The Icons the Investment Coat

I’m so happy it’s autumn. Not for the weather, but for the clothes. Summer dresses are magical, don’t get me wrong, but nothing beats the power of a good coat. Coats are our armor, our protector, our wrapping. Walk into a party, parade down the street, burst through the doors of the boardroom: an amazing coat is the first thing people will notice about you. In the right coat, you are transformed in an instant. (I’ve road-tested this theory many times by throwing a floor-length Max Mara coat over pyjamas on the school run).

I am a collector of coats (I have way too many) but feel the right quota sits at three, a trio of styles to cover pretty much every occasion – work, weekend, party. My favorite film, Annie Hall, inspired the purchase of a soft-shouldered tweed coat that’s belted and falls to the knee. It works beautifully with rollnecks, mid-blue 70s inspired jeans, suede ankle boots and a huge woolly scarf. I call it ‘my chic-weekend-casually-walking-through-autumn-leaves’ look.

I’ve always appreciated menswear and have an innate love of coats that reference naval and military uniforms of the past. In muddy green, dark brown and especially navy, nothing beats sharp shoulders on a longer-length, neat fitting coat. See Gabriela Hearst’s deep green military style coat for details.

The history of the coat is fascinating, for men, mostly. A woman’s coat as we currently know it emerged in the 17th century, when women wore heavier outer dresses deemed acceptable for walking and riding. Floor-length coats came later, around the 1880s. Thank goodness. I mean, how on earth would we do the school run in PJs? Seriously, though, I love the dramatic swish of a long coat, especially when worn with flat boots. 

The sight of Gwyneth Paltrow in my second favourite film (ok, joint first), The Royal Tenenbaums, made me want to have a short blonde bob and wear a hairclip on a permanent basis. She also inspired an enduring love of the fluffy teddy coat. The (fake) fur coat is a long-standing icon that never goes out of style. My favorite is by Shrimps and is so joyful and perfect for parties, wearing it gives me carte blanche to be anyone I care to be. Even, perhaps, Gwyneth.

Knee-length winter white coats bring a special kind of magic when worn with just about anything. Worth the dry-cleaning bill, to wear a white coat in winter feels as magical as Cinderella’s fairy godmother. Prepare to be stopped in the street. Ditto all things bright, especially red. Paging Little Red Riding Hood, if there were ever a time to experiment with life-affirming bright colour, surely, it’s now? 

Of the many things in a woman’s wardrobe, a coat is worth the financial investment. The key to finding your coat of dreams? Know your preferred fit and length then experiment with everything else, i.e., colour, print and fabric. I never thought I’d wear a leopard print coat, but the sight of Anne Bancroft in a cheetah print coat in the film The Graduate made me weak at the knees. Look after your coat (I dry-clean mine before putting them away each summer) and you’ll enjoy them for a long time to come, because, let’s face it, trends may come and go, but the most important thing is how a coat makes you feel. 

Last winter, in a world that felt so strange, I invested in an unlined, softly structured thing of wonder otherwise known as the wrap coat. Like wearing a hug, it’s what I needed at the time. This season feels different, though, and, as we get back out there, I think I’m in the market for something more superhero. Perhaps something with a capelet or a huge belt-buckle or wide shoulders. I think I may have gone over my quota.