Given that it’s the closest thing to wearing a duvet on your daily commute, the puffer jacket is as essential to winter as coffee is to mornings. Serving up snug-as-a-bug levels of comfort like no other outerwear can, a quilted coat never fails to take the edge off – giving us a sartorial squeeze when we need it most.
What’s more, partnering up with a padded companion on those cooler days means you needn’t look to stacking layers-upon-layers to be able to face the Great Outdoors. Essentially, you can say farewell to squishing a turtleneck and fisherman’s knit under a jacket that’s only made for one lean layer – and welcome in those looks that you’d rather be wearing, complete with some stylish cushion for the pushin’ to boot.
If there’s anyone who knows their way around puffer jackets, it’s stalwart to the style, Norma Kamali, who’s namesake brand counts its “sleeping bag coat” (what did we say about wearing your duvet to work?) as one of its most iconic styles. In a quintessential camouflage of green and brown, complete with notched lapels and dropped shoulders, this iconic style has stood the test of time since its inception in the 1980s – proving itself as (not-so-)cold, hard evidence of the everlasting appeal of padding it out, when in doubt.
So, an outfit that’s spring-like in feel – say, a midi handkerchief skirt via Loewe and a lightweight turtleneck care of Hillier Bartley – will work just as nicely come frostier climes.
Alternatively, you could always play up the look's military vibes, echoing its camo-cool print with Off-White’s cropped utility trousers and crowning it all with a graphic cotton T-shirt to accentuate the hi-vis hues elsewhere.
And, when it comes to party dressing, a puffer coat is worth its weight in gold. Because, gone will be the days of weighty wool dresses; it's your mealticket to wearing your summeriest one-shoulder and slip ensembles, come rain or shine. 16ARLINGTON's gathered dress is just too good to save until summer – so wear it right now, and bring it all together with a popping accessory à la & Other Stories.
Can't settle on one look? Snap all three looks up, here:
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