Before we get any deeper into autumn, I must let you know that this yr we’ve a New Coat. This doesn’t occur fairly often. I imply, yearly outlets make out that the coats they’re flogging this season are radically completely different from the coats they have been flogging this time final yr, for apparent coat-flogging-related causes. However most years the coats are, the truth is, just about the identical as final yr’s, besides maybe in a distinct color, or a bit shorter or longer, or fluffier.
Which is why I’m fairly beside myself with pleasure in regards to the scarf coat. As a result of solely about twice a decade does a genuinely new form of coat come alongside. 5 years in the past, we had the rise of the puffer jacket. About 5 years earlier than that, the trenchcoat, which had performed a supporting position in model for a century, all of a sudden took on fundamental character vitality in our store home windows and wardrobes.
It’s in all probability not a coincidence that this occurs roughly each 5 years – relatively than yearly – as a result of 5 years appears like an affordable lifespan for a coat.
The headband coat is, nicely, precisely what it feels like. It’s a coat with an integral scarf, which you’ll be able to fling over your shoulder or wrap round your neck. However right here’s the factor: whereas this feels like a dumb gimmick, it’s really sensible. Autumn and winter dressing is an infinite tug of warfare between model and the mundane enterprise of heading off chilly, wind and rain. The headband coat brings the aesthetic and the sensible collectively into one streamlined look. The matchy-matchiness of it makes it really feel a bit further, a bit fancy – nevertheless it additionally does what a coat has to do, which is cease you getting chilly.
The IP right here belongs to Stockholm model Toteme, whose scarf coat was an instantaneous style hit when it launched in November 2021. Three years later, everyone seems to be on the bandwagon. I think about that is fairly annoying for Toteme however, alternatively, the headband coat – which is to Toteme what the boxy tweed jacket is to Chanel – has earned it deep respect as a small model that has had a big impact on style. The Toteme coat is lush, in a heavy wool for heat, with a clean line and completed with distinctive blanket stitching and tassels on the headband. It’s also £810.
Reasonably priced takes at the moment are in every single place. John Lewis is pulling forward, making the headband coat a central pillar of its fashion-forward autumn assortment, with variations beginning at £69 (pictured). Cos has carried out a double-faced wool scarf cape – a dropped shoulder model with slits as a substitute of precise sleeves – in navy wool with giant leather-based patch pockets, which appears way more costly than its price ticket of £155. Mint Velvet has a reasonably scarf coat in blush pink, with a button fastening and a fringed scarf for further drama, for £235.
As a result of it’s a comparatively new model, there aren’t many scarf coats to be present in charity shops but, nevertheless it’s price in search of final yr’s variations on Vinted or eBay. Final winter, River Island did a shawl jacket in gray, with black leather-based backing on the headband, which made it look very premium. It was £75 and it bought out, however I lately discovered one on eBay for £14.25.
As a shawl coat veteran – I’ve had my camel wool coat by the Dutch model Róhe since final winter – enable me to share my ideas in case they’re helpful for rookies. Most significantly, make sure that the coat appears good once you put on it open, with the headband hanging free. Some kinds have an uneven scarf that solely actually works when wrapped, which is hopeless, as a result of you should be capable of unwind the headband with out trying wonky.
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In case you are shopping for on-line, verify that the headband is definitely connected, relatively than simply matching, which is a cop-out. Go for a jacket or three-quarter-length coat relatively than full-length: the headband works finest if it sits flush with the hem of the coat, however a knee-length scarf will find yourself flapping everywhere. Get this coat proper, and you possibly can be sorted for an additional 5 years. That’s a wrap.
Stylist’s assistant: Sam Deaman. Hair and make-up: Sophie Higginson utilizing GHD and Nars. Mannequin: Naoko at Gray Company. Gray cropped scarf coat, £69, johnlewis.com. High (simply seen), £22.99, mango.com. Trousers, £99, karenmillen.com. Earrings, £140, giovanniraspini.com
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