Well-Dressed Women Everywhere Will Appreciate These 34 Elegant Coat Styles

It’s a well-known fact that if you live in a place that experiences true winter, your coat is the most important factor in your wardrobe. For an entire season (and then some), the outerwear you choose to wear is all you wear, at least from an outsider’s perspective. No one’s going to see what fantastic ensemble you’ve assembled underneath it. All they know is the coat you put on top. So if elegance is the reputation you want to build around your style this winter, finding a sophisticated and expensive-looking piece of outerwear is the only essential step. (A great bag, some fun earrings, a cool pair of leather gloves, and a standout hat help, but those are buys for another day.)

Fortunately for anyone in the market for an elegant coat style right now, I have just the selection for you coming up. I grew up in Chicago, where my hair would freeze if it was at all wet on the way to school in the morning. I went to college in Iowa where the land is so flat that nothing can block the wind from whipping you around. And then, did I move somewhere warm and coatless? No, I came immediately to New York City, where it “felt like 2ºF,” according to AccuWeather, every morning for the last week. Let’s just say I know a thing or two about purchasing a good coat that’s both utilitarian and worth showing off when nothing else about your outfit matters.