The peacoat is a familiar outerwear silhouette. It’s a short, double-breasted wool coat with a revere collar and long sleeves. Lengths vary from just below the waist to hip skimming. There are two rows of buttons, and pockets which range from side entry to patch and welted styles. Tab and epaulette details on the sleeves and at the back are optional. Most fits are pretty tailored, but fashion forward designers are also showing oversized variations. 

I’m celebrating the glory of the peacoat because it has a high longevity factor. It is a true modern classic that influential design houses like Burberry and Ralph Lauren make every season. Leading American designers like Alexander Wang, Altuzarra, Marc Jacobs and Rag & Bone showcase their peacoat interpretations each season too. I love it when a classic silhouette like a peacoat, which is also pretty unisex, is incorporated into modern fashion and stays in style for a long, long time. 

Peacoat colours run the gamut. Navy, ink blue and black peacoats with self-colour or metallic buttons are true classics. But don’t think you have to limit yourself to those colours. Any colour peacoat is fab, and the pictures below are great examples. Tartan and colour blocked styles are fun too. 

The beauty of the peacoat comes from its versatile design that suits a range of body types. So far, I have been able to match the right peacoat with any body type and size when shopping with clients. The revere collar allows it to be worn as a V-neck, which is extremely flattering on a larger bust, and a smaller bust. And although double-breasted styles are usually harder to fit on a larger bust and apple shaped midriff — the right fit absolutely works. The structured shoulder line and tailored integrity of the style is excellent across all body types. Adjusting the position of the buttons to create great fit is usually an option. Smaller scale collars work well on shorter necks, and oversized collars are great on long necks. Options with back tab details that nip in the waist are ideal for very curvy bodies. 

And furthermore, wearing a peacoat unbuttoned looks as great as wearing it fully buttoned to showcase its shape. Can you believe that wearing double-breasted jackets and coats open was a fashion faux pas ten years ago? And now the look is completely modern, fashionable and fabulous. I guess these forever changing opinions on style are part of what make fashion fun. 

Here are three great examples of peacoats in action:

• Shades of navy from head to toe with wide leg jeans and chunky turtleneck. Effective colour repetition with bag and hair.

• Oversized striped tee and trendy leather track pants with caramel peacoat.

• French Vogue Editor in Chief Emmanuelle Alt in navy peacoat and white jeans. Enough said. 

If you’re after a versatile coat that looks pulled together and flattering, may I suggest the modern classic peacoat in a tailored fit. It can be dressed down with jeans and dressed up with a pencil skirt and trousers for work. It won’t date, and wearing it unbuttoned provides ample “oversized trendiness” if you’re worried about looking too classic. I love the citron peacoat that I bought a few years ago, and I don’t think we will ever part ways.

This is a fashion forward outfit formula that is based on wearing a roomy top over a roomy skirt, so essentially “volume on top of volume”. In some versions the volume is subtle like the outfit on the left. Or silhouettes are more baggy like the outfit on the right. 

The trick in either case is to create just enough structure so that you still feel attractive despite throwing a few conventional figure flattery guidelines out the window. You need to create a hint of waist definition. There are two ways you can do this.

1. Wear a cropped pullover with a welt or tapered high-low hemline that reins back in the volume of the top to showcase some waist. Create further structure by going very cropped and exposing your midriff.
2. Choose a full skirt that is fitted on the hip and flares out somewhere below the waist.

Select any colour palette and remix patterns, solids and textures to your taste. Here are the components: 

Full Skirt: Choose your length and voluminous threshold. Remember that full skirts needn’t be full all over. Wearing a style that is fitted on the hip creates a more streamlined silhouette. 

Cropped Pullover: The pullover or upscale sweatshirt must be sufficiently cropped, or short enough so that you can pull up a welted style to a length that sits close to the waistline (see the grey sweatshirt in the ensemble below). That is how you create structure for this outfit. A fluid or oversized fit is best because it offsets the cropped length. Note: you are not baring your midriff in this outfit unless you wear a very short cropped pullover. 

Footwear: Keep the footwear fitted for extra structure. Sleek dressy knee-high boots get my top vote, especially since tall boots are making a comeback. But tailored booties and shooties are another way to go, with or without hosiery. And pretty pumps are always a great option. Heeled footwear, which includes low heels, is the obvious choice with this type of outfit because it lengthens the leg line. But I have worn flared skirts with roomy cropped pullovers and slipper flats and not felt dumpy. 

Accessories: Add watch, jewellery, bag and eyewear as desired. I’ve chosen a structured bag because I fancy the contrast of its straight lines with the roundness of the skirt and top. 

A knee-length wool coat or trench is a good choice of topper if you need another layer. Or go with a moto jacket of sorts.

Here are two examples of the formula in action:

• A column of colour makes this rendition like a two-piece dress with exposed midriff.
• A roomier version with sandals. To make this version seasonally appropriate, you need to wear closed footwear.

I love this business casual outfit formula because the proportions look fresh and new. I wore it a lot during the Summer with pointy toe pumps, textured grey full midi skirt and short welted knitwear, both in cotton and cashmere. For Fall I’ve got two cropped cream chunky pullovers to wear with full skirts and sleek black knee-high boots. Dressy, but slightly relaxed, which is the best of both worlds. There is life after jeans, ladies. 

Shoe brand Gram, the brainchild of Swedish designer Alexis Holm and his business partner Anna Stenvi, bases the retail price of their footwear on the weight of each shoe.

The Guardian reports that “British men now spend more than women on their footwear“.

I found this photo series taken in an old family-owned shoe store quite fascinating. The store was open from the 1940s through the 1960s, and remained as it was for over forty years. It’s interesting to see several unfamiliar-to-me brands, the footwear styles of the times, lots of black and brown, and then several pairs of Converse sneakers popping up.

Fab Links from Our Members

Caro found the fact that some people felt these mannequins condone obesity really disturbing. She would love to know what other Fabbers think.

Lyn67 recommends reading Sally’s useful post on different bras for different needs.

Angie loved the Chanel S/S 2014 show for its architectural modern tweed with lots of cheeky ’60s Modness, a hint of boho, some arty avant-garde, and heaps of ladylike fabness. She also adored the happy colours, refined styling, romantic swagger and refreshing silhouettes. 

Deb says that everything you ever wanted to know about mascara is in this article. It is interesting because it talks about the product formulas and the brushes.

Diana enjoyed this video about the making of the Chanel cashmere two-tone cardigan at their factory in Scotland. She was impressed by how much of the process is still done by hand.

Ironkurtin thought that this Rick Owens show, with women from American college step teams wearing the clothes instead of models, was awesome.

Lisa Pippus talks about an idea Vildy had never given much thought to: how if your own kind of beauty wasn’t validated by family, you tend to admire the opposite of what you are. Lisa then continues with tips on how to use your style crush to your advantage.

Runway shows for Spring 2014 are drawing to a close on this last day of Paris Fashion Week. Thoroughly inspired at the start of a new fashion season, I’ve kept up with most of the collections in New York, London and Milan, pinning trends, interesting colour combinations, and looks I love along the way. 

Designers are finally lengthening hemlines and providing roomier than body-conscious fits — and I’m thrilled about it. Along with the extra leg coverage, comes extra arm coverage. Hallelujah. Short sleeves in a variety of lengths and styles were shown by most designers. I enjoy wearing sleeveless garments, but we have the right to not bare our arms which makes sleeve length options essential. The variety of sleeved garments on the runways was a breath of fresh air.  

Take a peek at the outfits I’ve pinned that showcase a range of short sleeves silhouettes. Some sleeves extend right to the elbow, while others are shorter.

Alexander McQueen

• Wide elbow sleeves in a clown-esque gladiator outfit with bare midriff
• Wide elbow sleeves on a structured crop top

Vionnet

• Baby blue short sleeves that flutter without the flounce

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac

• Sheer classic short sleeve blouse with wide leg trousers
• Architectural short sleeves on a sack dress

Chanel

• Cold shoulder tailored sleeves on a Mod dress

Sacai

• Dropped shoulder voluminous short sleeves on a button-down blouse with layered pencil skirt
• Oversized architectural short sleeve sack dress
• Wide dropped shoulder short sleeved blouse with cropped slouchies
• Bright ’80s shirt without the shoulder pads or permed hair

Gabriele Colangelo

• Two-piece mismatched dress with short wide sleeve
• Fluid elbow sleeve tux jacket and baggy clamdiggers

Aquilano Rimondi 

• Round shouldered dress with wide elbow sleeves
• Dropped shoulder crop top with extra wide architectural  short sleeves

Joseph

• Oversized welted pullover with elbow length sleeves and skirt over pants
• Boxy shirt with pleated short sleeve and baggy trousers

Mulberry

• Roomy two-piece dress with wide short sleeves in tomato red
• The midi version in bone

Preen

• A shorter wide short sleeve in crisp white cotton
• The same in a pattern

Richard Nicoll

• Layered sheath with short fluid sleeve
• Short sleeve mesh blouse layered under a pinafore

Reed Krakoff

• Fluid welted sweater with streamlined short sleeve and flowing short skirt

I hope this short sleeve trend filters down to mainstream retail very soon. Extra wide short sleeves are obviously more fringe and harder to wear, but the rest can be worn by all. Some styles are more streamlined, and others quite architectural. 

We might be giving our scrunched long sleeves a little rest next year. I’m willing to mix things up with these styles of shorter sleeves, how about you? What’s your take on the new short sleeve styles for Spring and Summer 2014?