The coatigan is the coat you never have to take off. Normally, when one has splashed a lot of cash on a spectacular coat, it’s quite annoying that only a few people get to see it: your partner; the driver of your cab; the hosts at a party; the friend who gives you a lift.
But with a coatigan, it’s a whole different story, everyone gets to see it, because you don’t take it off.
The Coatigan is our second favourite hybrid garment at SoSensational (jeggings are our favourite hybrid – read why, here) – though it’s too close to call! In case you hadn’t guessed from the rather clunky portmanteau word, a Coatigan is a cross between a coat and a cardigan. And if it isn’t close to knee length it is merely a cardigan with an identity crisis!
The coatigan’s real cleverness is that it is the perfect transitional piece; for the rest of winter (January and February), you can throw it on over a warm sweater (with maybe a thermal tucked underneath) and find it keeps you snugly on the chilliest day. Then, when the temperature rises, you can throw your coatigan over a lighter top, blouse or shirt, and it becomes the perfect spring cover-up!
The other great advantage of a coatigan is that because it is long (possibly even ankle length if you wear a lot of maxis) it is extremely slimming.
Slimming how? Slimming because of the long, unbroken silhouette it creates, thus streamlining your body. And slimming because it skims over hips and bottom.
There are four factors SoSensational believes you might want to keep in mind when choosing your coatigan, and they are:
- The length – see above. Ideally, it is worth considering selecting one in a length to work with a number of specific items – say, your knee-length skirts (so your coatigan needs to be around knee-length) OR all your jeans (when you might want to search out a coatigan that is midi- length or maxi-length, though knee-length works very well over jeans, too) OR with your maxis (when you might want to invest in a maxi-length coatigan)
- The neckline and collar. We are all older women, here, so by now we have picked up lots of style intelligence about what suits us, so we know whether we look our best in small, angular collars or wide, sweeping ones, or something in-between. And there are coatigans around with all kinds of collar shapes and with no collars at all.
- The weight and thickness (as previously mentioned). There are coatigans around that are closer to coats in terms of weight and thickness and coatigan that are closer to cardigans. We love the warmer ones to see us through January and February. But we are now welcoming lighter-weight ones to wear with a warm sweater or to pop under a coat for the rest of winter and then to wear alone for spring when the coatigan makes an absolutely perfect cover-up for those changeable spring days. Whatever weight coatigan you are considering, do keep in mind that a coatigan should look appropriate worn indoors. If it looks as if it should be left in the cloakroom, leave it alone unless you love it and need a new coat.
- Colour – you could choose your coatigan in either a neutral to match with lots of items from your wardrobe. OR you could choose a dramatically gorgeous colour for maximum impact and just keep it done up if it doesn’t match whatever you are wearing under it!
- STYLE TIPS
- For Petites and for every woman who wants to look taller and thinner, this style tip works especially brilliantly with a coatigan. Wear your coatigan open down the front to form vertical lines from neckline to hemline. This helps create the illusion of length and makes you appear taller and slimmer.
- Realistically, the chances are very slim indeed of finding a coatigan that is totally perfect in every respect, i.e. the right length and the right colour and with exactly the right neckline and/or collar for you. So, perhaps it is worth considering focusing on finding the right colour and length and adding a gorgeous faux fur scarf or a pashmina wrapped, draped or looped around your neck to compensate for an imperfect neckline.
SoSensational has found you dozens of coatigans at all price points and in all colours and appropriate for the rest of winter and for spring, so take a look now…
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