White Coat Near Monument

This outfit is very simple compared to some others I’ve posted, but I like the overall look. The manteau is white with a slightly pleated skirt,worn over jeans and black shoes. A red open scarf (showing both front and back of the hairstyle) nicely coordinates with the multi-colored striped sweater the girl is carrying in her hands. P.S. What exactly IS that post-modern monument supposed to mean? And what about that white monument in the background- it looks a little bit inappropriate, if you know what I mean

Brown Bubble Hem Manteau

I am slowly wading through a huge collection of cool manteau pics from 2008 (I am up to date on my 2009 pics but not so much on other years). This is one of those manteaus, worn at a food festival. It is a military style sleeveless manteau with a bubble hem and large pockets worn over a brown long sleeve top. A white scarf lightly wraps brown hair (that strangely enough matches the coat).

Snood with Blond Hairstyle

The manteau here is not fully visible, but this photo offers a great look at how snoods can be used to accentuate hairstyles by being worn pushed back so that the entire forehead and all hair at the front of her the head are visible. In this case, the girl has gorgeous blonde highlighted hair, thick “Northern style” make-up, and even exquisitely plucked eyebrows! This is the way I wear mine in winter. I am thinking about buying a new snood from Asos.com in a different color (most likely, grey or blue). Perhaps, later in the fall, I will do it..I must first pay off my vacation bills!

P.S. Tomorrow is my birthday, so I won’t post at all, and this weekend, there will be sporadic updates, as I will be out doing some birthday related stuff.

Vintage Manteaus

I am currently in the process of acquiring some more pretty vintage (2003-2005) pics of manteau style. It’s amazing to see how recent this style actually is- you look at pictures from 2002, and the modern manteau as we know it actually doesn’t exist, and only a few months later, in the spring-summer of 2003, the style is already in full bloom!
Here’s a beautiful picture of vintage manteau style from 2004. The girl wears a CLASSIC straight line beige button down tunic with the bottom button left open and 3/4 length sleeves. Note how form fitting this manteau is- as it truly should be! The light green sequined scarf drapes around the hair in an effortless and glamorous way- the transparency of the scarf material reveals rather than conceals, again as it should be in true manteau style. Also note the rattan bag- a 2003-05 manteau style staple which is no longer so popular, even though these bags are still sold in many stores today.

Hot Manteau Trends for 2009 PART II!

More cool manteau styles below, as promised!

Here’s an asymmetric hem manteau (short in the front, long in the back)…

…and a beige one with bow closures!

…and a black bubble hem coat with a funnel neck and big brass military style buttons. I’ve always liked bubble hem coats, but I don’t like the military style front on this one.

This trenchcoat has a full pleated tulip-shaped skirt.

This one has an interesting flouncy layered collar. Note that it is worn over a mini skirt in this photo – not part of original manteau style, but certainly part of Western manteau style.

Yay for the short full skirted coat! I have a long GREEN one (I bought it 2 yrs before the green color acquired its symbolic meaning) with a skirt just like this!

Another short coat with an asymmetric long hem in the back; this one looks like the “bustle back” coats that are currently big in the UK.

Brown military style trench coat with big brass buttons and a slightly full skirt is not terribly exciting for me…

..and finally, there is this black coat with a square buckle belt, a funnel neck, and slightly puffed sleeves. This one almost looks like a man’s dress jacket converted into a coat.

There you go— so many great manteau styles to explore and enjoy for this fall!

Hot Manteau Trends for 2009 Part I!

Here are a few pics of hot manteau styles for 2009. NOTE that there is nothing on the girl’s head—you read it right, NOTHING! No shoulder scarves even! Why? I guess to show that this style is for everyone in the world to wear! BTW, the girl kinda looks like me…funny coincidence, huh?

What are the trends? Well, I can see from the pic below that soft trenches with belts are still (as always) huge, this one having a ruffled bottom panel.

If you’re into flowers, the coat below is the way to go. I am not so much into flowery prints, but I do love the asymmetric ruffle on the back. “Bustle” style back coats are huge in UK, but they have not yet reached us here..

This is the typical and humble “North American tunic”, or perhaps, a short sleeve trench coat, which has been big here for the past couple years. Short sleeve trenches can be worn with a variety of differently colored long sleeve tops for a cool look.

Part II coming tomorrow!!!!

Rebel in an Art Gallery

Now this is awesome! This girl is at an art exhibit of some sort, and while her blue manteau, jeans, and black flats are a fairly nondescript outfit, the fact that she is wearing her black and blue printed scarf as a shoulder scarf around her shoulders (or at least, it’s been pushed back as far as it can go) is far from nondescriptness! I am amazed by the fact that this pic was published, but I commend the girl and whoever took the photo! By the way, this is how I wear my manteau style over here!

Poncho Manteau 2009

4 years after this, the poncho manteau has not changed much and has become even more ubiquitous. (See here). This updated look also features a beige coat, although this one is a little less poncho-ish and more like the “waterfall” asymmetric cardigans that have been big in 2009. The daringness of this outfit is that the manteau is worn open to reveal a white t-shirt. There is also a brown block-style scarf, a brown matching bag, jeans, and sunglasses worn on the head to accentuate the hairstyle, but the manteau is what makes this woman stand out!

Poncho Manteau 2005

Here is the earliest picture of a poncho manteau I have, from the inimitable Bia2.com from 2005! In some ways, manteau fashion was more daring then – the bare legs and short pants were a shock to me when I first saw those pictures. You rarely see bare legs with manteaus now, or maybe, the photographers just refrain from taking those pics for some stupid political reasons not known to me. This fringy beige poncho coat looks amazing with the cut off jeans, black thick soled shoes, and green translucent scarf loosely hugging the head. This style rocks!!!!

Two Great Poncho Manteaus

These have been huge the last couple of years, but really, as I will demonstrate in upcoming posts, this kind of manteau has been around since at least 2004-05. These are poncho manteaus, also know as batwing and butterfly manteaus, due to their sleeve shape. The hem is often, but not always, fringed, the shape is asymmetrical, and many are one-piece garments with no closures at all. I personally have one asymmetrical black tunic with one batwing sleeve, but it is not a poncho, and 3 ponchos, but none of them are manteau length. Nevertheless, I think poncho manteaus are very avant-garde, and I certainly enjoy looking at them!

In the pic below, one girl wears a brown poncho manteau with what looks like closures at the front, together with jeans, huge sunglasses, and a white scarf. The girl in front flaunts her red hair in a black arm baring poncho manteau, paired with jeans, a turquoise block scarf, and Converse-style shoes (one of the staples of cutting edge manteau style).