A shearling coat is a bold choice. It’s an unapologetically practical garment, warm enough to withstand sub-zero temperatures and durable enough to be handed down through multiple generations. Its thick heft and heavy weight mean it’s ill-suited for delicate applications; as such shearling coats are typically rendered in big shapes, sharp angles and neutral colours.
These factors, along with the ranching and military associations sheepskin has, make it a distinctly masculine, even macho garment. It can seem intimidating to style as a result, especially for men like me who don’t identify as much with traditional cultural notions of masculinity.
This week I sold a vintage coat from my store and realized I hadn’t ever really tried out a shearling for myself. Since this one is around my size I figured I’d put together a few different looks before I packed it up and sent it off. In writing about these looks I realized they were all Ralph Lauren-inspired; he’s my favourite designer and probably 80% of my personal “style language” is based around his and Daiki Suzuki’s similar sensibilities.
There’s a tension in both designers’ menswear that make them interesting to me. It’s a disconnect between form and function in the clothes themselves: designs inspired by and occasionally directly copied from garments designed for maximal practicality and durability, rendered in luxe fabrics making them entirely unsuitable for the uses their forms imply. This makes the subtext text: nobody’s doing any work in this “workwear.” It’s pure aesthetics, cosplay for the aristocrat sick of their morning jacket. Suzuki is less self-serious than Lauren; garments like these polka-dot wool jacquard chaps lampshade the joke and celebrate the absurdity inherent in the entire market segment of “elevated workwear.”
Another similarity between the two designers is how they work in permutations and combinations, variations on a theme. Each use a palette of aesthetic elements taken from a small pool of postwar masculine style archetypes: labourer, soldier, athlete, and aristocrat, and combines coherent elements of each into a new but recognizable whole. I’ve broken these looks down through the lens of these archetypes.
Look 1
I’ve kept the palette neutral for this first look. I’ve paired the shearling with other traditionally masculine military and workwear elements since the jacket reads quite “tough:” a pair of Australian gurkha pants, and a heavy Aran sweater in a honeycomb stitch.
Look 2
This look is inspired by the Marlboro Man as well as Ralph Lauren’s ranch outfits. It’s classic Western workwear: Levi’s 619s and a Levi’s workshirt. I swapped out my original choice of a cowboy-style belt with a big buckle for something more English equestrian inspired, but it’s still veering into cosplay territory.
Look 3
This look is inspired by Lauren’s combinations of American cowboy and English country textures, a motif he’s been mining for 50 years. The Fair Isle knit can read as both blue- or white-collar depending on the surrounding elements, so I’ve tried to make it more explicitly aristocratic by pairing it with charcoal wool flannel trousers. I’m not fully on board with this look; it doesn’t work as well as the other two due to the warm, toast brown color of the shearling with the cooler tones in the sweater and pants. A shearling in a darker brown would look much better.
So that’s 3 ways I’d style a shearling, and some of the thinking that went into my combinations. How would you style one?
The Fresh Eye Twitch Stream
The past 3 weeks I’ve hosted a Saturday Style Stream where I discuss clothing in movies and TV. This week guest host Amanda Gedlaman and I watched Jurassic Park and talked about so much more than just the wardrobe. I learned a lot about the movie and how to watch film in general, and having a co-host made it really engaging and fun for both myself and the audience. You can check out the episode on my Twitch page (link starts around 8:30 due to technical issues up front), and tune in Saturdays at 3 ET for more movies & TV through a fashion lens.
Wondering if you can pull off a shearling of your own? Want to learn more about what sorts of garments, style archetypes and aesthetic combinations work for you? Maybe you’re just a person who wants to learn more about fashion. In any case, I can help! Book a free 30-minute Style Goals consult via email or through my website today and learn what an Image Consultant can do for you.
Jordan Lane, CMIC
Fresh Eye Image Consulting
thefresheye.net
linktr.ee/thefresheye