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 are never taking it off – well, not while you are out.
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 (the English-speaking World’s bid to beat the German language at its own game), it is a cross between a coat and a cardigan.
The other HUGE benefit of a coatigan is that because it is long (it should be at least knee length, or below-the-knee, possibly even ankle length if you love wearing maxis) it is extremely slimming.
Slimming how? Slimming in terms of the long, unbroken silhouette it creates, thus streamlining your body. And slimming because it well covers your 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 close to 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 with jeans and boots) OR with your maxis (when you might want to invest in a maxi-length coatigan)
2. The neckline and collar – By now (by that, we mean, we are all older women, here, so we have picked up lots of intelligence along the way about what suits us) you know whether you look your best in small, angular collars or wide, sweeping ones, or something in-between. And there are coatigans around this season with all kinds of collar shapes and with no collars at all.
- The weight and thickness. There are coatigans around that are closer to coats in terms of weight and thickness and coatigan that are closer to cardigans. It is the latter we are loving this chilly season. So if it is in wool cloth, is lined and maybe has a hood, it is really a coat and is trying to hoodwink us, so we will ignore it! A perfect 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 (dark neutrals include black, navy, grey, tweed and chocolate, while light neutrals include cream, winter white and caramel). 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 older 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 any imperfect neckline. Here’s some we love…
Take a look and see how amazing Candice looked after we styled her in a coatigan for her makeover video.
As always, if you have any comments, you can let us have your thoughts below…
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