Designer coat three ways - fun, feline, and fierce

With great excitement I tore open the box from Shanghai express. My new coat! - courtesy of Yuzhe Studios, a young designer duo who studied at London College of Fashion. After finding my blog and Instagram, they asked if I'd like to wear one of their handcrafted pieces. Does a cat meow?

O-my-o-my-what-to-do-what-to-do. It didn't take long to figure out - put that sucker on and see where it takes me.

After being cooped up in shipping, Coat needed a stretch and fresh vigour, so my first styling called for intensive colour caffeine. I poked her: "Coat, wake up!" She merely yawned, "Are we there yet?" 

Before she knew it, I had turned Coat inside-out and clapped the snaps off-key to create a wonky pucker and asymmetrical hem. The pockets became awesome hip wings which added to the fantastic geometry. And I wore vivid silky scarves in a waterfall of bows and a colour-punched dress and blouse. AWAKE.

Coat's finished seams down the sleeves looked good on the outside, and the snaps with hand-stitching functioned perfectly in reverse as well. My initials, which Yuzhe Studios hand-embroidered at the neckline, were also visible - such a great detail.

Loose-limbed now from our colour therapy, we shrugged off the imp and unleashed some of Coat's deeply serious chic appeal. 

Coat is dreamy soft, a snuggly wool you want to wrap yourself up in on a chilly day. In this second styling she is black cat with an emerald collar, stretched languidly on a red velvet divan surrounded by unread books of philosophy. 

"Bring me chocolate milk on a silver salver that I might dip my strong yet dainty paws in the brown juice of the gods!" Moving right along... Somehow I knew she'd appreciate the gold glitter ankle socks. 

These photos have a very European feel to them. I'm sure I'm on my way somewhere Important (the cafe for a cookie, for example). 

I'm also wearing O's rockstar silky shirt and my gigantoid palazzo pants with mitten clips because the pants are trippingly long without higher heels. Huge sunglasses complete the look.

Below, one last styling. Coat doesn't like to be type-cast (we are so compatible!) so we went with a fierce-ish styling with a tuxedo shirt, fitted black moto jacket, my DIY eyes-on-knees jeans, white athletic socks, and combat boots. This bunch of boulders under the overpass made the perfect studio.

And that's it! Hearty thanks to Yuzhe Sun and Alex Lee of Yuzhe Studios in Shanghai for this piece and the fun I had styling her. While I didn't fark this coat, they said they wouldn't mind if I did, which captured my heart. Already Coat has earned a place of honour in my closet.

You can read more about this designer team, their fantastic mission, and their studio HERE. In addition to a selection of hand-crafted denim and wool pieces, they also have some vibrant silk designs. Gorgeous. This coat is the "double-sided oversized bi-colour wool coat."

I shall link these outfits up with Patti at Not Dead Yet Style for Visible Monday, and Catherine at Not Dressed as Lamb for #iwillwearwhatilike. I'll see you there.