Alright, I admit it — I don’t own a trench coat. I’m sure Tim Gunn would be appalled since it’s one of his 10 essential items that every woman must have in their wardrobe. From the moment I saw the last scene of Entrapment (how many years ago?) with Catherine Zeta-Jones dressed in a tan trenchcoat and cute brown pumps, I have wanted to look just like her.
A trench coat is one of those versatile jackets that can be worn at almost any time of the year. I think it would be a perfect addition to my wardrobe now as we slowly transition into warmer weather. Since I’m looking to invest in a long-lasting trench, neutral colors would be the best for me and probably give me a little more wear. But let’s just look around and see what we find…
OK, so I’m probably not going to splurge on any of these but “the dressed up trench” is part of the Spring 2008 Trends, according to InStyle. I bet we won’t be able to walk through the streets unnoticed in the pink Juicy Couture trench. It’s not quite the attention I’m looking for though. I prefer the classic yet edgy look of Burberry’s black trench, maybe because I’m watching The Matrix right now on AMC. It also reminds me of the equestrian-inspired trench by Jillian and Victorya that we saw a few weeks ago on Project Runway. For another dose of color, Marc Jacobs has a jungle green short double-breasted trench that would look fantastic with black skinny pants.
Now let’s bring ourselves back to reality and focus on the classic neutral trench. I found several styles that fit the part. The Burberry Prorsum snuck its way into this list but still too heavy on my wallet. Helmut Lang’s sand cotton trench is a contender as well as Day Birger et Mikkelsen’s ivory knee-length coat (on sale right now!). For a more casual spring look, either Anthropologie’s Wellington trench or the short belted coat from the Michael Kors collection would work and be much more wallet-friendly.
Regardless, I think we could all pull off a Catherine Zeta-Jones inspired look with these new brown leather pumps from Kenneth Cole.
Image credits: Juicy Couture, Burberry, Net-A-Porter.com, Anthropologie, Nordstrom, and Kenneth Cole
6 responses so far ↓
1 Alia : Feb 13, 2008 at 9:05 am
Ooooo! I saw a basic trench in the window of this store right by my job. And I WILL be going to purchase it at some point. I agree…the bright color trenches are a bit too loud for my taste…and I feel like next year you’ll be giving it away or putting it in storage due to it not being a trend anymore. So basic it is!
2 Dia : Mar 20, 2008 at 11:20 am
Absolutely. Glad I wasn’t the only one who wanted to have that trench coat look that Catherine made look so good in Entrapment. It wasn’t the last scene that did it for me though but earlier in the movie when she was wearing this beautiful blue trench coat and running around with Sean Connery stealing vases and such. I looked everywhere for that trench and only just found it at Bluefly without even trying. Let’s hope it looks as good on me as it did on her…
3 Dia : Mar 20, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Wow, actually it was a ski coat I guess but it was belted just like a trench…just not double-breasted, although the lapel was. Anyway, I’m still going for the trench at Bluefly…It’s a Michael Kors and not to bright to not become a staple of your wardrobe.
http://www.bluefly.com/pages/products/detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=2083715575&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2056686025
4 Kylie : Mar 20, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Dia — I was just about to ask you for the link to the Michael Kors trench. I love it! And yes, it isn’t too bright. But you know what, I love the red version too. Thanks so much for finding this. Please come back and give us a review when you get it!
5 Dia : Mar 25, 2008 at 7:28 pm
So, I just got the trench coat in the mail today from Bluefly…their packaging is beautiful. I’ll definitely save the bag and maybe even the tissue paper but I’m planning to return the coat. Maybe it’s just my monitor (though I see you too thought so Kylie) but the coat looked like a reasonable shade of blue “on-screen” and in reality it is definitely bright blue. It definitely is the right coat if you want to make a statement and the style is very comfortable. In truth, I wonder also if I shouldn’t have ordered a size smaller but then it is a very comfortable coat while still looking sharp. The design of the pockets is cute and it’s a very nice length. I wore it today with straight trousers but really want to see what it would look like with a skirt peeping out from under it. The belt is a good length and doesn’t, like on some belted coats, slide out when left dangling and untied. So, all in all I really do like the coat and think it is very fashionable but it’s a little too loud of a statement for me to wear regularly…maybe in beige?
6 Kylie : Mar 25, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Bright blue? Sounds like you wouldn’t be able to get quite as much use out of it if it’s really bright. I’m all into making a statement but if you are planning to have more of an everyday coat then definitely look at your options. Before you exchange it for the beige, what do you think of the white? Since your first instinct was to order blue, it seems like you are a pretty hip woman! I think you could wear the white trenchcoat in every situation where you would grab the beige coat. But this way, you’ll be even more stylish. What is the arm length like? If you still have room, go for the smaller size. What do you think of the Via Spiga coat: http://www.bluefly.com/pages/products/detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=2051845931&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1953941&N=933&Ne=500000&Nu=Product+ID&Ntk=all&Ntt=trench+coat&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial It looks like it would be a similar length and it comes in ivory (in case you’re not into bright white).
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