Like winter florals, summer coats should be a fashion oxymoron – but just as lush prints brighten dark days, a coat will become a well-used staple during this so-called summer. At Dior’s Cruise 2025 show on Monday night, held in the gardens of Drummond Castle in Perthshire, the majority of attendees, including Anya Taylor-Joy and Lily Collins, were swathed in layers of black cashmere and an array of coats that wouldn’t look out of place during December. Yet it’s June!
Temperatures are known to drop further in the north but as the Met Office is predicting “blustery showers” across the whole of the UK until at least the middle of the month, it looks like topping a summer outfit with a coat isn’t such a far-fetched idea. You could throw on your faithful winter coat to stave off summer squalls, but something lighter and more aesthetically attuned to the season will be a more fashionable option.
In Scotland, Rosamund Pike and Alexa Chung wore black wool coats, which, although they were exquisitely chic, felt seasonally off kilter. By contrast, Celeste Epiphany Waite’s printed cotton coat and Jennifer Lawrence’s leopard print style seemed far more appropriate choices as June outerwear.
What differentiates a summer coat from its winter cousin? Consider the fabric. Avoid heavy woollen materials or puffer styles (however much you crave their warmth) and choose fabrics which feel more in keeping with the time of year. Anna Cascarina, author of The Forever Wardrobe, has a selection of summer coats. “I swap my wool coats for cotton or linen and my summer coat collection includes trench coats, a waterproof raincoat for dog walking and an embellished linen coat.”
Colour is the next consideration. Switching out darker tones for pale shades, pastels and lighter neutrals will also differentiate between your seasonal outerwear. Although note that fashion rules are meant to be broken.
Gemma Rose Breger is a stylist, author and co-founder of the fashion and beauty platform This Is Mothership. Breger’s most-worn summer coat is actually black; “It’s from the 2021 H&M collaboration with Simon Rocha and is adorned with ruffles & pearls,” she tells me. “It’s a true statement coat where the most simple outfit can be worn underneath as the coat does all the talking.” This look is ideal for events where the likelihood of removing your coat is slim.
We The Free Denim Barn Coat, £158, Free People
While the coat itself is key, how you style it can be just as effective in creating a summer mood. With heavier pieces, Cascarina advises choosing outfits, “that show a bit of skin under your coat – perhaps a mesh ballerina or sandals with linen cropped trousers and a t-shirt”.
Then, what to do if the sun comes out, leaving you sweltering? Fashion’s favourite styling trick is to layer. “Layering is always a good idea in the summer so you’re covered for all eventualities,” advises Cascarina. “My Toteme mac is roomy and oversized with just one button so is perfect for layering. It’s light so it can easily be folded up and packed away in a tote bag if we get a sudden change in weather.”
Crinkle-Effect Trench Coat, £165, & Other Stories; Cotton Rich Longline Trench Coat, £79, Marks & Spencer
Breger suggests that trench coats are the most versatile. “They are practical and tick the ‘stylish’ box. They are effortless and give definition to your shape, however a trench also works layered over something smarter. Choose your shade of trench wisely so it doesn’t wash out your skin tone.”
Luckily the high street has a wide selection of trenches and summer coats which will work over all your warm weather favourites. & Other Stories’s Crinkle-Effect Trench Coat, £165, comes already creased so won’t show ill-effects from being stashed in a bag when the sun appears while the pistachio green shade of Marks & Spencer’s Longline Trench Coat, £79, denotes its summer status.
Barn Coat, £155, Boden; Oversized Layered Parka, £180, Cos
The “barn coat” is a new style to have on your radar. Hitting below the hips and verging towards a longline jacket, it has casual appeal. Boden has a version in moss green, with pops of pink from the collar and pockets, £155, while Free People’s Barn Coat, £158, comes in railroad striped denim with a contrast corduroy collar.
For the more practically minded, seek out COS’s Light Beige Oversized Parka, £180. With water-repellent properties and a capacious hood you’ll be covered, literally, whatever the weather.
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