Email: Matched wits

Anthropologie’s email today is about how boots and coats are “good alone, perfect together.” So true, so true. Yet when I cluck through there’s no real pairing going on…just a link to the boots and link to the coats. Lame. So I went through the pages myself to come up with some ideas.

The homepage art above illustrates the importance of height, and by proxy proportion. It’s not just the length of the coat that matters when wearing boots. It’s also the length of the skirt or the cut of the pants. For example, wearing tall boots with a pencil skirt that hits below the knees is going to look funny. Ditto cowboy boots and wide leg pants. And it’s easy to forget the coat when solving the proportion equation. I picked out a few of my favorite coats to offer suggestions. Are these the only choices? Not even close.

Coat #1: The Structured Coat

How gorgeous is this purple coat? I love the roll collar, the geometry of the plaid and the slightly off-center buttons. Gah, another must-have! (My coat closet overfloweth.) The great thing about purple as the main color is that you can match the coat with black, most browns plus fun colors like teal! Here are my suggested boot pairings:

With above-the-knee skirt: Framework Booties ($178)
With knee-length skirt: Little-Bit-Country Booties ($395)
With straight-leg pants: Louisa Booties ($338)
With wide-leg pant: Gathered Booties ($220)

Coat #2: The Statement Coat

Another thing I love about coats is that you can have two statement pieces in an outfit. One is the coat itself, like the Birling Ruffle Coat above, and one can be whatever you’re concealing underneath. The ruffle on this coat takes it from Carhartt to Lumberjack whimsy. Since you’ll see the boot and the coat at the same time, best to keep the boot low-key.

With above-the-knee skirt: Tawny Acres Boots ($248)
With knee-length skirt: Narration Booties ($168)
With straight-leg pants: tuck into Straight Story Boots ($218)
With wide-leg pant: Oberland Booties ($148)

Coat #3: The Trench

What can I say about this coat that hasn’t already been said? Every woman needs a great trench and judging by the product reviews the Inverness Trench seems to fit the bill. The extra flowy factor below the belt makes this trench slightly harder to pair, but I’m up to the challenge.

With above-the-knee skirt: Bric-A-Brac Booties ($188)
With knee-length skirt: Rippled Bow Booties ($198) in taupe
With straight-leg pants: Distant Constellation Boots ($428)
With wide-leg pant:Trodden Prairie Ankle Boots ($208)

Coat #4: Cape!

Not everyone loves capes but I am so happy to see them coming back into style. In the fall I’d much prefer to throw on the triangle shape than a full-on coat. Anthropologie has a few beautiful cape offerings this fall; the Somerset Cape above is my current favorite. My only recommendation is don’t go too full on whatever bottom you pair with a cape. The result can be less than flattering.

With above-the-knee skirt: Hilltop Heights Boots ($220)
With knee-length skirt: Juxtaposition Booties ($210)
With straight-leg pants: tuck in to Luminous Boots ($248)
With wide-leg pant: Crested Sea Booties ($168)

Have you played with boot/coat pairings in your head too?