Welp, the teddy coat has proven us all wrong: What seemed like a passing trend has managed to become a staple wardrobe piece. Not bad for a hunk of faux fur.
Long before you saw it in every Aritzia window, the teddy coat was popular with motorists in the 1920s, when cars were first becoming popular, for its ability to block out the cold air. Fun fact: The piled fabric was originally used for paint rollers before fashion designers got their hands on it.
Seven years ago, MaxMara designer Ian Griffiths caused a bit of a stir when he presented a long brown fuzzy coat made of alpaca and mohair at the fall ’13 show. A viral pic of editor Carine Roitfeld wearing it caused some buzz, but it died down quickly. The coat didn’t really blow up until Griffiths decided to give it another go in 2017 with a silk and camel hair version.
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Next thing we knew, designers and big-box brands alike were riding Griffiths’s coat-tails (ha) and coming out with teddy coats of their own. Its sudden and soaring popularity was bolstered by celeb after celeb wearing one, from Julia Roberts to Kim Kardashian.
The design has evolved over time too. While the long teddy coat is still popular, we’ve seen many a short version on the backs of celebs like Selena Gomez and Olivia Wilde. More and more colours are becoming available too—MaxMara recently added bright yellow, blue and cerulean hues to its lineup, while blush pink versions are also becoming common.
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In short, the teddy coat’s reign has lasted long enough for us to accept it as a wardrobe staple. So if you’re in need of something that does double duty as warm security blanket and fear-my-wrath statement coat, you should probably just give in to its power.
We’ve rounded up some of the cutest versions of the teddy coat we’ve seen (and there are a *ton*)—assuming you’re not quite down to buy the US$3,690 MaxMara original, that is.
Shop the Cutest Teddy Coats
