Buying a Winter Coat

An investment piece, such a coat, is a considered purchase. This is going to need to last you several seasons so it needs to be right. Colour – it needs to be a neutral in one of your key shades (or a WOW colour if you feel more daring!). This means you can easily wear it with every other colour in your palette. Winters have black and deep navy plus charcoal grey while Summers can use their rose browns, French navy and blue greys. Autumns and Springs can use their tan and camel colours which are still very on trend this season. The paler creams can also work for Springs and Autumns but such a light colour can clearly be limiting – this won’t be an everyday wear option! Length – longer length coats are having a moment which is great for some clothing personalities but can be swamping on others. Three-quarter length coats are a great alternative and suit most people (easily found this season too). One factor to consider though is how much time you spend in a car. If you are driving regularly anything longer than hip length is going to become creased and potentially annoying after a while meaning you won’t want to wear it so much. A shorter length will be a better option if this is your lifestyle. Fabric – Check the fibre content when looking at coats. Natural fibres are going to be warmer in coating so looking for a higher wool content is the aim. The exception to this comes with padded synthetic options. They can be beautifully warm but their lasting power is limited. Given that padded options eventually go to landfill as they aren’t biodegradable I think we need to seriously consider whether this is a viable option. They are often difficult to wash and in my experience have begun to clump and wear badly in a shorter period of time, than traditional coating. Lining – give the lining in any coat a good check as if this fails it’s expensive to replace and uncomfortable if it isn’t sitting well. Style – With a curvy frame you need a curvier coat! Sounds simple I know but can be a little challenging to find. Curves needn’t just be in the overall shape but also in the lapels, with perhaps layers in the sleeves. There are a lot of straighter styles around currently which is absolutely great if that’s your shape, but beware if you need to show some waist in your look. Better to leave it than find yourself with something unflattering that you need to justify wearing having spent serious money on it. Shorter neater styles such as the pea coat are also in this season and are particularly good for smaller framed figures who need neater shapes. Your stylist will be able to guide you given your specific body proportions and style personality so if in doubt get in touch.

Article by Jennie Billings – House of Colour House of Colour has a network of stylists to help you update your look – find your nearest at houseofcolour.co.uk/find-a-stylist