If you want more Magpie, you can subscribe to my Magpie Email Digest for a weekly roundup of top essays, musings, conversations, and finds!
I’ve shared my love for Alice Walk pieces countless times over the years, and have long eyed their gorgeous structured wool cape, which they can’t seem to keep in stock during the cold season. I was ecstatic when they sent me one and cannot wait to wear this all fall long. I love the structure of this piece — the stand collar, the seams — and admirably minimalist restraint. Not a button or flounce in sight — just clean lines, which I think elevate the style. (I took an XS in this.) I styled it here with a very old fair isle knit (similar here and here), my off-white SLVRLAKEs, these Celine-inspired sunnies ($15!), and my very old Louis Vuitton Speedy bag. Fashion guru Jenny Walton recently made the case that these bags are back this season, and I’ve seen French chic pea Delphine Reynaud wear hers all over the place, too. I have an intense attachment to this bag because it was the first designer bag I saved up for and purchased with my first corporate job after college. I loved it so much that carried it (impractically) to work every single day along with an old canvas tote for what I actually needed to bring with me (lunch, papers, a change of shoes, etc). I guess I’ve always embraced the fashion philosophy of wearing what you love…!
A few other top layers I love for the upcoming season:
1 // This herringbone wrap coat from Veronica Beard. No one does outerwear/blazers like VB. I cannot stop obsessing over each and every piece they put out, and I’m especially drawn to the borrowed-from-the-boys herringbone and the dramatic cinched waist on this beauty.
2 // This boiled wool topcoat from J. Crew is perfection. I personally love it in that bubblegum pink. So fun with camel, navy, black, gray for winter? I’ve said this many times but I’ve never regretted a statement outerwear purchase. It always draws attention and think about the fact that your coat is your cold weather calling card! It’s the single item most people will see you in during the cold months. A pink coat brings a sense of whimsy/playfulness to your wardrobe — especially when delivered in the otherwise staid shape of a menswear-inspired topcoat. If pink is too much, it also comes in great neutrals.
3 // Zara nailed it with this asymmetrical scarf cropped coat. Wow! It borrows elements of the now-iconic Toteme style but makes it all its own. I’m in love! Under $100.
4 // Speaking of the Toteme jacket, this Boden style ($260!) borrows the whipstitching but redefines the shape. Love love in the navy. I immediately envisioned with ecru jeans for winter.
5 // I’ve wanted a Max Mara wool camel coat for years and years, and they are serious investments. I feel like you could buy one in your 20s and wear it through your 90s, though — timeless and so elegant. Would look just as good thrown on over a pair of jeans as it would over a silk gown. You can get a similar look for less with this perfect Aligne style (under $375).
6 // Very into Favorite Daughter’s City Coat — sophisticated, lean (love the slightly dramatic longer length), and chicly tailored, but made cool/modern/contemporary/youthful with the unexpected sweater cuff. This is the coat your New York City friend wears.
7 // BA&SH’s reverse shawl collar Colin coat is Parisienne-chic at its finest. It’s currently 50% off somehow in timeless black — but get one of the colors if it’s still in stock in your size! The ivory is so dreamy…!
8 // This textured Sezane is head-turning. Love the unexpected pockets.
9 // This Loveshackfancy white wool coat is nothing short of spectacular. I cannot stop thinking about it. White is so impractical, but this is a dream. Imagine layered over either cropped black trousers and ballet flats, or a pair of silky trousers (look for less with these)?
10 // I’m not a big pea coat lover — I think I was scalded by the trend back when it was all the rage in the 90s. (Forgive me, but I just don’t like a man in a pea coat. It feels wrong. And yet everyone was doing it back then.). But Tory Burch changed my mind this season with this style. The gold buttons!!! The slightly cropped shape! So good.
P.S. On giving yourself grace when you need it.
P.P.S. Dear Dad, you were right.
P.P.P.S. How do you get your children to eat?! (Comments are a gold mine.)
Leave A Reply