My Passport To Style | Project Red Coat



pillar box red



Hi Gals, as you know red is a big trend this season. So I was thrilled to find a wool pillar box red and black velvet short coat with a gorgeous tux neckline at my local vintage store but I need to alter the puffed sleeves, at the moment the volume in the sleeves make my athletic shoulders look too top heavy and I want to change the double breasted fastening to a single button fastening to simplify the look and play to this jackets potential for a long lean look, the back of the coat also needs taking in, so it is more fitted across my back and less boxy, which won't flatter my hourglass shape.

I confess to being a blue girl, I love lots of vibrant colours too, but navy and grey which flatters my olive skin tone best, forms the basis of most of my wardrobe neutrals rather than black. When my red coat project is finished, I will be sure to share the pictures here on My Passport To Style, but in the meantime I have been scouting for some fresh ideas on which colours to wear with my pillar box red coat. I want to wear the my restyled red coat more casually, which is harder than you might think, red is a colour we associate with full on glamour so we tend to automatically accessorise it with a red lippy and heels. To my amazement there was very little on the internet on how to wear this autumn/winter seasons 2011 red coat trend, but as luck would have it, I happened upon a post on Pink Bow from the North UK, where 10 fashion bloggers took up the challenge to style the same red coat from Next.

 Paula from Pink Bow opted for a pink red of course! The other fashion bloggers look very glamorous in the orange red version (incidentally orange red is easier to wear if you have an olive complexion and pink red looks great on very pale skin tones) but I did notice that most fashion bloggers had opted for wearing this red coat with black tights, which is something I wanted to steer away from, simply because I feel it creates a more vampy evening feel.



 However Eleanor the blogger on the top left from Pretty Much Penniless has gone for a softer feel which I love, by breaking up the red using a lemon yellow dress and a large fur collar, the sheer tights Susie has chosen give the look a more casual feel and her combination of well chosen accessories and colours mean that the red is not overpowering her look.

rust colours ground  true bright reds

midnight blue accessories work well with true reds

 Bingo! Aside for the obvious colour choices such as red on red or navy blue or grey , I have decided to take inspiration from Susie's hair colour and satchel and wear rust and conker colours with my red tux coat once its altered, perfect colours to contrast with the black velvet detailing and they will soften the pillar box red for a more casual feel, I'm thinking a large flat navy tweed cap would finish this androgynous look off perfectly and I will wear my hair in a bun at the nape of my neck. Have you dared to wear red this season?