White boots and teddy coats were seen everywhere in NYFW street style

17 February 2018

If New York Fashion Week street style is anything to go by, warmth need not compromise on style.

It’s the fashion revelation we’ve all been waiting for. As it turns out, you can literally wear anything, even the most unattractive of items, and make them look fashionable if you wear them with conviction. Ordinarily, engineer boots, boiler suits, ankle-length puffer jackets and small framed dark shades were all category one garments of man repelling potency. Today, however, they are hallmarks of cool girls, influencers and fashion editors.

But why the move to such unflattering style? Well, one theory suggests that the prevalence of the conventionally ugly garments could be a nod to the current political and social climate in women’s fight for equality. That their choices are in defiance towards what society has – until now – defined as conventional beauty. Another theory suggests, they’re just after warmth and comfort. We’re all about that life, after all.

Even with a number of designers actively not participating in the runways this year, there were style lessons ripe for the picking on the street, namely:

  • Plaid does not equal plain. This traditional pattern is back, literally larger than ever. Introducing surprising colour combinations, and many colours at that, the plaid pursuit prevalent in tailoring from season’s past expands to PU handbags, felt skirts and more reserved woolen coats and button down shirts.
  • Fur, feathers and fraying. Coco Chanel wasn’t wrong when she said luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it’s not luxury. These are the textures you need in your life for off-duty and unassuming refinement.
  • Set the tonal. Dabbling in colour during winter, even as far as wearing pastels typically reserved for spring, has never been more welcomed – so long as you keep it tonal that is. Surrounding your hero hue with muted, metallic or deeper versions will give you timely fashion cred and allow you to experiment with colours that you wouldn’t have otherwise chosen.
  • Nail your hardware. Belts, bags, sunglasses, shoes and hats are the perfect vehicle to give any outfit an edge when plastered with metal fastenings and details. With so many plush tones and textures being paraded this time of year, hardware can be the perfect anchor to bring your outfit down to earth.

Scroll for the street style gallery below:

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