Every winter, the biggest style dilemma creeps up on us without much notice – keep warm or look stylish? You know, we all have that tailored coat in our wardrobes that, in fact, does nothing warmth-wise yet looks so fab as you saunter into the office. Then there’s the big ol’ puffer that might make you look like a giant football, but will always ensure you’re toasty, come rain or shine.
So what if I told you there’s a way of combining these two worlds into one chic piece of outerwear? It’s the gilet 2.0 – an update on the cringey, finance bro staple – that can, when styled, right make you feel good and look good at the same time.
Christian Vierig/Getty Images
While there’s a time and a place for purely functional puffer gilets, like the perennial Uniqlo Puffertech Vest, 2026 is your opportunity to embrace this piece and its endless possibilities. Instead of hiding it as an underlayer, a gilet should be flaunted as the main character – a key element of your outfit that, while keeping you warm, also puts the fun in function. Gilets can come in a variety of materials like leather, shearling, puffer and denim, as well as a range of silhouettes, including cropped, boxy, oversized or utilitarian. The key to building an outfit with the gilet at the centre is not being afraid to just go for it!
What is a gilet?
Before we discuss ways of pulling it off like a street style superstar, let’s just figure out what a gilet actually is. Traditionally – and according to the Cambridge dictionary – a gilet is ‘a piece of clothing that is worn over other clothes, and that is like a jacket without sleeves.’ A pretty loose definition, right? When I broached this discussion at Glamour HQ, people shared their own concepts ferociously.
Georgia Trodd, our Senior Commerce Writer, is adamant about a gilet having a primary purpose to be worn outdoors, although she agrees they can be made in different materials. She prioritises quilted fabrics, pretty much an agreement across the board. A fierce debate around what a gilet is versus a waistcoat and a sleeveless jacket quickly ensued, before a group consensus emerged. A gilet is a piece of functional outerwear without sleeves that is supposed to keep you warm.
So now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s figure out how to style different types of gilets for this winter.
Long gilet
Edward Berthelot/Getty Images