What Does Your Winter Coat Say About You?
In these final days of 2026, most of us are prepping for the holidays, wrapping up work, presents, and in extra warm outerwear. As far as the latter's concerned, we're only really getting started with winter, with its peak still a good bunch of cold days in the future.
Despite what the outfits of surrounding people may convey, there is, in fact, more to winter jackets than just puffers. Granted, the down-stuffed kind of coat, snug as a wearable sleeping bag, is a safe bet. But that's also as interesting a message it sends about its wearer.
Therefore, it felt due time to compile a categorized selection of weather-appropriate attire and decipher what it says about the person draped in it, to make sure whoever reads this can make an informed decision upon purchasing.
And nowhere but SSENSE could one get this deep into the weeds of an item that is so universally necessary this time of year, but so diverse in its appearance and messaging.
Consider this a compact, character-trait-based horoscope of coats, if you will.
Mr. Fancypants
Call it pick-me, call it going against the grain, call it pretentious. But you have to give credit to the folks who sacrifice uncomplicated comfort for style. The key here? Layers. But if you got stuck on this double-breasted Lemaire, Dries's crazy collar, or Fear Of God's trench, you already know this.
You appreciate attention to detail, playing with silhouettes and cross-pairing the eccentric and the timeless, the statement and the evergreen. You don't want to look like everyone else, and you're not afraid to be read as such. And why would you be?
The Bomber Babe
Some of y'all just never got over that Alpha Industries phase. And that shows, pleasantly so. But just because one is loyal to a certain look, doesn't mean there's no variety in it.
You love a bit of nostalgia, and enjoy a clash of aesthetics. High-low is where you thrive. The motto is go hard or go home, your confidence as big as the shoulders of your new Lu'u Dan jacket.
Puffer = Personality
Okay, alright, fiiiine. There's no way around talking about the puffer. Some resent it for its ubiquity, others resent others' resentment because to like it may be common but it's also common sense.
You know that to insist on a puffer doesn't de facto mean neglecting creativity. Something as tried-and-true as The North Face's should already be in your closet by now, so you feel at liberty to turn it up a notch with, say, Rick Owens' nifty neck-piece puffer. Who said puffers were boring? (Okay, admittedly, I did, some paragraphs above, but not these, you were right all along).
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