If any of you have flipped through magazines or done your research online, you may have come across photos of trending outerwear for the fall. Since not all of us are represented accurately by the tall and thin model pictured in the catalogue, there are certain types and colors of outerwear that suit the petite body more than others.
The main part of a coat one must notice when shopping is the size and length. Having a coat that is way oversized will make you look like a kid trying on her mom’s clothes. We don’t want to be swallowed up by the coat, we want to learn how to rock it. Then as for length, we want to avoid something extremely long because it might make us look even smaller than we are, but something too short is not plausible for the dropping temperature (the butt-hugging ones are the best). We also know that strutting down the street with heels is never the best option on a day-to-day basis (unless you want to, then you do you). Hence, we must take that into account of how we look with and without heels in our choice of outerwear before clicking that purchase button or swiping that credit card.
Normally when we look for a coat, we want to focus on a good promise of quality, functionalityand style, without compromising too much of one or the other. Quality means the coat will last a long time. It means it will not get trashed after one winter. It means it is worth its price. Functionality means it will do its job: keep you warm and dry. Here the fabric choices are important, as a fleece-lined jacket will definitely help contain your body heat as opposed to a thin suede trench that collects the snow and gets drenched in the rain. Style means you can walk out of your house feeling confident, comfortable and beautiful. You don’t feel like your clothes are wearing you.
THE CAPE
A classy cape is the perfect fall must-have. It’s easy to layer up inside without going through the trauma of early morning shoving-two-shirts-in-arm-hole situation. Sport the capes mid-length or shorter, as the shape of capes tend to run the risk of appearing like a cone or umbrella as it changes your silhouette.
FUR COAT
Fur coats channel luxury and glamour. In our case, it adds volume as well. Fur coats are like statement jewelry. If you have smaller shoulders, pick out coats with shorter fur so you won’t look like a hunched fur ball. Keep it to a hip-length, anything longer could swallow you up and anything shorter wouldn’t keep you warm anyway.
TIE-FRONT COAT
The issue with having a more petite frame is that many of us don’t have very obvious curves at the waist. The trick is to loosely cinch our midsections with the tie-front coat to get the effortless and sexy look. This coat you can definitely rock at a longer length.
TRENCH COAT
Personally, the trench coat is a timeless and gender neutral artifact known to man. Trench coats embody the benefits of a tie-front coat, the sleekness of a cape and the richness of fur.
NOW LET’S TALK COLORS
Pantone’s Fashion Color Report of 2015 shows this year’s colors to be:
DESERT SAGE
DRIED HERB
STORMY WEATHER
OAK BUFF
MARSALA
BISCAY BAY
REFLECTING POND
CADMIUM ORANGE
CASHMERE ROSE
AMETHYST ORCHID
Your height has nothing to with what color choices you should go for. If anything, skin tones are a better judgment of what hues are compatible for you. With that, I salute you all a warm day and hope that this helped some people shop a little easier.