Are puffer jackets hopelessly unstylish?

[Featherstep]

Don't mean the oversized trendy ones, but I have one identical to this, navy and fitted.
www.zara.com/uk/en/quilted-parka-p03046221.html?v1=6451444&v2=1074507

It's warm and cosy, but when I wore it this weekend with a nice jumper, dark skinnies and ankle boots I felt so dated and mumsy. Everyone else at Sunday lunch seemed to be wearing wool coats and looked casually chic.

I bought mine 2 years ago thinking it's more practical than wool coats for going out with my toddler, but now I'm thinking it's just good enough for running to the shops/ quick trip to the playground and nothing else.

Are these puffers just hopeless if one wants to look remotely chic/ stylish? Should I just purge it from my wardrobe?

I wouldn't get rid of it, it's a very practical coat, and looks quite nice actually. Maybe buy a wool coat if you like the look of them.

Think the problem is that it’s a bit safe. Which would be ok with some outfits but everything else you mentioned wearing it with is a safe choice too. All very practical and chic in a very accepted and reliable kind of way.

So if you were wearing it with layered skinny sheer tops, very wide jeans or wool trousers and fugly chunky trainers it would be ok. Or a cropped hoody, harem combats and ghillie stiletto sandals

In short, you’d be probably have to be channeling an updated version of late nighties/early noighties hip hop/urban street style to pull it off. And it sounds like that not really your thing.

Yes. They have their place. I own 2! But no they are not stylish, just practical.

It's difficult to judge these kind of threads without seeing, but it does sound like the whole outfit was safe and verging on practical rather than stylish. I wouldn't go as far as JanetLovesJason, those examples are really high fashion, more like the difference between these two outfits. One is definitely more "lunch date with friends" , the other is "I wear this everywhere, every day, I'm comfortable" type thing.

Would also depends if the puffa was from somewhere like Zara, or if it was really a technical walking jacket from e.g. Patagonia.

So in short, no, puffa jackets are not unstylish at all, but rather the whole outfit may have been.

I like them, I won't suffer for fashion

they probably are now...I just bought one for dog walking and in the car.

:o

I think they can look stylish but it’s hard work, and I don’t agree that they’re practical. If it’s cold / wet enough for a puffa then I want a coat thank you, not a jacket that doesn’t even cover my arse. Fashion at its worst.

I spent years freezing my arse off in nice coats and then bought a North Face Arctic Parka to go to New York last year and I love it. I don't care whether it's cool or not, I can do cool in autumn and spring or when I'm going car to bar in winter but it was lovely to be warm and cozy last winter, not just in New York but here too.

They are unstylish but very useful, especially if you are outdoorsy. I bought one in a violent shade of lime green, that way I won’t be tempted to wear it in London. I know if I had navy I’d wear it all the time in place of my nice wool coats.

I'd always assume someone is wearing one to stay warm rather than making a conscious effort to look stylish. My "practical" coats are used for trips to the park/nipping to the shops/days out to a theme park whereas my wool coats are used for going for lunch/Christmas market trips that kind of thing.

MrsMaria and Janet* you are right. Mine is Zara. I agree slim up and down doesn't work and wide trousers should help... I'm hunting for some. And yes I did look very much like that second pic you posted, except I had black boots on! Can't say it's a look I aspire to.

The first pic looks fabulous but I'd never rock that 'casually strolling with stiletto boots' look. All my casual wear days are with toddler in tow!

Floisme I kind of agree. Though there's kind of a short window in autumn and spring when I reach for it for everyday purposes. It's also more practical for carrying my DH with his muddy boots on.

I guess I will keep it for forest walks and school runs etc, for now...

Carrying my DH?? No I don't do that I mean DS! Pff.

Yes, will keep for outdoorsy purposes for now. Remember now that it was REALLY useful when we went to Tenerife in February and walked up to the volcano at 0 degrees!

They're in this year more than other years.

Depends what you mean by stylish. They won't win any cutting edge fashion awards but they're currently in fashion and look can look nicer sacrificing warmth and comfort just in case you don't look like a Pinterest street style photo seems a bit daft.

Depends where you live too. Middle of London? Cotswolds or Lake District? Highlands? Walking round a city I'd pick a different coat/jacket but for a town in the country it'd fit right in. Highlands you'd want something more robust.

*look nice. Sacrificing...

I think they are intrinsically and irredeemably dowdy but I wouldn’t be without them. I walk and use public transport much more than I drive so a cosy down puffa jacket or coat with hood is a necessity for me. I have them in varying lengths, weights and colours to wear from autumn to spring. The only time I put on a more formal outer garment is for funerals (sadly becoming more frequent as I age) and the occasional posh night out (which are becoming less frequent).

De rigeur in Edinburgh from November to March.

They're actually v trendy.. when worn right

Same here in Switzerland @KingLooieCatz.

Zara Woman bring out a version of the puffa every year normally navy or khaki with gold finishing so I doubt they see them as dowdy.