Nothing Up Your Sleeve

Now is the time for enjoying all the garments that are geared more for fashion than function – in a few more weeks it will be too cold for most of us to indulge in that luxury. We will be trying all kinds of tricks to stay warm sooner than we know it, so there is nothing wrong with making outerwear fun and stylish while we can.

One option for outerwear to consider is a sleeveless coat or vest. At first thought, a coat without sleeves sounds completely impractical, but there are actually several positive points to wearing outerwear that does not have any sleeves. For one, you can wear a thick chunky sweater without the sleeves bunching up and being uncomfortable. Another point is not having sleeves allows you to show off a great pair of gloves, faux fur cuffs, or just draw attention to a fabulous handbag on your arm.

I consider myself pretty practical, but I am definitely a fan of this interesting and non-traditional choice for outerwear. It’s obviously unusual and a little quirky, but some of the styles are perfect to channel a certain look that you might be going for. A vest or sleeveless coat with certain accents like a peplum or shawl collar can be very retro and feminine-looking. Other styles tie in very nicely with a lot of the other current trends this season. A sleeveless coat or vest that is very tailored with lots of detailing can channel both the menswear, western, or equestrian looks.

Another plus is one of these pieces can pull double duty as streetwear now or later on, when it gets to be really cold, and you need to pull out the big guns as far as a coat is concerned. One of these vests or sleeveless coats looks great over sweaters and blouses with just about every type of bottom, and a sleeveless coat in some fabrications, like tweed or lightweight wool, could even double as a dress or jacket.

A solid neutral color might be your best bet and easiest to work into your wardrobe, but don’t pass on some of the interesting prints and bright colors. I think gray flannel would be an ideal choice, but I also see adding this piece to the mixing print trend, so be sure to check out interesting fabrics like tweed, velvet, leather, brocade, and faux fur.