Winter Dressing

Unlike the more sparing approach to summer dressing, winter gives us the opportunity to relish in complex medleys of cloth, textures and more indulgent styling. We get to look pretty rich even if we’re only a little bit rich. We can create the appearance of warmth and comfort, disguise the dad-figure and work with a flowing generosity of cut and cloth. More is more.

TONALITY 

Soft mixtures of near tones that otherwise might be a little dreary independently can group into rich conversations between surfaces and subtle tonal shifts. Near graduations in greys are a great example. Being somewhat colourless, grey can appear a little insipid alone yet when grouped like-with-like it starts to chime. For example a grey herringbone coat, grey flannel suit, ice blue shirt and grey cashmere tie mix up into a luscious and cool look fit for an Agnelli, warmed-up a little by suede boots in chocolate, or sharpened with black suede or grain leather. Earthier tonal blends of browns, camels and beiges are another great example; pale camel overcoat, camel corduroy suit and an ecru knit. We often become fixated with navy but winter can allow us to escape the reliability of blues without getting the balls-out-of-the-bath so to speak.

CALAMITY 

With all the layers in winter clothing it can be exciting to mix up some more energetic combinations. Technical outwear takes to strong and saturated colours beautifully, colours we’d associate with sailing very fast yachts in very cold places or being rescued from base camp at Everest. Worn with some sense of irony over a business suit ‘techy’ outwear is even more useful and keeps the ‘courageous and outdoorsy’ narrative going in your head all day. 

OVERCOATS 

Overcoats are about ‘more’. They should completely swallow up our selves, A-line with two legs as stilts jarring out the bottom. They indulge the viewer and the wearer, they exude luxury and power that way. Too prim, snug or short and they appear uncomfortable and often unflattering. A few meters of baby camel hair cut rather simply is an impressive object in itself.

CORDUROY 

To paraphrase Morrissey, "some girls are bigger than others", and same goes for cord wails, both sizes are really great. It can be both silky-soft or reassuringly firm and stout. Contemporary versions come with elastane so it’s basically like wearing tracksuit pants but more socially acceptable. It’s impressive in strong and deep colours and makes a sporty suit fit for styling with casual shoes and thick knits.

KNITWEAR 

You can pretentiously wear it over the shoulders (who does that?), or you can put it on properly but that looks less impressive. Either way, it's an essential styling element, not to mention insulating. It's also a great excuse to add some energy with colour. 

Stay warm, folks!