We've already established that the coquette aesthetic, is girlhood in the form of clothes: bows, lace, ribbon, whites, pinks, and ruffles. When I think of a coquette, I picture a vintage white prairie skirt with lace trim. I picture a pale pink corset with an intricate ribbon lace up detail. But how exactly do we translate an aesthetic defined by light colors and delicate details and fabrics to cold climates and the frigidity of winter?
To translate the coquette aesthetic in the winter, we must turn towards pastel furs, white tights, fluffy knits, and pearl embellishments. Everything we know and love about the aesthetic in spring and summer—bows in particular—but layered. I think, most of all, of this mint green chunky knit adorned a massive bow and paired with a pearl cross body bag from Chanel's Fall/Winter 2025-2025 runway.
Chanel Fall/Winter 2025-2026
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On Chanel's Fall/Winter 2025 runway, a strong case was made for the winter coquette aesthetic. Beyond this chunky green bow adorned knit perfectly paired with a jumbo pearl bag, the collection raised this important question: can the coquette aesthetic be any color? Models walked the Paris runway in black knits with embellished bow-shaped cutouts, black mini shift dresses with embellishments forming bows, and white, and white blouses with puffy sleeves and frilly ruffled collars layered under black tweed dresses. These looks, despite the color palettes perhaps not falling into the traditional coquette definition, felt pretty coquette to me.
London 1981
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On the Acne Studios Fall/Winter 2025 runway, a model wore a ballerina pink maxi dress with ribboned and bow details covering the entire garment. To make it more winter appropriate, the look was paired with puffy gray felt boots. On Sandy Liang's Fall/Winter 2025 runway, one look combined multiple coquette elements: a cinched, somewhat corseted top, slightly puffy shoulders, a ruffled heart, a bow, and pearls, all in white.
Courtesy of Acne Studios
Courtesy of Sandy Liang
We are huge proponents of spring colors in winter. We are also huge proponents of maximalism and embracing an aesthetic and diving into it full force. For the coquette aesthetic in winter, these are the things to remember: pastels can and should be worn in the winter. Classic coquette detailing can also be applied to darker or more neutral color palettes. In the dead of winter, layering textured coats and tights and pairing with ultra-girly cold-weather accessories is key. There are literally no rules in fashion—if it's coquette to you, it is.
