A winter coat is one of the most important items in a person's wardrobe. It's an emotional purchase-a psychological and physical guardian when the days darken and the world turns cold, a good coat will function as a complete outfit during the coldest months. And yet who among us has not felt naïve in the pursuit of a trench, parka, or puffer that can withstand both the elements and the critical eye?

To solve this conundrum, a handful of famous people have begun to search not in their closets, but their bathrooms. For example: Gigi Hadid yesterday afternoon posed at the opening of a Guest in Residence pop-up in Seoul, dressed in a cashmere robe with soft shoulders and a big wraparound belt with straight-legged jeans, and sockless Miu Miu loafers. She looked as though she had hurriedly thrown on a dressing gown to collect a UPS package at the door of her Pennsylvania farmhouse.

The originator of this trend was perhaps Isabelle Huppert, who walked the red carpet at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in a custom Balenciaga bathrobe cut from frayed silk. Then along came Rihanna at the September launch of Fenty Hair at Selfridges, in an off-the-shoulder Jacquemus design, and Angelina Jolie in a shawl-collared Falconeri coat during the New York Film Festival not long after. It's a decadent thing to treat the pavements of a dirty metropolitan center as a luxurious hotel suite.