The temperature in NYC today might reach a balmy 40 degrees (!). Shocking, since over the last few days, it’s been as low as 4 degrees, and even below zero in parts of the tri-state area. Fun! It’s the kind of weather where you just want to hibernate—and only head outside if you absolutely have to. The blasts of icy cold wind were what hit the hardest, taking my breath away as I turned the street corner on my way to work. (So much for taking my energizing daily walk around the block, ha!)
I couldn’t believe it when I saw a spilled cup of coffee on the sidewalk with the brown liquid frozen mid-ooze in a kind of comical, Dali-esque puddle. It looked like someone had hit the pause button in the middle of a movie.
So the question is, how to battle the cold and still look cool (without 30 pounds of layers)?! The answer? A faux fur jacket. (Tom shot these pics in Central Park before I headed to my first New York Fashion Week show for work. I was thrilled to be there, taking in every bit of fabulous I could. It was also totally freezing out, which made finding a statement-worthy look a bit more challenging for even the trendiest fashion week goers. Hence, the fur.)
Here’s why faux fur coats work so well in single-digit temps:
1. It’s like being wrapped up in a super warm, luxe blanket. (So you won’t need to layer as much, i.e. you’ll look less like the Michelin man. Even though my legs were exposed here, the tights helped a tremendous amount, and I layered a thin cashmere cardigan and a black blazer under the coat. I also have thick knee socks on. If I was going for a more casual, edgy look, I would have tugged them up so the socks peeked out of the top of my boots.)
2. Whether you want to work more natural colors (like my coat here) or go for something a little funkier (like this or this), faux fur just looks so freakin’ glamorous.
3. If you’re inclined to want to save the animals and spend a lot less than you would on real fur, then faux is #winwin.
4. You won’t overwhelm the already-bold look if you pair it with neutral accessories that pack some punch, like these fringed boots, the pops of red in my gloves and lipstick, and this Kate Spade bag. Try to keep it all in the same color family, and you’re golden. (To prevent a fur coat from looking too bulky, wear it with head-to-toe black.)
Take advantage of these sales below if you’re jonesing for faux fur, before spring hits and the cold weather is (happily) a distant memory!
Faux fur coats under $100: Sam Edelman, Forever 21, MissGuided, Boohoo, and under $200: Asos.
Here’s to looking fur-bulous on these last few we-live-in-a-frozen-tundra days of winter!
Xoxo, H
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Photographs by Tom Schelling.