Layer Up!

There’s an internal battle that goes on inside me everyday when I get dressed between the months of December and March. I reach for that crazy cute candy colored coat and think, “do I wear this and be cute or do I wear something warmer and be not”… or at least I used to until two years ago I discovered a trick that let me have BOTH!

Today I’m sharing my trick for staying warm in the winter without sacrificing style, and the piece that gets the most use during these super cold months.

A few years back Paris and I won a $5000 gift card to an outlet mall. Now to the average person, that might be the best thing ever, and don’t get me wrong it was but an outlet mall isn’t always a bloggers best friend. Most of the items there are no longer available online and that can be annoying from a shopping POV because I like to share pieces that you can actually buy if you’d like. As a result, we didn’t go on a shopping spree – we’ve instead given most of the money away and used it for Christmas gifts. One year we were doing our shopping when we stepping into the Eddie Bauer outlet and found these thing puffer coats. We were sick of freezing in NYC and thought they would be an easy way to bolster our fall or spring coats into ones worthy of winter weather. We each bought one and our lives instantly changed! Ever since I’ve bought two more of these thin puffers so I now own two short ones in black and white and a longer one in black (as photographed). Paris also went back for seconds and we even got one for my mom when she comes to visit.

closer look at my mani here

Shop some favorites: Shorter || Longer || Plus Size Long ||Plus size Long || Plus short (under $30) || More here

Why these work: so there are a few reasons why these are the perfect winter layering piece. You don’t have to buy the exact piece we own and might be able to find a better or cheeper one somewhere else so I wanted to share the features to look for in a comparable piece. First, these coats are light weight down puffers offering maximum insulation with minimal bulk. They slimly and seamlessly fit under all of my coats and also small enough that they store well in a suitcase or the off season. Paris and I disagree on this ones necessity, but they have hoods! He doesn’t think it needs a hood, but I love this feature its perfect for when it randomly starts raining or snowing and you’re without an umbrella, or help keep your head warm during a walk on a day you don’t want to wear a hat. Most of my coats don’t have hoods so having this is a real game changer. Oh and because the fabric is thin I can hide the hood in my coat without looking like a hunch back. The final “must have” feature for me is the elastic holds tight around the wrists and even the bottom of the coat. This helps prevent cold air from filtering in, even if your over coat is more free flowing. Overall we love these for winter wear and especially travel. I couldn’t imagine bearing a New York winter without them!

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