Coats are something that I have always dreamed of sliding my arms into those elongated fabric and having my little hands peek out at its orifices, pushing the shoulder pads up and letting it sit on my shoulders. The lengthy, elaborated piece of either wool, cotton, cashmere or sometimes mixed fabric from the shoulders to its hem is still something that leaves me gagging while I danced in front of the mirror, trying to comprehend how could one garment be so existentially bulky and long coupled with extreme durability.
I spun around (in my room, in front of my mirror) whilst adorning on this violet wool pea coat (see last image) - slightly oversized (because I bought it in a size 10) that subtly procreated an accentuated shoulder padding, noticing how French it'll look if it was in black. But then again, the color reminisces me of Coach FW 2014 ads that I tried to replicate but I think I pale in comparison. But that isn't the point. The point is that I'm obsessed with coats - and only those non plebeian ones - and that I'd actually sleep in one if I got really bored of wearing clothes (that is with the air condition turned on).
If you'd realize, I wasn't in Singapore when I'm putting on these coats. I would've died if I did. I actually almost hyperventilated when I was doing so for my Christmas flight. If you're one who travels around frequently to countries with cold climates, here are five choices I'd suggest to keep you warm.
A) The Leather Jacket
To be honest, who needs a coat when you possess a really good leather jacket? I know mine did me rather good justice (and sufficient aegis from the chills) despite the fact that it is actually new and not yet seasoned (I'm slanted towards the use and abuse and reuse until leather jackets turn supple). Actually, I would put them on in summer too, but maybe you'll find my lying somewhere in a hospital's bed. Leather jacket's from Zara. I wore it with a Uniqlo grey tartan shirt with a semi color matching cigarette jeans from Zara and tweed sneakers from the second installation of Man Repeller with Superga.
B) The Printed Coat
Dries makes one of the most perfect printed anything. I got these 100% cotton babies at a steal from a sample sale. If you're dealing with a colder climate, you might want to replace the cotton and go with something thicker. I'm not exactly sure how you can rethread the entire piece again, but otherwise, you can always just layer. Which is what I did, I layered a COS t-shirt tucked into a Zara cigarette jeans and had a Uniqlo corduroy shirt over the t-shirt before I put on my Dries van Noten coat circa 2012 because if you like something, why bother if it's past season?
C) The Oversized Blazer That Doubles Up as a Coat
Inspired by one of Leandra's looks, I was totally trying to rip every single inch of it (even including that bag, but I don't possess Valentino so perhaps the Margiela x H&M candy wrapper clutch would suffice) until I realized that the look also does justice with denim jeans of similar shade to the denim jacket. Hence I slip up my cigarette jeans from none other than the affordable Zara, wore it with a similar white COS t-shirt, Zara TRF denim jacket and H&M Studio '14 blazer. I actually think I look quite Parisian despite ze New Yorker roots, no?
D) The (Faux) Fur Coat
How can we welcome winter without a little fur? This was the day I wore (faux) fur to McDonalds' for breakfast. The result? Fabulous. The utilitarian hue fur coat is from H&M Studio '14, paired with a black COS t-shirt and Topshop embroidered khaki shirt (which both could not be seen here but trust me, I did wear both of them) and cigarette jeans from Zara as usual.
E) The Color Coat
So I took this liberty to be less French, more Coach because I really loved their new ad for Fall 14. Actually I tried tucking the coat in and having the bag hanging out, but it turned out horrendously. So I thought, "Why not go with the conventional coat over shoulders look?" The deep violet wool coat is from H&M, black t-shirt from COS, Zara cigarette jeans (LOL basically all my cigarette jeans are from Zara) and Nike Air sneakers.
Images done by my brother, Daryl, using iPhone 6