How to Layer Outfits for Winter?

In the cold season, layering clothes is not just a trend that you read about on the pages of a fashion magazine, it allows you to create not only warm but also stylistically complex images and is an integral part of reality. Winter looks that are made up of three or more layers retain heat better, and while fashion can't explain it, physics can.

Among the many fashion style tips, layering is the topic that raises the most questions and controversy. Not everyone understands how to approach it and where to start in order to look like a prolific fashionista and not a “cabbage”. Everything is very simple: you just need to learn a few simple working techniques. All of them are in our guide to winter layering.

For many people, layering outfits remains a kind of Terra incognita - an uncharted territory, that you want to step on, but somehow you are afraid to. It would seem: how many blogs and posts have been written about it on social networks, how much advice has been given by fashion journalists and stylists, how many street style chronicles with suitable examples have been studied and still there are questions about the appropriateness of this or that combination of things. Or about how to dress in multiple layers, but not to look like a “cabbage” or a person from the meme about an animated chair on which clothes were piled all week - in a word, to avoid bulky silhouette.

Let's take a look at some win-win layered looks for winter. We hope you find your perfect style formula to spend the winter season in warmth.

Down jacket under a coat
Everything is combined here at once - a trendy combination of elegance and sporty, convenience and comfort, style and sharpness. It looks unusual, and spectacular, while very comfortable, creating additional warmth. You can make a combination of coat and down coat in one color scheme, which will look beautiful on the contrast of colors, as well as on the contrast of textures. This is a way to put on your favorite coat even in winter.

Coat and jacket
Of course, it is impossible to imagine fall without your favorite coat, and you want to wear it as long as possible... You can prolong this period with the same layering in outerwear. We have already considered the option of wearing a down jacket under the coat, but it is not the only one. Layering looks beautiful in a combination of coat + jacket.

It can be a jacket as part of a set with a pantsuit, it can be a jacket in combination with jeans, a top, and a coat, with a dress and coat, with a shirt, knitwear, and coat. The higher your height and slimmer your figure, the more layers of clothing, and details you can afford.

In addition to a jacket, you can safely combine a coat and a bomber jacket! Bomber perfectly “lies” under the coat and any other outerwear, because it does not have a rigid shoulder belt. Combined with an elegant coat, you can easily create an edgy, on-trend mix of sport and elegance. The jacket can be either in the same range as the coat or taken in contrast, it can be neutral in color, bright, or with a print.

Fur vest under a coat
You can wear a fur vest not only on top of coats and jackets but also layering under them. To do this, choose vests that have fur only in the front, and the back is smooth (most often just leather). Then such a vest will sit well under the coat, and will not create an ugly volume on the back. The coat, of course, does not need to be buttoned. It looks very cool, and unusual and at the same time, there is no risk of catching a cold.

Sweaters/sweatshirt + shirt/turtleneck in tone
Familiar combinations for the fall/ winter season can be revived by colors. They are especially cool with light shades: for example, you could wear a white shirt layering with a white sweatshirt, leaving the bottom of the shirt to peek out, and a cream sweater with a thin white turtleneck.

Turtleneck + shirt + vest + jacket
A turtleneck under a shirt will diversify the office dress code and keep you warm on cold days. If this combination is mastered, you can take it to the next level - add a vest and a loose jacket, as in the lookbook of the cool New York brand Commission.

Turtleneck + sweater + white shirt
A V-neck sweater is always a great base for layered looks. Our role model Miuccia Prada has been wearing one with a simple white t-shirt for decades. Another good example: a turtleneck with a shirt is worn under a sweater. The bright colors here do not look shouty - the white shirt, like an auxiliary background, softens and unites them.

Sweater around the neck
The reception with two sweaters, one of which is tied around the neck, is not new, but very practical. We don't know how it works, but a sweater wrapped around your neck usually keeps you warmer than just a scarf. Plus, sweaters can be swapped out throughout the day, updating the look. We love it when a sweater is tied not evenly along the ruler, but slightly askew, since a small shift gives a dynamic fashion sense.

Scarf + belt
Many fashion brand's fall-winter collection showed how to make a warm skirt in a couple of minutes: we can wrap a scarf around the waist and fasten the construction with a belt. You can layer this skirt over pants or other skirts made of lighter materials. And a small plaid will do in place of the scarf.

With the onset of cold weather, we often wear more than one layer of clothing, which makes us uncomfortable. Layering clothes is a very popular trend, but how to do it right so that the combination is warm and stylish, and the amount of clothing does not restrict movement. In changeable, constantly chilly weather, layering becomes a necessity.

*️⃣The first rule of layering, or How many layers are used when creating a layered look?

So, your look will only be considered layered if you have 3 or more layers. As you may have already realized a shirt and jacket or a blouse and cardigan are not considered layered because they are only two layers, and we need three. That being said, I don't recommend getting too hyped and stopping at a maximum of 4 layers. Of course, you can put together a great look from six layers of clothes, but each next layer is more and more difficult to choose. To minimize the chance of making a mistake start trying with one or four.

That's why the cold season is the best time of year to experiment with layering. In summer it is difficult to put on three layers of clothes and feel comfortable, but in fall and winter - this task is not very difficult, because the third layer can serve as our outerwear. But at the same time, we should not forget that the two bottom layers should be visible too, so buttoning up to the chin will not work!

The third layer can be not necessarily clothing, but also an accessory. For example, a belt, if you put it on top of a pair of shirts + cardigan or a scarf, in which you can wrap yourself on top of a sweater from under which the neck of a T-shirt looks out and one of my favorite techniques of stylization - a sweater thrown over the shoulders (serves as a scarf and an unusual accessory), which will suit almost any of your bow from sporty to classic.

*️⃣The second rule of layering: Don't mix and match pieces with a complicated cut.

Layering is great for basic pieces with simple cuts that we can easily combine and add to each other. As soon as a complicated cut comes into play, you should stop and think. A layered image can be only one thing complex and unusual cut, otherwise, you run the risk of collecting the image of a city madwoman. Layering is great for basic pieces with simple cuts that we can easily combine and add to each other. As soon as a complicated cut comes into play, you should stop and think. A layered image can be only one thing complex and unusual cut, otherwise, you run the risk of collecting the image of a city madwoman.

*️⃣The third rule of layering: Use as many different and dissimilar textures as possible.

It is this technique that makes the outfit more interesting and allows the eye to “catch”. If you use three maximally similar cotton layers in your bow, you are likely to create the effect of similar cabbage leaves. The difference in textures and their play is the key to a stylish layered look.

Leather with fur, silk with wool, cotton with knitwear, boucle with smooth, shine with matte - the rule is simple: the more different you think textures are, the better they look in layered looks. Of course, taking into account the rest of the rules we are talking about today. By the way, based on this rule, layered looks make us happy to wear summer clothes in them.

*️⃣The fourth rule of layering: The density of each successive layer must be greater than the previous one.

It is with this rule that we want to continue the previous one to avoid basic and common mistakes. It is better not to wear a thin knit cardigan over a thick cotton shirt because the silhouette of the bottom layer will stand out “infinity” from underneath the top layer.