proportions, with ankle boots leading the pack. Worn with caution, these impish booties look sweet at the end of wool-legged gams sticking out under a structured mini-dress, and the flat styles will finish off a pair of straight-legged denims with chic success. So long as you avoid the Hollywood starlet trend of pairing peg-leg pants with four-inch-heeled ankle boots that conjure up witch-like images, and steer clear of below-the-knee skirt hems, you and your booties will be frolicking in style.

Mod Means Modern

The word “mod” is derived from “modern,” so don’t forget what that six-letter word is all about. Think minimal, streamlined and bold. Ditch the fussy details for simple, eye popping accents like a bold-colored boot or a simple coat topped off with a covered, over-sized button. Round, turned-down collars care of Peter Pan and straight, geometric cuts care of 60s pop art are clean, unique and utterly mod.

Your color palette is anything but limited, diving from black-white contrast to the richest hues in the rainbow. The 21st century take mod does skip over the pretty patterns of yesteryear, though, opting for daring solids in stiff fabrics that stand free of the body line. And the rockadelic metallics dominating this season’s evening wear have found their way onto the boxy styles, too, giving rise to the coveted silver mini-dress and luxurious fabrics with a hint of sheen.

So march on down to the salon, demand a bob, and prepare yourself to go short, structured, bold, and mod, mod, mod!

Marching Band Coat

Skip the baton-twirling and slip right into this fabulous double-breasted wool coat from Boden.

Chunky brass buttons show just how much fun Military Chic can be when it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and this regal shade of purple makes the Marching Band Coat a timeless, stand-out fashion investment.

This jacket ticks all the boxes of what you need in a fall/winter coat!

4 Tests to Tell Faux Fur from Real Fur

With the resurgence of real fur and faux fur in the fashion industry — and wherever you stand on the ethical side of the industry —  it’s important that consumers be able to tell the difference between faux fur coats, trim and accessories and their real fur counterparts.

With the exception of some  “fast fashion” collars, boot trims or glove linings made from real fur, price point is usually a good indicator of real versus fake fur, with the faux being priced far below real fur.

Aside from the typical disparity in price, here are some hands-on tests you can perform to determine whether or not your new or vintage garment is  made from genuine fur:

Faux Fur vs Real Fur: Touch Test

Feel the difference by rolling the hairs between finger and thumb…

• Real Fur: Feels smooth and soft, easily rolls between the fingers.
• Faux Fur: Feels coarse

Faux Fur vs Real Fur: Visual Test

Look at collars with long-haired fur and blow on the hairs so they divide…

• Real Fur: Is usually made up of several layers of thin, almost curly hairs which form a dense under-wool, through which the longer hairs stick out; the base is leather.

• Faux Fur: Is simpler in structure, individual hairs are often the same length and even in color.

Faux Fur vs Real Fur: Pinch Test

Pinch with a pin through the base…

• Real Fur: The leather resists, and the pin is hard to push through.
• Faux Fur: Pin easily goes through the cloth base.

Faux Fur vs Real Fur: Burn Test

Carefully pull a few hairs from the fur and hold them to a flame…

• Real Fur: Singes like a human hair and smells similar.
• Faux Fur: Melts like plastic, smells like burnt plastic, and also forms small plastics balls at the ends that feel hard between finger and thumb.

 

Biker Chic

If you can only afford to make one current trend purchase this season, make it a leather jacket.

Be it vintage or brand-spanking new, the leather jacket is without a doubt the key piece for fall and will make almost anything else you wear look edgy and au courant.

Biker Jacket: Rebel with Fabulous Fashion

The best way to achieve the authentic-looking adventurous and sexy edge that epitomizes Biker Chic is by investing in a worn-in vintage leather jacket – or a new one that has been aged to look as if it’s witnessed a lifetime hard-living and dangerous adventures.

We’re talking soft, distressed leather tailored to a second-skin fit embellished with all the pockets, zippers, belts, closures and accents that areal biker girl would need — after all, a motorcycle isn’t exactly handbag-friendly is it?

Bomber Jacket: Soaring Style

Today’s leather Bomber Jacket is inspired by the flight jackets originally created for pilots in the First World War when most airplanes didn’t have an enclosed cockpit. Because these garments had to keep the pilots warm, for practical reasons they featured high wraparound collars, zipper closures with wind flaps, snug, elasticized and ribbed cuffs and waists, and even fur fringe and lining. What was born out of necessity almost one hundred years ago is being revived as a magnificent fashion statement for fall.

Urban Sleek Leather Jacket

If Biker Chic or Bomber Jackets aren’t exactly your style — or appropriate — for your lifestyle, don’t worry. While slightly less adventurous, there is a second way to participate in the leather jacket trend that’s so hot: Urban Sleek. Unlike to lived-in, rough-edged look of the Biker Chic interpretation of the leather jacket, and the sportier look of the Bomber Jacket, Urban Sleek style jackets may have a more minimalist, futuristic style and are made from polished, glossy leather, and typically have fewer grommets, zippers, pockets, ribbed cuffs and other shiny, metallic bits.

What the Urban Sleek look does have in common with its rebel counterparts is that all styles of leather jackets should be well-tailored for a fit where seams don’t pucker or pull, and the coat itself doesn’t gape, à la cape-like Matrix movie style jackets.

Leather Jacket Colors

Of course basic black is the classic look which comes to mind when thinking of the biker jacket, but don’t let convention tie you down! Feel free to be a fashion rebel and stand out in a beautiful color such as eggplant, toffee, indigo or green-black.

How to Wear Your Leather Jacket

The beauty of this season’s leather jacket is lends a bit of rock and roll attitude to anything it’s worn with.

Daytime Looks for the Leather Jacket

Think Grease and layer your leather jacket over a snug-fitting top, tailored shirt or designer t-shirt, and pair with a pair of slim legging pants, skinny jeans, or even a mini skirt and boots or high heel shoes. Wrap on a scarf, pile on some chunky jewelry, and tousle your hair and you’re ready to go.

Rocking the Leather Jacket at Night

At night, slip into a pair of the platform booties (season’s other must-have), and layer your leather jacket over a whimsical dress; the juxtaposition of hard and soft will make others seriously envious of your personal style.

The Boyfriend Blazer

Designers are embracing blazers as a staple in the modern woman’s wardrobe by having fun with a wide variety of colors, fabrics and textures, and designing jackets to both enhance a woman’s curves and produce an overall slimming effect.

Jacket & Blazer Fabrics & Styles

Hot fabrics for trend-right boyfriend blazers range from sophisticated tweed, sultry velvet, and chic satin, to interesting upholstery fabrics, laid-back denim, corduroy, and racy leather. Blazers are available in single, double, and triple-breasted styles, as well as Asian-inspired full-buttoned Mandarin collars and asymmetrical closures.

Blazers for Larger Busted Ladies

Feel free to experiment with the wide selection of styles, however, women conscious of a very large bust may want to steer away from single-breasted blazers, as this closure tends to gape open, drawing attention to the chest.

Military Chic Jackets

This season, jackets are paying tribute to their military roots, with badges, patches, buckles, brass and sexy structure taking center stage.

Power Suits & Shoulder Pads?

Although styles from the 1950s and 1980s are hot on the runway, in the real world it’s still wise to avoid blazers with super boxy shoulder-padding a la 1980s power suit or their 1950s Joan Crawford-inspired predecessors. The boyfriend blazer look is very much in style right now, but excessive padding exaggerates shoulders, producing an unflattering top-heavy triangular proportion. Think structured tailoring, yet feminine.

What to Wear with a Blazer

The blazer is an essential item which can work around the clock, adding the perfect finishing touch to any outfit. Getting it right is a matter of combining the blazer with the proper pieces above and below the belt:

• Pair a blazer with your favorite jeans, a feminine, flirty skirt, or sexy cropped pant.
• Layer a structured dress shirt under a tweed or wool blazer for a tailored, smart, professional outfit.
• Slip a sexy camisole under a satin or velvet jacket as part of an irresistible date ensemble.
• Sport a denim or tweed blazer with a simple tee for a pulled-together casual look.
• Stay warm and fashionable by accessorizing your favorite blazer with your favorite chunky scarf.

Blazers are the ideal base for bling and accessories: brooches, pendants, pearls, neckerchiefs, ties, accessory scarves and handbags all work with blazers to make an ordinary outfit extraordinary.