The Wrap Coat Flatters Every Body and Every Age: How to Wear One
The Wrap Coat Flatters Every Body and Every Age: How to Wear One
A wrap coat flatters every body because it has no fixed closure: it crosses over you and is held by a belt, so the waist is marked wherever you tie it, the bust gets the room it needs, and the skirt flares from the waist to skim the hip. So the same coat works on an hourglass and a rectangle, at 32 and at 62, in the months after a baby and in the years after menopause. This guide shows how to tie it, where the belt sits, and how to choose between herringbone gray and solid black.
The woman who buys a wrap coat is usually solving something. Her body has changed and her buttoned coat has not. She wants one coat for the suit on Tuesday and the dress on Friday. She is tired of being told which shape she is and would like a coat that does not need to know. The wrap coat answers all three.
Shop the pieces in this story: Winter Coats and Light Coats. Complete size runs are listed first.
The Nicole wool wrap coat, and why the belt is the whole point
The Nicole wool wrap coat in black is long-fiber wool at 480 grams per square meter, fully lined in Bemberg, with a wide collar, a double-breasted wrap front, a self-belt with a buckle at the natural waist, patch pockets, and a midi skirt that flares from the waist. The lapel is reinforced with horsehair canvas so the collar holds its line up or down, and the coat is built to be re-lined at about year four.
A buttoned coat decides where your waist is before you put it on. A wrap coat asks you. That difference is why it fits over a suit and a knit dress from the same size, and why it still fits in March of the year the body changed. The belt marks the narrowest point; the flare gives the hip a shape; the wide collar keeps the eye at the face.
Hourglass, rectangle, pear, apple: the same coat, tied differently
An hourglass has a waist and the wrap coat shows it. Tie the belt exactly at the natural waist and let the skirt flare; the coat reads as the shape you already have. Keep it snug.
A rectangle has shoulders and hips in line and little waist between them. The wrap coat builds one. The belt pulled snug creates the narrowest point, the flare creates the hip, and the wide collar creates the shoulder; together they read as an hourglass in wool. The women who tell us they never had a waist until this coat are rectangles.
A pear has a narrower shoulder and a fuller hip. Cross the fronts high, tie at the waist, and let the skirt flare over the hip rather than pull across it; the wide collar adds width above and the proportion balances. The midi hem clears the widest point of the hip by a full hand.
An apple carries her weight through the middle, and the wrap coat does not fight her. Tie the belt an inch higher, at the lower ribs, an inch looser than snug, and the coat crosses above the midsection and falls in a clean line to the hem. The Nicole in herringbone gray, with its tie belt, is the easier of the two here, because a knot moves and a buckle holds one line.
At 32 and at 62
At 32 the wrap coat is the first good coat: over black jeans and boots to a dinner, over the interview suit, over the dress at a friend’s November wedding. It makes a woman look as if she has been doing this for years, in the first year she has.
At 62 it is the coat that still fits. The waist has moved up an inch and the belt has followed; the collar is up more often, because it frames a face with silver hair; the herringbone has replaced the black for daytime. Feminine is not a size or a decade. It is a waist marked where you want it and a collar that frames your face, and the wrap coat does both at any age.
After a baby, after menopause
In the months after a baby the body changes week by week, and a buttoned coat that fit in October is wrong in January. A wrap coat has no button to argue with. Tie it where you are today, an inch higher next month, at the waist by spring. The patch pockets take a phone and a pacifier, and the coat opens in one movement with a child on one hip.
After menopause the waist thickens and moves up, and the coats that marked it at the old place stop working. Move the belt to the lower ribs, cross the fronts above the midsection, loosen the belt by an inch, and put the collar up. The eye goes to the face and the coat falls clean. More in how to dress when your body starts changing shape. A wrap coat is the last coat you will need to rethink.
How to tie it, where the belt sits, and when the collar goes up
Find your natural waist by bending to one side; the crease is the line. Cross the left front over the right, pull the belt snug but not tight, and fasten the buckle slightly to the side of center, or on the tie belt make a single knot and let the ends fall to the side. Never a bow at the front. If your torso is long, tie an inch higher.
The collar goes up in wind and for a photograph; a wide collar turned up is the most flattering line a coat can draw around a face. It goes down at the desk. Over a dress, cross the fronts higher so the neckline shows. Over pants, cross them lower and let the skirt flare over the hip. Over a blazer, loosen the belt an inch and check the sleeve clears the cuff.
Herringbone gray or solid black
The cloth, the lining, the cut, and the ease are the same; the differences are the color and the belt. Black has the buckle and is the more formal, for evening arrivals and boardroom days; it shows lint. Herringbone gray has the tie belt and reads softer in daylight, hides lint, and photographs with more depth. If this is your first good coat, choose the black. If you already own one, choose the herringbone.
The belted family: when you want the same idea in another shape
A belt does the same work on a buttoned coat, and Luna cuts several. The Selina coat with red faux-fur collar is double-breasted with a tie belt at the natural waist, a removable red shawl collar, and a hem below the knee, for the woman who wants the belt and the color.
The Linea belted coat in ivory is a long midi in textured ivory cloth with a notch collar, three buttons, flap pockets, and a belt with a black buckle, for winter weddings. The Kim long trench in beige is a flared midi with a zip and buttons, a storm flap, and a tie belt, for mild cities.
The Iris short tailored coat in beige is the belted idea above the knee: a wide stand collar, an asymmetric zip, a belt with a buckle at the natural waist, and a tiered flounce skirt, for pants and a slim skirt. The Iris in brown adds floral jacquard at the hem. The Rea jacquard trench, knee length with a tie belt and a raglan sleeve, suits broad shoulders.
Sizing, sleeves, warmth, and care
Measure your bust at the fullest point, add four to six inches for a blazer, and compare with the size chart on the product page; between sizes, take the larger. The shoulder seam should sit at the edge of your shoulder; a long sleeve is a simple alteration. At 480 grams per square meter and fully lined, the Nicole is comfortable from about 20 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit over a knit or a blazer; our warmth guide compares every coat by cloth weight. It is dry clean only, once a season. Returns are accepted within 30 days.
Frequently asked questions
Why is a wrap coat flattering on every body shape?
Because it has no fixed closure. A wrap coat crosses over the body and is held by a belt, so the waist is marked wherever you tie it, the bust gets as much room as it needs, and the skirt flares from the waist to skim the hip. An hourglass shows her waist, a rectangle gains one, a pear balances the hip with the collar, and an apple ties the belt higher and looser. The same coat does all four.
Where should the belt sit on a wrap coat?
At your natural waist, the narrowest point of the torso, usually an inch or two above the navel. If your torso is long or your midsection is fuller, tie it an inch higher, at the lower ribs. If your legs are long and your torso short, tie it exactly at the waist and never lower. On the Nicole in black the buckle sets one line; on the herringbone the tie belt moves an inch either way.
How do you tie a wrap coat belt?
Cross the left front over the right, pull the belt snug at the natural waist, and either fasten the buckle to the side of center or, on a tie belt, make a single knot and let the ends hang to the side rather than a bow at the front. For a dress, cross the fronts higher so the neckline shows; for pants, cross them lower and let the skirt flare over the hip. Collar up in wind, down at the desk.
Is a wrap coat still flattering after a baby or after menopause?
Yes, and it is the coat we recommend most for both. After a baby, the body changes month by month and a wrap coat has no button placement to argue with; you tie it where you are today. After menopause, the waist thickens and the wrap crosses higher, at the ribs, with the belt an inch looser and the wide collar keeping the eye at the face. Nothing is asked of the midsection.
Can you wear a wrap coat over a dress and over pants?
Yes, and the belt is why. Over a dress, cross the fronts higher, tie the belt at the waist of the dress, and let the coat’s midi hem fall below the dress hem. Over pants, cross them lower and let the skirt flare over the hip so the leg reads as one line; wear a shoe close in tone to the pants. The Nicole wrap coat is cut with four to six inches of ease for a blazer underneath.
What to do next
Decide whether you want the buckle or the tie, and choose black for a first good coat or herringbone for a second. Order the size the chart gives you over a blazer, and when it arrives, tie it three ways in daylight: at the waist, an inch higher, and open with the collar up. One of them will be you. Both Nicole coats are in the winter coats collection, and the most flattering coats by body type covers the other silhouettes.
