Well-Dressed Women Everywhere Will Appreciate These 34 Elegant Coat Styles
It's a well-known fact that if you live in a place that experiences true winter, your coat is the most important factor in your wardrobe. For an entire season (and then some), the outerwear you choose to wear is all you wear, at least from an outsider's perspective. No one's going to see what fantastic ensemble you've assembled underneath it. All they know is the coat you put on top. So if elegance is the reputation you want to build around your style this winter, finding a sophisticated and expensive-looking piece of outerwear is the only essential step. (A great bag, some fun earrings, a cool pair of leather gloves, and a standout hat help, but those are buys for another day.)
Fortunately for anyone in the market for an elegant coat style right now, I have just the selection for you coming up. I grew up in Chicago, where my hair would freeze if it was at all wet on the way to school in the morning. I went to college in Iowa where the land is so flat that nothing can block the wind from whipping you around. And then, did I move somewhere warm and coatless? No, I came immediately to New York City, where it "felt like 2ºF," according to AccuWeather, every morning for the last week. Let's just say I know a thing or two about purchasing a good coat that's both utilitarian and worth showing off when nothing else about your outfit matters.
Without further ado, scroll down to peruse the most elegant 34 coat styles of 2025.
The suede coat and jacket from Alexa Chung's collaboration with Madewell may have gone more viral than this corduroy alt, but I'd argue the cord version is the one to go with. The white buttons contrast with the textured black fabric so well, making the entire coat look extremely pricey.
I finally got my hands on this cape coat in camel after envying everyone who owned one for more than a year. It's one of my best purchases of the year. Now, my sights are set on this new all-black version. Hopefully it won't sell out quite as quickly as its predecessor.
This post was published at an earlier date and has since been updated.
Eliza Huber is an NYC-based senior fashion editor who specializes in trend reporting, brand discovery, and the intersection of sports and fashion. She joined Who What Wear in 2021 from Refinery29, the job she took after graduating with a business degree from the University of Iowa. She's launched two columns, Let's Get a Room and Ways to Wear; profiled Dakota Fanning, Diane Kruger, Katie Holmes, Gracie Abrams, and Sabrina Carpenter; and reported on everything from the relationship between Formula One and fashion to the top runway trends each season. Eliza lives on the Upper West Side and spends her free time researching F1 fashion imagery for her side Instagram accounts @thepinnacleoffashion and @f1paddockfits, watching WNBA games, and scouring The RealReal for discounted Prada.
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