At a Parisian party celebrating her latest Reformation collection, Irish style writer and tastemaker Verona Farrell asked Alexa Chung the perennial question: what makes an It girl? As someone who has benefited from being the poster child of this moniker for two decades, even going so far as to pen a book on the topic, the British model and fashion muse delivered a surprising response. “It girls have really good stamina,” Chung divulged. “It’s actually really quite a lot if you’re an It girl. You have to be at everything, you have to be nice to everyone and you have to be fucking funny.”
That certain ineffable quality is difficult to articulate. However, one of the attributes that often goes unsaid is their ability to dress impeccably well. Immune to trends and entirely individualistic, an It girl wields attention and magnetism through what she wears, especially if it’s a little off-kilter. Take Mary-Kate Olsen’s collection of beat-up Hermès Birkins, for instance. At the time, her decision to carry her designer bag to the point of total destruction was viewed as completely contradictory to what pristine, luxury fashion should look like. But decades later, the concept of wearing in your high-end pieces is entirely conventional.
This winter, the key It girl items are those that imbue that same insouciant coolness. It’s not to say there’s a lack of regard for how they look or the pieces they own. On the contrary, it’s a belief that these styles do so much more than simply make them look a specific way. (Chic, enigmatic, whatever your preferred/ modifier is.) There’s an unfussiness to these silhouettes, demonstrating a preoccupation with actually living life rather than simply curating one. As Farrell pointed out to Chung in her interview, “Madonna said, ‘[I’m a] doer, not a watcher.
Still, there are certain items that you’d tend to find in any It girl's wardrobe: a pair of vintage Levi’s, a Conner Ives coat, a bag from Tom Ford’s tenure at Saint Laurent in the 2000s, for instance. But as for what’s taking up real estate in their closet this season, keep scrolling to uncover the fashion trends that are It girl-approved this winter.
7 It Girl-Approved Fashion Trends for Winter 2026
1. Tassel Necklaces
Style Notes: Where cords of rope with talisman-like pendants hung around our necks in summer, It girls are translating this jewellery trend for winter by incorporating more ornate motifs like beaded tassels. Fine, feathery strings that resemble curtain holders in Venetian palazzi, this trend is not. Far more Art Deco in form, this trend features glass-like ornate spheres and longline fringing that stops just above the navel. Elsa Peretti, eat your heart out.
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2. Opera Coats
Style Notes: Opulence is a throughline that underscores almost all It girl-approved winter trends, yet none is more ubiquitous than the rise of the opera coat. Featuring chinoiserie embroidery and a satin finish, this silhouette has transcended the closet of Upper East Side socialites and become a prevalent trend for discerning fashion insiders. Whilst there’s something endearing about finding the components—see: a robe-like coat and fur-trimmed collar—on Vinted and constructing one yourself, you can find equally covetable ready-to-wear options at the likes of Reformation, Rixo and Hayley Menzies.
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3. Ornate Shawls
Style Notes: It’s officially an Olsen Twin winter. But rather than looking to the sumptuous knits and tailored trousers offered by The Row, It girls are looking to the brand’s founders for style inspiration. Most notably, Mary-Kate Olsen’s obsession with pashmina shawls. From paisley prints to intricate patterns crafted by Indian artisans, these cocooning wreaths of fabric offer both comfort and visual intrigue, serving as an additional layering element that can’t help but make you seem more enigmatic. Oh, they are also approved by Zoë Kravitz, too.
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4. Fanciful Clutches
Style Notes: To paraphrase Chung, an It girl is booked and busy. But despite her packed social calendar, she doesn’t get bogged down in the minutiae of what to bring with her for the day. Rather than carry a ludicrously capacious tote that can hold a change of shoes, dry shampoo and maybe even an emotional support water bottle, she leaves the house practically empty-handed, toting a fanciful clutch with just the bare necessities. The beauty of this way of operating is that it leaves you open to spontaneity. You can really go anywhere when you’re not weighed down with stuff. And when you walk into the room purse first, especially with one as sleek as this, you’re bound to get people talking.
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5. Statement Skirts
Style Notes: Though she doesn’t get enough credit for it, Miuccia Prada is truly one of the most pioneering It girls of the last century. Her work is both artistically inclined, politically motivated, and cerebral in spirit and still so covetable, with both her collections and her own personal style a muse for many. This season, specifically, she took her passion for wearing skirts, a category she refers to as her white T-shirt, and made them a topic for discussion by sending 63 different knee-length styles down the runway. If that’s not enough testament to invest in one now, we’re not sure what is.
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6. Frog Fastening
Style Notes: Forget buttons. (Well, actually, maybe just hold a place in your heart for the mother-of-pearl-laden collection by Alexander McQueen for spring/summer 2003.) This season, It girls are ditching zips or snap closures in favour of the frog fastening. When paired with a stand collar and sculpted silhouette, you have a piece worth lusting over.
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7. Corduroy Trousers
Style Notes: It girls have a penchant for making outdated items feel current, with corduroy trousers being the prime example of that. Once upon a time, wearing one might’ve made you feel like an extra in That ‘70s Show or Dazed and Confused. But after co-signs from The Row, Auralee and Loewe, they’ve proved to be the perfect alternative to denim for the cooler days on the horizon.
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