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Huffing and Puffing to Do My Huffington Puffer Story

March 7, 2014 by WendyB

The unusually cold and snowy winter we’ve had in New York City had me eager to do one of my Huffington Post fashion round-ups about stylish puffer (aka puffa) jackets, but it wasn’t meant to be. I didn’t get as many volunteers as I would like. Maybe I’ll try again next year. There should be plenty of options — yesterday, the Wall Street Journal cited the puffer as the “most overdone trend” of the recent Fall/Winter 2014 fashion shows.

puff.jpg

From the Wall Street Journal.

LOL WUT? “Most overdone trend” sounds so much more negative than the paragraph under it, which says that dozens of labels offered “artful takes” on the look. That seems like a good thing to me. By the way, the Christian Dior puffer dress shown in the WSJ is not the first of its kind. Junya Watanabe has been doing all sorts of amazing puffer clothes for years, including the 2009 coat/dress I featured in a December post.

watanabe

Vintage Watanabe is available on 1stdibs.com for $1,500. Click to shop.

I’m not sure what year this Watanabe puffer or “duvet” skirt is from, but it makes a statement.

duvetskirt

Click for source.

My friend Julie’s leopard-print puffer skirt from Patricia Field — which I previously shared in that December post — is a bit more wearable.

puffaskirt

Julie said this mini is warm AND comfortable.

I did find a few peeps flaunting stylish puffers. Maybe these ladies will inspire you when you’re browsing the fall collections.  I personally would be happy to wear the edgy, leather puffer owned by gorgeous blogger Judith of Style Crone. The leopard-print hat adds extra style.

crone

Click for Judith’s original post.

I’m thinking that a leather puffer could be the way to go. Anna S. of No Scrubs has one in an eye-catching shade of blue.

annapuffresize

Anna S.

Amber of Butane Anvil has had a puffer by Mexx since about 2002. The floral quilting and big pointy collar make this one special.

amber

Amber is also wearing Kate Spade quotation-mark mittens.

I’m coveting the gold puffer worn by Eboni of The Fashionista Next Door. Can you believe she got it on sale for about $15?

how-to-wear-a-gold-metallic-puffer-coat-005

Click for original post.

Eboni made me want to look for more gold puffers. I’ve seen a bunch by H&M and Zara, but who wants a style that everyone has? I started looking for vintage alternatives. This one by Ralph Lauren Vintage on FarFetch costs over $1,000, so you won’t be scoring a bargain, but you’ll be warm and shiny!

goldpuff

Click to shop.

This Ralph Lauren jacket on eBay looks to be identical to the FarFetch one and the “buy it now” price is $500.

ebay puff

Click to shop.

If you’re on a tighter budget, there’s an intriguing black-and-gold ’80s puffer on Etsy for $44.

etsy puffer

Classic ’80s shape. Click to shop.

My favorite puffy piece today isn’t a jacket at all — it’s this padded cuff printed with trompe l’oeil pearls. It’s available at FarFetch for about $100.

pufferbracelet

Click to shop.

Too cute!

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Filed Under: blogs and bloggers, fashion trends, Huffington Post, jackets, vintage

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Susu Paris Chic says

    March 7, 2014 at 11:15 pm

    That golden puffer would be so awesome. Why not the mini skirt, too.

    • WendyB says

      March 7, 2014 at 11:16 pm

      I loooove the mini skirt.

  2. Amber of Butane Anvil says

    March 8, 2014 at 1:57 am

    Warm and shiny is SO where it’s at! I love the leather versions, but personally I am still needing that giant silver baked potato cocoon you featured a while back. Thanks for including my old Mexx in the mix.

    • WendyB says

      March 8, 2014 at 2:57 am

      I do love silver clothes!

  3. Monika Faulkner says

    March 8, 2014 at 2:19 am

    I haven’t taken the puffer plunge yet, dear Wendy…and since I’m busy crossing my fingers that our Vancouver winter is almost over, there’s a good possibility that it might not happen!! Still, the Patricia Field leopard skirt is very appealing; and that cuff has an adorable, grown-up “water wing” feeling, doesn’t it?! Hmmm…maybe puffer season isn’t over yet…

    • WendyB says

      March 8, 2014 at 2:57 am

      I knew that cuff reminded me of something! Ooh, water wings should all look like this.

  4. Elizabeth says

    March 8, 2014 at 9:55 am

    What you need is a gold leather puffer. Done.

    Those women make puffers look superb. I don’t know about “yesterday,” however; puffers really are the best way to keep warm during winter, and I can’t really imagine people giving them up just for the sake of fashion.

    I remember when puffers first came into my life. I was in about 6th or 7th grade, living in Chicagoland, so that kind of winter coat was really the best option. THey weren’t called puffers then, but “down jackets.” But only the burnouts wore them, and if anyone else (school age) put one on, they were immediately categorized as a burnout, whether they were one or not. You risked your social status.

    Eventually, everyone got wise to the puffer and wore them. They just took off. That’s when Norma Kamali’s work with them became popular. We were wearing much less lofty (ha ha) brands, whose names I can’t even remember. We all looked like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, but we were warm.

    Wow, that was a long ramble.

    • WendyB says

      March 8, 2014 at 3:07 pm

      I haven’t heard/thought of the word “burnout” in sooooooo long! OMG!

  5. Elizabeth says

    March 8, 2014 at 9:56 am

    I can’t resist commenting again. I re-read that comment and it’s in different tenses and narrative styles. And it’s long. And there’s a typo.

    And the captcha for THIS comment is . . . you guessed it: “shutup.”

    • WendyB says

      March 8, 2014 at 3:07 pm

      LOL.

  6. Anna says

    March 8, 2014 at 6:43 pm

    Thanks for the shout-out!
    I don’t even live in a snowy climate but can’t imagine life without a puffer.

    • WendyB says

      March 8, 2014 at 7:08 pm

      And you have such a stylish one, too!

  7. The Style Crone says

    March 11, 2014 at 12:46 pm

    I’m enamored by the puffer skirts and the metallic jackets! And who wouldn’t want a puffer cuff? Thanks for the inclusion!

    • WendyB says

      March 11, 2014 at 5:14 pm

      Thanks for the pic! 🙂

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Award-winning designer of fine jewelry inspired by women's history and pop culture. A former journalist who writes about jewelry, fashion, medieval history, news, feminism, dogs, cats and whatever else is on her mind. Blogging since 2007.
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