A black coat is like a mortar and pestle: you only need one good one to see you through the years. A sleek black coat can be worn almost anywhere too, from a fancy night out to over tracky dacks for a pop down to the shops.
But before you know it, the versatility of the aforementioned coat can unwittingly slide into monotony over winter.
It’s my third winter with my trusty black coat – a cashmere and merino wool blend oversized number from The Curated. It’s seen the insides of many offices, pubs and train carriages, and it visits the dry cleaner once a year. Over a week, I challenged myself to style it five different ways.
I naturally try to mix up my outfits as much as I can (because wearing the same black puffer jacket every day isn’t good for my mental health). I layer with thermals so I can still wear summer pieces, and style up outfits with accessories. A bulky belt, bright scarf or playful bag can help refresh a well-worn formula.
Most of my accessories are secondhand. Some of the pieces I’m wearing here have been bought from a street vendor in Newtown’s Pride Square, a London car boot sale and various op-shops around Melbourne.
Office: day one
Layers are your best friend in winter. I’m wearing a shrunken (oops!) wool sweater from McIntyre as my base – it was once roomy, but after an accidental hot wash it has become a snug, but still wearable undershirt. On top I’ve added an op-shopped red cardigan and scarf, all bundled under my coat. Layers don’t have to be particularly bulky to keep you warm. A little colour coordination doesn’t hurt anybody, either; there’s a recurring thin red stripe down these hand-me-down pants from my partner’s mum. Hot tip: wearing knee-high boots under flared pants adds extra warmth.
Office: day two
There comes a time in the middle of winter when I become sick to bits of rotating through the same five pants. I’m currently there. I don’t believe in separate summer and winter wardrobes, especially with how tumultuous our climate is. My silky skirt and woven handbag don’t scream sub-10-degree temperatures, but that’s exactly why I gravitated towards them. I find that pairing cold-weather essentials (such as this coat and these leather boots) with brighter and lighter pieces is a simple way to shake me out of my winter fashion slump. Changing the hemline from pants to a calf-grazing skirt alters the way the coat sits. When both the skirt and coat fall at a similar height, it makes the coat look full-length.
Weekend: day one
Since I saw LA cool girls declare that black coats pair well with activewear, I’ve wanted to pair my black coat with activewear. My first foray in that direction is draping a HoMie hoodie over my shoulders like a shawl. Immediately, I felt as if I could step into an Erewhon undetected. The contrast between a dapper coat and a casual hoodie adds a playful, celebrity-running-errands-paparazzi-shot energy to a get-up. And as my mother says, it’s always good to bring an extra layer.
Weekend: day two
To make a black coat feel less corporate and more casual, I like to create oversized silhouettes. Baggy pants, a generous scarf (this one’s from New Zealand label Wynn Hamlyn) and a trucker hat tone down the coat’s formality. Playing around with how you button a shirt can switch up its vibe, too. One button says “I’m off-duty”; all buttons done up say “I mean business”.
Night out
A black coat’s a black coat. No amount of colourful styling will change that. When the outing calls for it, I lean into its monochromatic sharpness. For a friend’s birthday out on the town, I paired a velvet bodysuit with some secondhand Levi’s jeans, and topped off the outfit with a chunky belt and striped handbag. When colour’s limited, mix up your textures instead.
