No One Has Closet Space for Outdated Outerwear—5 Coats I'm Tossing by Year's End

Not to discredit myself before I even get into the topic, but I think we're living in an "anything goes" time when it comes to outerwear. This season, in particular, it feels like a dozen trends that once felt dated are now cool again—from leopard-print coats to faux fur. The problem is that coats and jackets take up more room than just about anything else in our closets, so I tend to be a bit more discriminating and weed them out more frequently than other things in my wardrobe, sad as it may be.

As the New Year approaches, I'm making room for my 2025 purchases to come, so I took a long, hard look at my outerwear collection and which pieces are feeling a bit dated. Below, I'm naming the five coat trends I'm setting aside for now and the ones I'm not laying a finger on (unless it's to wear them in the near future) just in case you, too, need closet-cleaning motivation and inspiration.

Without further ado, keep scrolling to find out which outerwear trends I'm keeping and setting aside for the foreseeable future.

Tossing: Waterfall-Collar Coats

Keeping: Scarf Coats

It's possible that they're just not my cup of tea anymore, but waterfall coats with dramatically draped collars have been evicted from my closet. In their place are trendy-yet-timeless scarf coats. I particularly like the ones in which the matching scarf is detachable. Toteme is the holy grail when it comes to this style, but Reformation and Zara also have excellent, more affordable options this season.

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Tossing: Cropped Puffers

Keeping: Quilted Coats

If you live in or plan to visit a place with a cold climate, I think a puffer will always be a wardrobe staple, but I'm skipping trendy cropped styles in favor of longer ones that also provide more warmth. Better yet, since the winter climate where I live is cold but not frigid, the style I wear the most is quilted coats. They still provide plenty of warmth, but they look a bit more elevated.

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Tossing: Leather Moto Jackets

Keeping: Oversize Leather Bomber Jackets

Leather jacket are investments, so I find that trends don't really go "out," but at times, certain styles feel more current than others. Right now, that's oversize leather bomber jackets as opposed to moto jackets, which aren't quite as popular as they've been in the past. In addition to black ones, I have my eye on chocolate-brown and burgundy iterations.

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Tossing: Kelly-Green and Barbie-Pink Coats

Keeping: Chocolate-Brown Coats

Coat color trends tend to be in line with the overarching color trends during any given season, so instead of bold kelly green and Barbie pink (trends that have fallen by the wayside for now), rich chocolate brown is *the* coat color of this winter. It's just as elegant as black but somehow makes your outfits look even richer.

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Tossing: PVC Outerwear

Keeping: Faux-Fur Outerwear

Following in the footsteps of last winter, faux fur is everywhere again. It's become a fashion-person go-to for chilly nights out, and varying shades of brown are proving to be the most popular faux-fur coat colors. Alternatively, another maximalist trend—PVC—is taking some time off (even though patent-leather accessories are on the rise).

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Opening image: @tamaramory