How to Style A Silver Jacket

As a child of the 90s and early 2000s, I am no stranger to plasticy fabric in metallic textures. They were practically a hero piece in the closet of anyone who coveted the clothing from Clueless. I distinctly remember wishing I could have Cher’s silver mary-jane pumps and mini backpack. (Those silver accessories are worn when Cher realizes she loves Josh! In case you’re wondering.) After a couple of decades worth of practice with working metallics into my wardrobe, this is how to style a silver jacket (in my opinion). 

SILVER IS A NEUTRAL

Firstly, metallics such as gold and silver, should be treated as a neutral; albeit, a much more flashy and exciting neutral than beige. Once I accepted silver as a neutral, it became much easier to style overall because I now can consider it a basic much like black. (And it sure pops against the backdrop of a semi abandoned industrial building. Read all about the tour I took of the Rossdale Power Plant if you’re into that sort of thing.

WARM VS COOL TONES

Since this silver jacket is cool toned, there are three easy ways to decide on what to pair with it.

1)  Pick the opposite of tones and pick only warm toned colours to pair with it. My yellow purse is a good example of this idea. The bright yellow stands out and acts as a foil to the silver.

2)  Choose pieces in the same cool toned family such as blues, greens, and some purples. 

3)  Lastly, one is always welcome to do a combination of both, like myself with this outfit. While my bag is a warm yellow, I  also paired that with a dark denim blue jean from the cool-toned family. 

SHAPE / FIT / LENGTH

The exact pieces to wear with a silver jacket can also depend on the shape, fit, and length of it. Where my silver jacket cuts me at the hips makes my silhouette boxy. If the jacket was cropped, that would “flatter” my waistline more. I would also pair this jacket with a mini dress like my red heart patterned wrap dress for a date night outfit.

The cut of this jacket is very 60s. With that in mind, I took inspiration from greasers of the era with my much loved classic stiff indigo denim jeans. (Here’s another way I’ve styled the same pair of jeans.)

OUTFIT DETAILS

JACKET – random jacket I bought at a discount Hudson’s Bay
SHIRT – Club Monaco t shirt I got in the early 2000s
DENIM – Levi’s jeans – c/o
SHOES – thrifted Doc Martens
BAG – purse I bought at Winner in high school

If this list didn’t make it clear, I buy things, take care of them, and keep them for an absurd amount of time. Hopefully this inspires you to do the same! 🙂

HOW TO STYLE A SILVER JACKET

As the years have gone by, I’ve realized that there aren’t hard and fast rules to styling if you’re able to master balance. The zaniest outfits that you could never fathom working somehow do because of the wearers attention to balance.

My best advice is spend time with your closet trying on different outfit combinations when you aren’t pressed for time. Pair things together that you’ve never considered and see what happens. 

photographs – jesse sand + sandy joe karpetz