Puffer Jackets Are Alright
Don't Fear Michelin Man Realness
First up, this week’s article is heavily inspired by the work of Avery Trufelman and her podcast/Substack Articles of Interest. You should follow her work.
If you live in cold-climate Australia there is a point in winter where all normal conventions of fashion are thrown out of the window and everyone is wearing a puffer jacket.
And if you are not wearing a puffer jacket, you are complaining about everyone else wearing a puffer jacket.
I’ve had my current puffer jacket since late 2016. I got it from Uniqlo before going on a family trip to Europe. I didn’t think much of it when I first got it, but now its basically a lifeline. It’s taken me some time to appreciate puffer jackets, and I will defend them.
It’s Functional
My puffer jacket is the reason why I can choose to have a nice stroll home by the lake after work during the dead of Canberra winter.
My puffer jacket also has a detachable hood, so I can also do a Kenny McCormick impersonation. This instantly makes my life a bit better.
My puffer jacket is warmer than any other outerwear I own. It’s much lighter than any of my wool coats, or trench coats, blazers, or jackets. it is also big enough that I can wear it as an overcoat over lighter jackets.
And if it gets too warm to wear it i can stuff it into my bag.
In the 2019 Kill Your Darlings article “The Politics of Puffer Jackets”, Ben Brooker called puffer jackets a “Sartorial SUVs”. He might be right.
But if you’re going to call them that, you also need to appreciate the fact while some people drive SUV’s as a status symbol, there are still times when an SUV is necessary.
No one should ever wear a puffer jacket in Brisbane.
If you’re wearing one in Sydney, you are probably a wanker.
As a “Melberran”, I thought I knew what winter was until I moved to Canberra. Melbourne winters are gloomier. Canberra winters have cold bitey breezes that feel like needles poking your face.
If puffer jackets are sartorial SUVs, Canberra winters and Tasmanian winters, are off road terrain.
Maybe Melburnians don't need to wear puffer jackets so much. But who can blame them? Let them live.
It’s Avant Garde
I think the main reason some people are hesitant about wearing puffer jackets is the undeniable fact it makes people look bigger.
So much of what is considered fashionable or flattering is focused on what makes our bodies look slimmer or smaller.
It seems absurd to not wear a functional piece of clothing because internalised fatphobia is making you fear serving Michelin man realness. Sometimes you just need to forgo style and wear what is practical.
Also puffer jackets are a great opportunity to try out styling clothes with different proportions. Bulky, puffier and voluminous silhouettes have been everywhere in fashion for the last few years
Ok, maybe it’s still hard to make puffer jackets fashionable. But that’s ok, because everyone else is wearing it, and everyone else looks just as daggy as you.
Think of it like a mass performance art piece. It's like a flash mob, or Kate Bush day or those psychos that do nude cold plunges in the winter.
Sure, the naysayers may laugh, but as a puffer jacket wearer you are part of something bigger, you’re a part of a community. You’re warm and toasty. Let the haters shiver.
Ok, the complicated bit. It’s (usually) an animal product
Many puffer jackets are created using down.
I’m not against using animal products in clothes, but I think it’s interesting to consider how different animal-derived materials in fashion are perceived.
Consider this.
Fur is a huge taboo. Absolutely there are problems with the fur industry but before you throw your red paint at someone, there are nuances.
Is it vintage? Is it culturally significant? Not to labour the living in Canberra thing, but if we need to reduce the feral rabbit population anyway, wouldn’t it be less wasteful if we made a few nice coats?
Leather in fashion is far less taboo than fur, despite the fact both materials are animal skins.
I think there are two reasons why leather is more socially acceptable than fur.
Firstly, the tanning process changes what the animal skin looks and feels like.
You don’t see leathery cows in fields. Whereas with fur you have a visceral reminder that your item of clothing used to be a living animal.
Secondly leather is a superior product to its vegan counterparts. “Vegan leather” is usually a more complicated way to say “plastic.’ Real leather is more durable, if you look after it well it can last for decades, and once it is truly at the end of its life cycle it will biodegrade.
Puffer jackets represent another level of abstraction. You only remember its animal origins when a teeny tiny feather pokes through the outer fabric.
Most animal derived fashion items have an element of luxury to them, and usually this means people care for wool, fur or leather garments
I don’t know if puffer jackets carry that same connotation.
I dread the day the outside layer of my jacket begins to degrade, because I do not know what to do with it.
I did some research and I found at some point Uniqlo had a down recycling program. However I don't know if it still runs and it seems to have only run in Japan.
In 2022 Patagonia had a range of puffer jackets made from recycled down. I don’t know if they still make items from recycled down.
The North Face has a recycling program for people in the US for their garments.
Kathmandu Australia operates a recycling program in partnership with UPPAREL at its Melbourne stores.
The lack of widely available recycling programs is one of the biggest down-sides (I’m not sorry) of puffer jackets.
Regarding the ethics of sourcing down in the first instance Patagonia, Uniqlo, north face and Kathmandu are all signatories of the Responsible Down Standard (RDS).
Does RDS go far enough? I don’t know. Probably not? I can’t do this question justice in this silly little weekly Substack article. Until next time.