Winter Jackets in Berlin That Aren't Boring

Berlin winter is grey enough already. Your jacket doesn't have to be.

There is nothing wrong with a black puffer. They're warm, practical and there is a reason half the city seems to end up wearing one by January. But if your jacket is going to cover most of your outfit for several months, there is also an argument for making the jacket a little more interesting.

We're a fashion store, not an expedition outfitter. If you're looking for outerwear specifically engineered for extreme temperatures, there are better places to start. What interests us is outerwear you actually want to wear through a Berlin winter, with room for layers and, ideally, something between you and the wind.

Because in Berlin, the wind is often the part that ruins the whole plan.

If it's going to hide the outfit, make it part of the outfit

One of the slightly annoying things about winter dressing is spending time putting an outfit together and then covering nearly all of it with one jacket.

Which is fine. Winter has priorities.

But the outer layer doesn't have to disappear. MemenTo's oversized jackets do almost the opposite. They're graphic, colourful and large enough that the jacket becomes a significant part of whatever you're wearing underneath.

The oversized cuts also leave space for knitwear and other layers. That becomes especially useful once the temperature drops and you realise the sweater underneath your jacket is doing quite a lot of the work.

For Berlin, wind matters

How warm a jacket feels isn't only about the number on the weather app.

For me, one of the worst parts of Berlin winter is the wind. A cold day with no wind can be surprisingly manageable. Add wind and suddenly the same temperature feels like a completely different situation.

That is one reason the waterproof MemenTo jackets make sense here. They aren't technical expedition jackets, and we're not pretending they are, but they give you an outer shell and plenty of space for layering underneath.

On most winter days, that combination can matter more than simply finding the thickest thing in the room.

Black doesn't automatically mean boring either

We also shouldn't turn this into an argument against black jackets. This is Berlin after all.

The problem isn't really black. It's when the winter jacket becomes the most anonymous part of the outfit by default.

A different proportion can already change that. The long oversized black bomber from MemenTo is still easy to wear, but the scale and logo detail give it much more presence than a standard black puffer.

Then there is the coat that basically is the outfit

The MemenTo faux-fur coat is not particularly interested in being subtle.

It's massive, heavy and very much there. It also brings the kind of volume and coziness that makes much more sense once winter properly arrives.

And if your winter coat is going to cover most of the outfit anyway, there is something quite satisfying about making the coat the outfit.

A longer coat can do the layering too

Not every winter coat has to look padded or technical.

The Worn Pants Coat by a.ACHAT is constructed from second-hand trousers and turns them into a long multicolour coat. It's a very different approach to winter outerwear, especially for people who prefer to build warmth through layers rather than wearing one enormous insulated jacket.

It isn't pretending to be Arctic equipment. That's not really the point. You get the coverage of a long coat, space to layer underneath and a piece that doesn't disappear the second you step onto the U-Bahn.

So how warm does a Berlin winter jacket actually need to be?

That obviously depends on the person, the weather and how much you like layering.

We're not going to tell you that every jacket in the shop will happily take you through -20°C. If that is the brief, I'd start with specialist technical outerwear.

For everyday Berlin winter, I care a lot about whether a jacket gives you enough room for layers and whether the outer layer protects you once the weather gets wet or windy. Knitwear underneath, another layer if necessary and a substantial jacket on top can get you surprisingly far.

And then there are a few hardcore Berlin winter days when you're probably going to be cold anyway.

At least your jacket doesn't have to be boring.

Independent winter outerwear in Berlin

Most of the jackets and coats at GRÜNWASCHEN come from independent designers and are produced in small quantities. Some are one-of-one, some are made from upcycled or second-hand materials, and others are simply much more interested in shape, colour and character than the average winter jacket.

A winter jacket is one of the pieces you can end up wearing almost every day for months. It might as well be something you're happy to put on again tomorrow.

You can also read our guide to independent fashion shopping in Berlin or discover more independent designers in Berlin .