‘An almost ankle-length coat is the red-carpet gown to the knee-length coat’s cocktail dress’
I always thought you had to be tall, dark and handsome to pull off a long coat. Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club, knee-tremblingly moody in that enormous grey coat, dark hair falling in his face. Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock. That sort of thing.
Being neither tall nor dark nor handsome, I have always favoured coats which finish at the knee, or just above, feeling I lack the requisite swagger for anything longer. But I’ve changed my mind, for skirt-related reasons. For the first time ever, you see, I’ve got properly into midi-length skirts. These fitted into my wardrobe surprisingly seamlessly – they work with ankle boots or trainers; they look good with a fitted shirt or a neat jumper – until the weather got cold and I put my coat on. A knee-length coat over a longer skirt does not work at all. I looked like Downton’s Mrs Patmore. It was time for a longer coat.
Related: What I wore this week: an 80s party dress
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