Winter is not my favorite season for fashion. For other people, it’s the best. One of the big reasons for this is layering. Layering allows you to combine a variety of different pieces and allows you to get more creative with your look. Layering also means you have to pick pieces that go together and make that look good. This can be a lot of fun for those who are confident in this skill. For the rest of us though, it can be kind of scary because it means taking into account things like colors, volume, length, etc. Well, my mind is exploding. Layering can be a great asset to those who know how to make it work, and a huge challenge to those of us that don’t.

To make layering easier, here are a couple of things I do.

• Let the layering piece stand out. Head to toe black (or another neutral) will really allow a colored sweater or vest to shine. This is especially great for longer cardigans.
• Wear a neutral layering piece and let the bottoms stand out. A black cardigan is great for colored or patterned pants.
• Watch your lengths. A little t-shirt sticking out below a hoodie looks good if it is even all the way around and there isn’t too much of it. A cardigan visible below your coat’s hemline, not so much.

Coats are the greatest part of winter fashion. For those, you don’t have to worry so much about layering, because when the coat is on, you don’t see what’s under it. I spent my commuting days in a stylish coat with a contrasting pashmina. The coat was white, so all my pashminas contrasted with it. (Yes, this was in the mid-2000s). It was great because I felt stylish no matter what I was wearing under it because that was mostly unseen. That’s the beauty of winter coats. They are your piece. A neutral one will look great with almost any bottoms, so it just works without the daily effort of pairing it with other items. By neutral, I don’t just mean black. There are many options for neutral. I had a grey coat I absolutely loved. Getting one that matches your coloring is important. Being cool toned, black, white, navy, and grey are awesome. For warmer-toned ladies, tan, taupe, camel, and brown are great options. Even neutral-colored patterns are great for those that don’t wear a lot of pattern on the bottom.

What about color? Color is leveling up, because it takes a little more consideration, but makes a great statement. This is not much extra effort for those who tend to go with neutral bottoms most of the time. I have a beautiful berry-colored coat that I love, but have to think twice when I’m wearing pants that are shades of red. With a colored coat, you also have to consider the color of your bag, and in colder weather, hats, scarves, and gloves. The easy way is to keep all of these neutral, but color can work if the colors go well together. I made sure to have a black hat and gloves for these occasions, and white too. That makes it super easy. I even have a black-and-white patterned bag. The pattern makes it fun, and being black and white means it plays well with any colors.