As the weather warms up, fashion enthusiasts are shedding their enveloping winter layers and making room in their closets for spring-forward styles.
Over the years outerwear trends have spanned from 2017’s popular “shacket” to the idea of statement coats throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This spring, arguably the biggest jacket trend of the season comes with ladylike appeal with boxy and cropped proportions, a balance between spring’s boxy tailoring and fall’s sweet, prim looks.
Marc Jacobs, spring 2024
Rodin Banica/WWD
Marc Jacobs’ wonder- and whimsy-filled spring 2024 show displayed the look with cropped and exaggerated proportions and big buttons, emulating paper dolls, while Versace upped the ante on playfulness with rounded lady jackets in candy-colored pastel hues and Chanel, Celine, Miu Miu, and Thom Browne touched on tradition with classic, feminine cuts, tweed fabrications, and novelty details.
“For spring-summer, we’re seeing a focus on structured jackets and blazers, boxy cuts that pair well with high-waisted trousers or baggy jeans. It’s a great silhouette that we will see continue into fall-winter from brands like Dries Van Noten. I’m personally a big fan of any trend that helps women feel more empowered,” Brigitte Chartrand, vice president of womenswear buying and everything else at Ssense, told WWD.
Dries Van Noten, fall 2024
Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
The trend stretches from the runways to contemporary and mass retailers, with cost-friendly ladylike options currently available from the likes of Ba&sh, Abercrombie & Fitch, J. Crew, Reformation and more.
“After seasons of oversized blazers, jackets have returned to a feminine fit. We’re seeing cinched waists, hourglass shapes, shrunken schoolboy jackets and prominence of fabrics like tweed, jacquard and boucle. Our customers who love feminine pieces will be embracing this shift into more flattering silhouettes,” Libby Page, market director at Net-a-porter, told WWD.
From Khaite’s Laybin jacket to Mango’s on-trend red crop tweed number, WWD highlights 15 ladylike jackets that are on trend for spring.