Here’s the French-Girl Jacket I’ve Been Wearing on Repeat

Since moving to Paris from Toronto this past July, I’ve had to add an entirely new—previously nonexistent—category of clothing to my wardrobe: fall-spring outerwear.

No, seriously. For years, I’ve maintained that trenches and other so-called "transitional jackets" are folklore in Toronto. They’re chic and photograph well, but functionally, they’re useless. Toronto doesn’t transition: one day it’s winter, the next it’s summer, with perhaps two weeks of temperate weather wedged in between.

However, the weather here in Paris is much milder than what I’ve been conditioned to expect for most of my life. Toronto taught me to dress defensively, but Paris weather demands adaptability. Where I once relied on thick wool knits and heavy coats, I’ve had to switch up my layering strategy and invest in lightweight fabrics.

By far, the hero piece of my new temperate wardrobe is the double-faced wool jacket, which I can comfortably wear in Paris for at least six months out of the year.

Take, for example, this old 100 percent wool jacket from Zara that I used to wear once a year back in Toronto. In Paris, it’s in constant rotation, including on this mid-January day (over layers, of course) with temperatures hovering in the high single-digits.

Even on cooler days, a double-faced wool jacket layered over another wool sweater and a simple tee is surprisingly, almost suspiciously, warm. Add a scarf and a hat, and the problem is no longer staying warm, but overheating.

Because double-faced wool jackets aren’t bulky, they don’t read as "outerwear" in the traditional sense, and I often walk into restaurants and cafes and simply leave them on. The jacket becomes the outfit, as is the case with this By Malene Birger hourglass blazer, yet another 100 percent wool option that straddles the line between coat and clothing with ease.

Transitional outerwear, I’ve learned, isn’t a myth. Rather, it’s regional knowledge—one I didn’t need until I crossed an ocean!