The genesis of this post starts with an IG story, a fire emoji, and an instant desire to photograph a friend’s vintage trench.
SEPT 8TH: friend Abigail posts a story about her newly acquired vintage cotton trench, I send aforementioned fire emoji response and tell her we should shoot the look. she loves the idea.
FAST FORWARD TO SEPT 17TH: I am cruising The Row lookbook for spring 2025, and spot an olive trench with the same energy as Abigail’s score. I see that, in typical Row fashion, it has been styled with taste so subtle it comes off as simplicity. Simplicity is good — it means it is deconstructable, and if it’s deconstructable, it’s also reconstructable.
And thus, within the span of a mere week and a half, we went from loving a new find to having a total inspiration to style it. About Abigail — she is the owner and curator of Monstera Vintage. Her pieces, as she describes them, range from “kitschy to refined, to utilitarian to whimsical” [funny enough, I feel like I could bucket most of my wardrobe into those 4 categories]. We often find ourselves sharing good finds with each other, and the chance to bring our worlds together on this look was so much fun.
THE INSPIRATION
THE DECONSTRUCTION
True to my word, I kept my eyes peeled over the next few weeks and tried on something like 10 different vintage slip skirts — finally landing on the perfect one: fully black with a mismatched lace pattern at the base.
lace detail:
Luckily we could pull the other pieces from our wardrobe staples: a white crewneck shirt, a grey crewneck sweater, black heels. This is what I mean about ‘simplicity that can be reconstructed’ — The Row is notably a refined brand — I don’t mean in the sense of elegant [although, it is also that] — I mean refined in the sense of purified. All non essentials removed.
THE RECONSTRUCTION
We followed suit for our version of the look — only adding an umbrella, a belt, and my cord necklace. Here’s a glimpse of the overall look — complete with favorite details such as the ever elegant unstructured shoulders and timeless buttoned sleeve straps.
Abigail’s coat was the muse for the shoot, The Row was the catalyst for the look, and the result is a refined [elegant] and utilitarian [wearable] ensemble:
Shooting day was raining and overcast, the actual perfect weather for wearing this coat in the wild! The vintage trench is 100% cotton — it practically floated behind Abigail when she walked and, much like a duster, caught all the little rain droplets that sprung up as we walked around the city.
Similar to The Row’s poplin Leins Coat, the sleeves are just shy of arms length, allowing a little peep of the sweater cuff — le sigh. This is a good moment to decide on a cuffed sweater [vs something more open] because it creates a satisfying layering effect where the cuff holds tight to the wrist and hand, while the jacket sleeve hangs back a bit more casually.
In our look, there was a role reversal in the length of coat vs skirt. The Row used a longer skirt that falls below the hemline of the jacket, allowing the lace to inhabit space where the jacket ends and the boots begin.
Abigail’s coat is longer, hitting midcalf, so the skirt had more of a hide-and-seek effect and showed mostly while sitting or striding. Both iterations of lengths work in their own ways — in our version it actually lent more attention to the amazing patent leather oxford heels that Abigail paired with the look, an admirable rejection to the standard rubber shoe that most others [including me] were wearing in the wet weather.
I’m surprised you can’t see my reflection in these babies! The high gloss oxfords popped next to the flat olive-tone trench — complimentary textures that were amplified in the overcast hues of the day.
Consider this a recommendation for finding a brand that centers you, to be your pallet cleanse when trends and fashion moments start to take over the psyche. Timelessly chic styles can be the hard reset you need when getting dressed starts to feel complicated.
On the thread of timelessly chic, there are LOTS of vintage and secondhand options out there for this style of trench coat. A few picks if you like the shape and length of The Row jacket:
London Fog short trench, giving very similar vibes to the Leins Coat in light beige. Here’s a different London Fog trench, still in beige, but with an even simpler form. I love the two tone effect it has when the collar is flipped down.
This vintage option is listed as “tan brown olive” so it’s hard to know what color it might actually be IRL, but it’s a great shape! [both from the same etsy store]
The last gem I came across is a vintage Burberry olive green trench — so classic in it’s color and shape. And this jacket would probably take you later into the season too, given that it’s insulated. Now that October is finally giving us some cooler / windier / rainier days, it’s the perfect time to construct the minimalist [or maximalist, whatevs!] trenched look of your own. Whatever you do, keep getting dressed with intention!
xo for now,
Georgia
My favorite shoot so far! Love to see two amazing women (and dear friends of mine!) come together to create something beautiful ❤️
This was so much fun! I love how the photos came out- beautiful. I can't wait for our next collab :)