Misty Heinsman is fashionably warm in a Lands' End Shimmer Down parka, $179.Women's Outerwear TrendsLands' End's women's outerwear merchant Annie Short describes the Top 5 trends for women shopping for the perfect coat this season.1. Shiny style: Shiny, icy metallic fabrics provide a lustrous look. From down insulated coats and parkas to accessories, touches of shine will bring a bright spot to even the grayest of winter days.2. Quilted fashion: The tiniest embellishment adds a lot of style. Quilting in vests, parkas, jackets and coats transforms a flat finish into a more eye-catching pattern. This season, look for flattering diamond-shaped quilting that offers style and function all in one.3. Visual vests: Belts, buttons and fabric patterns have helped update this outerwear basic to a winter wonder.4. Wool: A timeless classic that more women are turning to for more than just a dress-up coat. Pea coats in fun, bright colors will add a punch of style to a weekend outfit or a weekday date.5. Longer lengths: Parka- and coat-length jackets are the trend this year more than in past seasons. Adding a belt to these longer coats will add shape.
Whether lighter weights for mild temperatures or heavier for cold weather, coats are a staple of women's winter wardrobes.
With designers updating cold-weather clothing with flattering cuts, feminine flair and increased durability, women no longer have to forgo style for comfort. At Lands' End, for example, coats are designed to offer warmth along with a wow factor, said women's outerwear merchant Annie Short.
"Women don't want to look large and unshapely when they put on a winter coat," she reported in a news release. "That's why we've spent a great deal of time adding not only functional details but fashionable features to every coat offered to women this season.
A recent survey by Lands' End revealed that many women favor down coats. "Known as 'nature's insulator,' down gives jackets warmth without the weight," the company notes. The company offers four down weights, all designed to keep the wearer "warm and toasty."
In Chattanooga, coats are not as fundamental as they are in colder climes or in "cities with subways, apartment life and slopes as their norm," said Katherine Roberts Burger, owner of K: A Boutique on North Market Street.
In New York City, for instance, people "walk everywhere; therefore they need winter coats," she said.
Burger said she is seeing more designers producing outerwear that can be worn comfortably with other clothing. Such layering is essential in the mild Southern climate.
"I do believe that if designers are cold-climate-minded, then coats do factor into their design and they create outerwear that works over dresses, skirts, blouses, etc.," Burger said. "I actually see more of an increase in clothing that can be layered."
Jackets, hats, gloves and scarves, though, are highly sought-after by those living in the Chattanooga area, according to Burger.
"They always sell well because of our climate and lifestyle," she said. "So do heavy tights and leggings. It just isn't typically that cold for that long."