This New, Totally Impractical (but Cool?) Way to Wear Your Jackets Is Like "LOL, Fashion"

Sleeve, Street fashion, Back, Waist, Bag, Long hair, Blond, Hip, Pattern, Shoulder bag,

(Image credit: Tyler Joe)

published 20 October 2016

Think of something that has long boggled less-fashion-oriented people's minds, and at the top of your list—ahead of the resurgence of the stirrup pant—might be "where they sling their jackets over their shoulders but don't stick their arms in. Like, what's even the point then?" A great Q to which I haven't got the answer, except that this industry is weird and sometimes nonsensical—just like how, now, fashion folk are *not* putting their clothes on in an even more impractical way.

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Informally known as "That Thing They Did at Balenciaga" or "That Thing You Do When You Overheat Walking Outside but You Don't Want to Take Your Jacket All the Way Off Because of Cat-Callers and the Sad Reality Women Still Live In," this styling maneuver does require one to insert her arms into a piece of outerwear but then to slip most of it off until the collar rests at mid-bicep or below. (Higher for an off-the-shoulder effect; lower for "I'm too cool to move my upper body.")

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As with any major decision (LOL), it is prudent to weigh the costs and benefits. Pros: regulating your body temperature, being extremely hip. Cons: T-rex arms, impeded swinging ability should an argument come to fisticuffs, and maybe even a general sense of foolishness. Participate or skip, one thing's certain, though: C'est la mode. C'est la vie.

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Chelsea Peng is a writer and editor who was formerly the assistant editor at Marie Claire. She's also worked for The Strategist and Refinery29, and is a graduate of Northwestern University. On her tombstone, she would like a GIF of herself that's better than the one that already exists on the Internet and a free fro-yo machine. Besides frozen dairy products, she's into pirates, carbs, Balzac, and snacking so hard she has to go lie down.