How to Style a Statement Coat

After spending the fall semester of school with only a small portion of my wardrobe to choose from, I was extremely excited to return home and start styling outfits with all the pieces I had left behind. One of the items I rediscovered is this gorgeous cobalt blue peacoat! This coat was actually my first purchase ever from Francesca’s (hard to believe, I know, since half my closet is from there). Today I wanted to share a few tips for how to style statement coats, like this boldly colored one.

Coats are usually more of an investment piece, so I understand why people gravitate towards neutral colors in order to get the most wear and bang for their buck. However, statement coats can be extremely versatile as well, especially considering that you usually remove them upon arriving at your destination (you know, so having it match your outfit is not as important). I’ve worn this blue coat several times over the years and am always finding new ways to style it, like with the beige neutrals in today’s outfit. Here are a few tips and go-to combinations to style with your statement coat:

• Pair it with neutrals. While the expected neutral pairing for this coat would be shades of black, grey, or white, I decided to style the bright blue with hues of beige and blush this time around. I was surprised by how nice the mix of cool and warm tones turned out. Of course, for other statement coats, you can never go wrong with neutrals! And don’t forget that denim is a neutral, too.
• Style it with a pattern. One of my best tricks for wearing bolder colors or pieces is to style them with a pattern that contains that color. For example, last week I wore this coat with a red and blue flannel shirt (seen below), which created a super cute and surprisingly festive outfit. If your statement coat is patterned, you can pair it with a more neutral pattern like thin black and white stripes. Just make sure the patterns are of different scales—you can read more of my print mixing tips here.
• Wear a monochromatic look. Another one of my favorite outfits with this coat was pairing it with a light blue skirt and cobalt shoes, seen here and below on the right. When you’re sick of boring neutrals or that same patterned shirt that you always wear, putting together a monochromatic outfit is a very stylish and “high fashion” way to wear your coat.

• Rock the complementary colors. Cobalt blue and orange is not my favorite color combination, so I probably wouldn’t recommend this tip for my particular coat. But other complementary pairings like forest green with rose pink, yellow and lavender, or mustard and plum would be a fun and unexpected way to wear your coat. Blair Eadie of Atlantic Pacific is the queen of unusual yet fabulous color pairings, so I love browsing her Pinterest for ideas.
• Wear only the coat. Okay, don’t wear only the coat, but you can definitely wear it as the centerpiece of your outfit, rather than something you throw on top and remove at your destination. If I wore this cobalt coat as my “shirt”, I would button it up all the way to show off the double-breasted gold buttons and pair it with jeans and some fun statement shoes/accessories.

Do you own a statement coat? What’s your go-to way to style it? I linked so many fun pieces in the widget above! I really like that furry lavender one and could think of several ways to style it (with white, with a black and white striped tee, over a patterned dress, etc.), but it is on the pricier side. The black and white floral coat is a gorgeous piece as well and much more affordable.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and thank you so much for stopping by!

Miles of smiles,

Grace

Beige Sparkly Sweater: Gap, $30, last worn here | Cobalt Blue Coat: Francesca’s, $40, last worn here | Black Pants: JCPenney, $25, last worn here | Beige Booties: Sam Edelman via DSW, $90, last worn here | Blush Bow Purse: Target, $50, last worn here | Kendra Scott Star Necklace