Top Celebrity Stylists on How to Stay Chic (and Warm!) This Winter

Fall is arguably the one season where you can wear almost everything in your closet. A lightweight suede bomber jacket layered over a tank top? Check. Colorful, embellished sweatshirts with mini skirts? Check. How about chunky booties to stomp about in the fallen orange leaves? Done. And while the brisk autumnal temps are worth looking forward to, the fun comes to an end the minute stepping outside becomes a bone-chilling task. So is it possible to stay warm and also be fashionable this winter? We asked three top celebrity stylists to weigh in on the best way to balance Arctic-like weather with look-at-me style.

Elizabeth Stewart (above, right), the woman responsible for the A+ style of Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, and January Jones, has a colorful approach to dressing for the frost. “Well, I’m very tactile this winter—just picked up a couple coats. They’re cashmere and very soft. That’s my tip for this winter,” she told InStyle.

So how does she always make her clients look the part in the cold? “A great hat,” she added. “I always think, 'Have many coats—not as many coats as clothes—but have a range of colors.' You don’t always just want to wear a black coat. I love to have a great red coat, or a plaid coat, or something. You can bring some color and special-ness to your outerwear. It’s really important.”

Stewart also explained how to best accentuate your favorite asset. “Recognize your assets, number one,” she said. “And whatever they are, whether you have great legs, or whatever it is, always accent that. Don’t be afraid to have a lot of the same things. I think develop a uniform that works for whatever it is you have.”

Sure, it’s fun to plan on a cheerful pink topper in the snow-covered days of February and March, but sometimes, it’s simply impossible. Stylist Kate Young (above, left), Selena Gomez’s right-hand woman and Stylist of the Year honoree at the InStyle Awards, agreed: “If you’re talking about New York, you need to just surrender it. It’s over. Just get a puffer jacket and some big boots."

“Honestly, I think we can pretend that there are ways to be stylish, but it’s been so cold the last two winters that I think, we all start out with good intentions, buying cute winter coats and everybody’s in a big puffer jacket by the middle of January,” Young said. She has two go-to brands that help keep her warm. “Canada Goose,” she said. And "Sorel makes amazing boots.”

Meanwhile, the always-over-the-top Rachel Zoe (center) sticks to this tried and true motto: “Coats, coats, and more coats!”

—With reporting by Brianna King