The Scarf Coat Is Back and Better Than Ever

The scarf coat is the outerwear staple you never knew you needed. In terms of functionality, any one who’s been met with an unexpected wind vortex on the city streets can appreciate the ease of having a scarf that’s already readily available. While, in terms of pure design, the monochromatic draw of fabric (wool, cashmere, or some blend of the two) swathed around your neck, that coordinates perfectly with your outerwear, is a siren call to streamlined style lovers who like their minimalism with a solid dose of something truly special. Whether you take your coat long or short, wrap your scarf insouciantly around your neck, or theatrically around your head, is entirely up to you.

Vogue’s Favorite Scarf Coats

• The Perfect Pinstripe: Cos oversized wool blend scarf jacket, $290
• The Trending Chocolate: Banana Republic Scarf Coat, $450
• The Ultra-Luxe: The Row Notte coat, $11,500
• The New Icon: Toteme draped fringed coat, $1,243
• The Maxi Shearling: Nour Hammour Daphne shearling coat, $2,100
• The All-Black Must: Another Tomorrow Long Deep V scarf coat, $3,400
• The New Staple: Sea Viv scarf wool blend coat, $1,045
• The Cropped: Zara cape coat, $90
• The Updated Classic Camel: Joseph Lepage wool and silk scarf coat, $2,012

The treasure trove that is the Hermès archive’s simplicity is matched only by its ingenuity (the Jean Paul Gaultier years in particular.) The scarf coat is just one of the effortless but wonderfully dramatic moments to emerge from the house that set the bar (very high) for cashmere. Iconic brands that range from Yohji Yamamoto to Max Mara to Rick Owens have also delved into the look. Yeohlee Teng became known for her scarf/coat hybrid in the 1980s, producing the kind of understated glamour that the decade is not always synonymous with. More pragmatic labels like Pendleton have also created similar if sportier styles throughout the years.

Fast forward to November 2021, when Toteme first launched its scarf coat—it became so ubiquitous among a certain minimal-leaning fashion maven you may have thought the label invented it—when in fact the Scandi brand simply helped remind the world how fantastic they can be. And it’s still going strong. But lest you’ve become fatigued by the viral version, the brand has reimagined the coat into a longer silhouette for the season, in a chic black on black that feels like a revelation without the contrast whipstitch. Overall, your breadth of options in the realm of the scarf coat now is many—shop 22 that will keep you cozy from now well into winter, including an investment by The Row, a super rich shearling by Nour Hammour, and a Cos pinstripe that we want to wrap ourselves up in until the spring equinox.