It was effing freezing in Paris two weeks ago: officially minus five, felt like minus ten. I know that’s not extreme if you live in Sweden or North Dakota, but it’s not the kind of weather you’re used to in London, I can tell you. It was bitter. 

I was there for a couple of days, and didn’t really want to take multiple outfits. One coat, one pair of boots. But layering was key for the weather – the ability to shed layers between the streets and the metro and the shop, or at least unbutton them. 

The outfit shown here was my solution: 

• PS Donegal coat on the outside, but with the fur liner I had made at Yves Salomon a couple of years ago, which of course was removable
• Shawl cardigan underneath that, of the kind of thickness that fits under a coat 
  • Brown tweed jacket as a more formal alternative
• PS white T-shirt under the shawl, very comfortable and a good thickness
  • White PS Oxford as a more formal alternative  
• A white vest under the T-shirt, as an optional layer for warmth
• A big cashmere shawl over the top, which could be wrapped closely around the face and neck, left to hang, or folded and slip into a bag. Three options

So there were six layers on the upper body at most (shawl/coat/fur/cardigan/tee/vest), three at the least (coat/cardigan/tee). On the second day it was warmer than expected, so the shawl and the vest went in the bag.

The nice thing about these layers is that they could be unbuttoned as well as taken off. So when you get on public transport you can unwind the shawl, undo the coat, unbutton the cardigan, and just be left with the T-shirt layer. It avoids that situation of being too hot inside but too cold outside.

Of course I also had a black PS Watch Cap with me, as being a baldy I’d freeze with nothing on the head. And the black jeans were backed up with some over-the-calf wool socks.

It worked pretty well (which of course is why I’m writing about it) and the style combination was satisfying too. 

There’s nothing I like better at the moment than dark, muted colours that still have personality, and the neutral set of black boots, grey jeans and white T-shirt was given that by the taupe cardigan, speckly brown donegal, and toffee colour of the shawl. 

It makes me happy. 

Changing the cardigan for a tweed jacket and the tee for a shirt changed the formality quite a bit, which was helpful. And if I wanted to I could have brought a pair of charcoal flannels to smarten up the lower half. 

Of course, it also feels wonderful having that fur under the coat, wrapping that massive piece of cashmere around your neck. We talk a lot on PS about premium materials and it’s often the thing that cheaper brands sacrifice, prioritising design. So it’s nice to really appreciate them, and you do when they’re practical as well as pleasurable.  

I can do something separately on shawls and wearing them if people are interested – it’s not the easiest for a neatness-obsessed menswear guy, but it can be satisfying. 

It’s also something I’ve been wearing for a while. If I look back at old images like this one at Pitti eleven years ago, I wouldn’t wear the hat, the glasses or probably the suit (in that setting), but I’d still wear the shawl. 

Some people get to delete the pictures of how they used to dress. Mine remain frighteningly public. I guess at least it shows there’s a positive journey you can go on. 

Clothes shown, with links where still available:

Not shown: