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Let’s take a minute to be real—not fashion real, but real real. When it comes to winter style in 2020, we’re not about to do any kind of heavy lifting. We want to pull a coat (something calf-length that accentuates the waist) over layers that might resemble pyjamas (or are actually pyjamas) and still look chic in a Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy-walking-the-dog way. With that, we’ll take a boot that conceals the fleecy slipper socks we’ll be wearing on repeat until spring.

Welcome to the realist’s guide to the street-style star’s favourite fashion shortcut: the long coat and knee-boot pairing, which was invented precisely to hide every manner of wrong that might be going on beneath your outerwear.

What you need to know

Winter is fast approaching. Tune out anyone who is moaning about impending darker evenings — the four minutes it takes to read this piece and screenshot the reference photos below are all about focusing on the positives.

October style rule one: Never dismiss the mood-lifting powers of the longline winter coat.

Rule two- Use the upscale coat to your fashion advantage at all times, particularly on days when the only place you are going is the supermarket/you need to get dressed in less than five minutes.

Rule three: make life even more straightforward by teaming your coat with a pair of knee or ankle boots (anything from square toe, platform or those ultra-covetable lug-sole iterations) — or in French fashion consultant Géraldine Boublil’s case, frilled shoe boots. The secret is to make sure the hem of your coat grazes or covers the top of your boots. No one will ever know you’re wearing bobbled novelty leggings underneath.

Who’s wearing the long coat and boot combination?

On the influencer front, Monica de la Villardière does a persuasive cape and lace-up calf-boot pairing (note those fail-safe opaque tights), while 2020’s model-off-duty look revolves around an ankle-grazing trench and omnipresent Maison Margiela’s Tabi knee-high boots.