I recently added a fifth item to my collection of yellow toppers. You may think this is too much wardrobe repetition, but it works for me. They are wardrobe workhorses, with all five of them getting regular wear. Their bold colours make them statement pieces, and they are a part of my signature style.
Sour brights are my happy colours. Others may wear black, blue and grey to feel soothed, chic and confident. I wear a sour bright or white to feel that way. And I particularly love sour yellows like citron, neon lime, apple green, chartreuse and lemon yellow.
I chose the silhouettes and weights carefully across a range of dress codes and fabrics so that I can wear a seasonally appropriate yellow topper throughout the year. The citron trench is dressy, tailored, classic, and for milder weather. It can go to a cocktail party, or be worn with jeans and hi-tops. The woolly citron peacoat is my go-to casual coat in Winter. I wear it more frequently than my navy Burberry peacoat. The neon lime cropped jacket is fab for warmer Spring weather and is quite unique. The chartreuse Modern Retro cocoon coat is my best Winter coat purchase of all time, and feels magical each time I wear it. It’s very warm and I love the elegant length. It can be dressy or casual, and works over several layers and chunky knits. It looks equally good over a formal dress and with jeans and boots.
My most recent purchase in the collection is the Helene Berman Revere Lapel Coat, which I can wear on warmer Spring days and into Summer. It’s a Spring blazer weight in cotton, but in a coat length that has a Modern Retro integrity. I’ve worn it four times in two weeks because it filled a wardrobe hole. I needed a topper that didn’t look like a trench, moto or raincoat, wasn’t as warm as my woolly Winter coats, and could fit over my chunky cotton pullovers. This long blazer in a cocoon silhouette ticked all the boxes. It was a bonus it’s in a fab shade of yellow.
These toppers are all extremely versatile, which is useful in a city where you need some sort of topper for much of the year. I can dress them up or down, so they cover many dress codes. The shades of yellow combine well with the rest of my wardrobe. It helps that I love colour-mixing and wearing bright colours. I’ll wear yellow with light and dark neutrals, with pastels, earth tones, and with other sour brights.
They are also standing the test of time. I’ve had the citron trench and peacoat for eight years, wear them a lot, and they’re still going strong. I got the chartreuse cocoon coat in London in 2016, and it was still the coat I wore most frequently this Winter.
What may seem like unnecessary duplication for one person, can be dead right for another. Listen to your feelings, identify the styles and colours that make you the happiest, and make a statement with them. That’s what I’ve done with these toppers, and I don’t think the collection is even complete. I’d happily add a regular citron blazer, because I know I would wear the heck out of that too.
