Keeping Warm | The Parka Jacket

Photography by, Kedrick Walker

With the temperatures getting lower and lower here in New York, I am so glad I procured this parka jacket when I had the opportunity to. Many might be surprised to see me in this Parka Jacket. If you are one of those people, I understand your astonishment as I, myself would have never thought I would own one. I purchased this jacket on a cold night during the christmas holidays last year in Virginia. I recall going to the town mall with the intention of buying a new suit. Unfortunately, I was not able to find one because none of them fit me the way I wanted them to. As I was about to leave, I stumbled upon the very Parka Jacket I am wearing in the photos above and I recalled a time last year in New York when I wore a friends jacket to make a quick run. I remembered how warm it was and how comfortable it felt against the blistering cold weather in New York City. Thinking about my experience in New York last year and knowing I would be going back soon to a brutal weather, I immediately bought the jacket without thinking about styling. For all I knew, it was going to keep me warm and it made me feel masculine. You can say this jacket is the first and only thing in my closet I bought specially for the sake of comfort. 

The Parka Jacket I am wearing above is lined with faux fur on its hood and is full of detachable pockets. I have worn the jacket several times and I have also struggled with styling it because it is out of my comfort zone. I usually go for clean and fitted clothes whereas the parka jacket is a little oversized and a bit bulky. I also searched for inspiration from fashion houses that have featured the piece like J Crew, Balmain, Dolce & Gabbana and more, all to no satisfaction. For those people facing the same challenge, I realized you can wear anything you want to under the parka jacket. For men, this includes suits. The parka jacket to me is not set out to be a fashionable piece per say, It's job is to keep you warm and your job is to make keeping warm look chic. 

What do you think about Parka Jackets? How do you think they should be styled? If you have one already, how do you style it? What do you think about the way I styled the jacket? Let me know in the comments below. 

Thank you for reading! 

Parka Jacket, Trousers & Gloves / H&M . Desert Boots / H&M . Downing Sunglasses / Warby Parker . Scarf / Alexander Julian