Eugenie Trochu is Who What Wear editor in residence known for her transformative work vogue france and that Substack NewsletterWhere she documents and shares her simple approach towards new trends, fashion and style and other ideas. She is also working on her upcoming first book that explores fashion as a site of memory, projection, and reinvention.
Spring has finally arrived. We already feel like wearing clothes, pretending the air is warm, keeping the windows open. But it’s still a bit early. The mornings are pleasant, the evenings are decidedly uncertain. So instead of trembling with conviction, it makes sense to turn to the piece that protects against every seasonal transition: the mid-season jacket. For a more personal—and above all, more realistic—approach, I’ve broken them down by silhouette here.
if you are thin
When you don’t have centimeters to spare, the risk is a jacket that tells a completely different story than yours. Too long, too big, too conceptual, and suddenly you disappear inside it, like in a very exotic tent. Short or cropped jackets are usually the safest choice. They reveal the waist and give rhythm to the silhouette. A soft leather jacket, a fitted polka-dot blazer, a clean, almost graphic denim jacket. Neither too heavy, nor too wide. The point is not to stand out, but to remain legible. A short jacket structures everything else.
if you are tall
The good news: You can survive almost anything. The only challenge is sometimes to resist the temptation to dramatize it. Long, fluid jackets look especially beautiful on tall frames, flexible trenches, light coats, masculine blazers worn open. You can play with volume, layering, vertical lines. An oversized shirt-jacket style, a little bohemian suede piece, a very simple straight blouse – almost everything works, as long as a certain casualness is maintained.
if you are thin
The issue here is not about length but about seriousness. A jacket that is too tight can give off an almost teenage look – or, conversely, one that looks overly serious. It helps to choose fabrics that bring presence: light tweed, distressed leather, thick cotton, suede. Slightly oversized jackets, soft bombers, subtly broad-shouldered blazers instantly create a more embodied silhouette. The goal isn’t to add volume to correct anything. Just to give the dress room to breathe.
if you have curves
The tendency is often to hide. Yet the right jacket does the opposite: it highlights without limiting. Straight, gently structured cuts work beautifully. An open belted trench, a fluid blazer, a modern kimono jacket that follows the body without restricting its movement. Avoid clothes that are too tight or have cuts that are too short and disrupt the lines in the wrong places.
