It’s Gray, Gloomy, & Gross Out — Here’s The NYFW Street Style Antidote To All That

Fashion Week has once again arrived in New York City, marking the first of four stops on its tour around the world (we’ll see you next week, London). But, this NYFW is already shaping up to be uncharted territory.

For starters, the once invite-only event is now opening up to the public, with tickets to Proenza Schouler, Christian Siriano, Monse, and others costing as much as $1,750 USD per seat. There’s also the news that some of NYC’s most celebrated designers are skipping the event altogether. Telfar chose to show earlier in Paris during Men’s Fashion Week, Tom Ford debuted his fall collection in Los Angeles, Jeremy Scott will show in July during next season’s haute couture calendar, and Maryam Nassir Zadeh chose to forego showing her fall season in a show format. 

But as long as there will be any shows to watch, there will be street style.

Following a particularly dismal January, the main thing on everyone’s mind is staying warm, dry, and out of the dumps, dressing in a way that might will spring to come quicker. Easter-like puff-sleeved dresses were winterized with the use of pastel turtlenecks, fuzzy bucket hats covered fresh blow-outs, and layers of Heattech allowed leather Bermuda shorts and lightweight knits to feel weather appropriate. 

The real hero piece of the week, though, was outerwear... for obvious reasons.

“I'm doing my best to use sustainability as my biggest style inspiration these days," says Refinery29's Editor-In-Chief and Co-Founder Christene Barberich. "I no longer buy new down coats, especially given what we know now about the sourcing of down. I exclusively wear vintage or used down now. Layering in interesting ways is always appealing to me, too, especially when it’s cold out. I have a VERY old, super lightweight Uniqlo puffer and a vintage denim jacket that I like to layer under lighter-weight coats since the climate these days is unfortunately predictably unpredictable. Lighter long coats from designers like Rachel Comey, Rodebjer, and other more conscientious designers are also a go-to.”

“I have one quilted leather jacket from a brand called AWAKE that I'm really excited to wear, and one vintage smocked leather jacket that I got in L.A.,” says former Refinery29 fashion editor and current street style maven Alyssa Coscarelli. “Vintage bombers, faux furs, and leathers are fantastic, too.”

“I've spent the last few months embracing leather trenches, one from Veda and another vintage one that I got in Paris. I'm excited to keep that trend going this week,” says The Zoe Report’s Senior Fashion Editor Aemilia Madden. “But my North Face puffer keeps me warm no matter how crazy the weather gets.”

See what cold-weather tricks are up showgoers’ sleeves by clicking through the slideshow ahead.