Jacket Up

Today I decided to embrace the gorgeous autumnal weather and take my lunch to Bryant Park right around the corner. The air has that crisp edge to it which is perfectly contrasted by the warm rays of the afternoon sun beating down. It is a funny time of year to watch people as they are out and about because they aren’t sure whether to break out their woolen coats yet or not. In one glance, you’ll see a person with an overcoat fully done up walking past a “summer child”--the guy holding onto the fading memories of August, wearing rolled-up pants, canvas shoes sans socks, and a t-shirt. Most likely, this summer child is from Brooklyn, but we’ll leave that for another time.

Transitional coat enters from stage left confidently. Oh, and here he is! My favorite lightweight hero has arrived to solve your fluctuating weather conundrum. One piece that should be a new purchase, or a dusted-off rediscovery, is my pick for this hybrid season: a mid-thigh, camel-colored trench coat. The nice thing about having a thinner coat like this is that it allows you to layer easily without having to worry about passing out on the subway or in the car. Fall 2010 has unveiled a plethora of gorgeous picks for this fickle timeframe.I’ll break it down for you into these 4 hot categories: denim, cotton, leather, tweeds/flannels. While synthetics come up every year, I just do not see them in the forefront this time around.

You may have noticed how the denim jacket is no longer a piece only for Whitesnake fans, Burt Reynolds, or Canadians. For the last several seasons this piece of jean outerwear has been slimmed down, beaten up, and rocked the catwalk. I suggest going with a mid-colored fade and leaving the cuff buttons undone. You want to appear as if you just grabbed it off the back of your chair on the way out the door this morning. Lately, I love wearing a very “structured” outfit with clean lines and then throwing in a little rakish dishevelment by adding faded denim….think of it as being calculatedly cavalier.

Cotton. Now isn’t this usually a spring/summer fabric? Why yes, observant reader, it is! But it doesn’t have to be limited by the confines of society and age-old stereotypes. Many a waxed variation have shown up on the runway and in stores, toting darker hues and stiffer weaves. When looking for a cotton coat, stick with one of two silhouettes… the trench and the field coat. These two are leading this season in both color option and longevity. A classic cotton trench can be worn for years, as well as a lightweight field coat. For a little variety, try something in a grey or lighter brown… both of which will carry over well into the spring season.

I never thought of myself as a leather coat guy until I found my newly purchased vintage leather bomber. There are countless options when it comes to cowhide outerwear, but I’m going to focus on 2 for this season. As we talked about earlier, there is resurgence to early fashion mills and tanneries. This tends to mean that “the look” is leaning towards the vintage end of the scale. Having said this, I recommend the bomber jacket and the motorcycle jacket. Both of these look amazing in black or brown, and are visually like injecting adventure and danger directly into your outfit. Ladies, if you have ever had a hard time turning heads perhaps you haven’t tried the skinny jeans, boots, and moto jacket look….think Charlie's Angels meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Last but not least, I’ll hit the tweedy flannels before wrapping this up. As stated in one of my earlier posts, the plaid styles are in, but you could easily stick with a solid-colored flannel or even mix it up with a herringbone look. For this category I’ll highlight the outerwear sport jacket and the pea coat (bridge coat included). These rustic fabrics look great on the menswear-inspired pieces and create the charm of the English countryside. When looking for a sport jacket, I suggest trying to find one with the elbow patches. A slight difference between the interpretation of the womenswear and menswear in this category is that, more often than not, the female silhouette may have an a-line flaired lower half to add accent to the natural waist.

Final verdict: Whether cotton, leather, tweed, denim, or all of the above catch your eye, just remember: you wear them, the clothes don't wear you. This is accomplished by picking something that you feel comfortable in….not just because you saw it on the pages of Vogue.