'Forget going to work on an egg: it's much smarter, now, to go to work shaped like an egg'
Just so you know, "That looks like a sack" is now a compliment. Power dressing has gone soft. Forget going to work on an egg: it's much smarter, now, to go to work shaped like an egg.
There are two reasons for this. The first is an inevitable backlash after the trenchcoat years. Such has been the dominance of belted gaberdine over the past decade that only waisted coats and jackets – trenches, but also military styles and Barbour jackets – have felt like status symbols. The second is that the arrival of groovy new young designers at the couture houses (Raf Simons at Dior, Alexander Wang at Balenciaga) has made the couture aesthetic feel relevant in fashion again, and the ovoid shapes, whether cocoon or sack-back, are a part of couture history.
Yeah, whatevs, right? What you want to know is: should you buy one? To which the answer is yes, and quickly. Nobody wants to buy a coat one autumn, only to have irritating people like me tell them a totally different style is necessary the next year. And the way to avoid that, my friends, is to buy into the new style as soon as it appears on the horizon, thereby securing maximum wear out of it. You need to get yourself a cocoon-shaped coat as a matter of urgency. (This is what passes for logic on planet fashion.)
When you've been used to fitted and tailored coats, there's something comforting about a cocoon shape. Belted coats are bracing, bossy; ovoid ones give you that fireside, wrapped-in-a-blanket feeling.
To ensure a softly curving coat looks smart, think about what you wear underneath. It is a silhouette that works particularly well if your general way of dressing is skinny-legged; that is, if you tend to dress in slim trousers or a short skirt. But if you wear knee-length skirts or wider-legged trousers, a long, lozenge shape on top will give you a weirdly droopy silhouette, so keep your cocoon short and sweet. An ovoid that curves out from the shoulder but neatly back in at the hip is an easy, goes-with-anything option. Buy one now. There's a good egg.
• Jess wears coat, £650, by Paul & Joe, from Harrods. Trousers, £288, by Vince, from Matches. Leopard sequin heels, £240, by Kurt Geiger London, from Kurt Geiger.
Stylist: Melanie Wilkinson. Hair and makeup: Dani Richardson using Kiehl's Skin Rescuer.