How to Wear and Shop for Statement Outerwear—the Street Style Way

Outerwear styling can become a formulaic practice: Purchase a few staples and rotate them based on weather. You have your denim jacket for sunny fall days, your olive windbreaker for breezier ones, your black trench for nonstop winter wear and your puffy coat for straight-up freezing season.

These go-to’s are varied enough to get you through the year—and neutral enough to pair with anything. Stock up once, replace things as necessary and you’re basically set.

But sometimes, you want to have a little more fun. And that’s where statement outerwear comes in.

MORE: 24 Colorful Ways to Wear Shearling This Season

Statement outerwear is a lot like a statement shoe: You don’t need it, but it’s nice to have on hand for moments when you feel like doing something special. Sure, your favorite party dress would look just as great with the neutral necessities you have on hand, but you don’t want “just as great”—you want spectacular. A pair of colorful heels can seriously elevate an LBD, and a printed coat can do the same.

The only issue? Basics are a lot easier to style. You’ve figured them out. You wear them every day, and you see people wearing them every day; style inspiration for staple outerwear is never in short supply.

But statement outerwear isn’t nearly as abundant. It’s hard to fathom the gamut of styling options at your disposal if you can’t see them—hell, it’s hard to even know what to shop for.

MORE: 19 Unconventional Spin-Offs of the Iconic Tan Trench

Thankfully, street style stars have done most of this mental math for us. Fashion’s most daring set has thoroughly tackled the obstacles of statement outerwear; they’ve figured out how to shop it, how to style it and how to make it look genuinely great—all we have to do is peruse their work and integrate the best of it into our own lives.

Here, 31 street style photos that capture the best of statement outerwear—plus 31 bold winter coats you can shop right now. Consider this your hub for all things statement outerwear, and add a few statement pieces to your otherwise staple-filled repertoire.