Puffer Season: The Long And The Short Of It
Does a stylish, tundra-level-warm coat exist? Yes...but it takes a little effort.
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Onto this week’s topic at large…a dire one given that we are now past the joyful holiday season and moving into the grey, long, dark winter.
I had a conversation with a client last week about her coat wardrobe. She needed a lovely dress coat and a function over fashion warm coat, because those beautiful wool coats are for what I call “Paris winter.” You know, temperate winter locales that usually hover around 45-55 degrees and still enable you to look great in your layers. But by February in NYC we are simply chilled to the bone, counting down til Memorial Day, trying to get through it in our LL Bean and Lands End (no offense) puffers.
So this week, I’m challenging you to look at your coat priorities differently should you live in a place that gets ACTUALLY cold. We (myself included) tend to want to spend on the pretty wool coat and then budget on the warmth. But maybe we should be swapping those two categories and putting our shopping effort and resources into the coat that keeps us cozy when winter turns sad. We end up wearing these coats more, and for longer and still want to (and need to) look nice for work (and life) come March 1st.
Below, the best puffers at short, mid and long lengths and how to wear them strategically. I stuck with puffers you could potentially take to Norway in January but would still look boss if you walked in late to a power lunch.