We are in lockdown 3.0 winter edition and going out for a walk is all we’ve got right now. Time to turn to our wool, recycled down, cashmere-blend big coat counterparts.

COATS FEATURED: 1. ACNE STUDIOS 2., 3., AND 6. JOSEPH FASHION 4. SELECTED HOMME 5. UNIQLO

Who else is ready to get off this ride? We have to smile in jest at how linear our day-to-day has become. It feels like we are a curfew away from being extras in The Handmaid’s Tale or footnotes in Orwell’s 1984. You would not be blamed for wanting to go for a nap and wake up when all of this is over. In an effort to get to the finish line as sanely as possible I entered this year with lockdown blinkers on, equipped with knowledge of lockdowns gone by. Zoom quizzes are avoided, banana bread is bakery bought, memes are my crutch and it seems a walk is the only good thing to do around here these days.

Walks in January would rank low on my list twelve months ago. It is very, very cold and the pub is very, very warm. But these are unprecedented times and you have to get out there. Walks also present a rare opportunity for a degree of thought into what I wear to take place. While my outerwear choices will not be igniting reddit threads such as zeitgeist darlings and lockdown fashion vets Timothée Chalamet and Harry Styles, I’ve got to have my moment as I head outside because I can assure you that what I’m wearing inside my four walls have been working to actively unpick my credibility to work in fashion. 

Big coats are without doubt my weak spot. I admit it, I’m hooked. Whether it’s an exaggerated big cuff that has caught my eye, or perhaps the perfect herringbone fabric has been uncovered, I just succumb to a good coat. At the moment I have found myself down a rabbit hole of Japanese stores where they seem to have nailed the perfect coat length (for those wondering, I deem it to be below the knee and brushing the top of the shin). I understand the parade ring allure for those wanting to show off their big new coat for the year after being enticed by online round-ups of the best trend to buy into, accompanied by swathes of endorsements via editors, stylists and buyers, aka “fashion folk”.

It is to be expected that a new season brings with it a new coat and without one, you’re doing it wrong. You must laud “my big coat for the season” on Instagram with a photo of you in said coat. You soak up the clamour and recite to others how much wear you’re going to get out of it. But all of this rings true of last year’s justifications. To step off the media circus merry-go-round and bury my soft spot for outerwear, could we not just wear our coats of old? 

I for one know I have some trusted favourites ready to throw on. Today a try-on session of a few coats will inevitably take place before landing on the one for later this afternoon, leaving a slew of coats on the bed. The puffer coat for wanting to evoke feelings of being in a sleeping bag, the overcoat for drier days and when you want to feel like you have a sense of purpose and god forbid, meet someone, and I’m guessing dog owners of course have their prescribed dog walking coat. Looking across to the corner of the room where I keep all my coats I can visibly see I have too many. The fact I have so many choices means I too was victim of the noise surrounding a new coat each year.

We should be honest with ourselves on whether we actually need another new coat for the year. We can definitely look to consolidate with what we have and maximise wear at a time where outdoor appears as are few and far between. While there might be justifications swirling around of it being a different length, a forever piece or a coat in Pantone colour of the year, maybe now is a time we up the threshold for something new. Now I should really wrap this up if I want to get my steps in today before it gets dark. Time to tackle the important questions. What route shall I take? What podcast shall I listen to? Will I see any dogs along the way? And of course, what (old) big coat shall I wear?jbicon