There is no doubt in my mind that this year is the year of the vest. But for some, like my mom, it’s always been the year of the vest.

For as long as I can remember, if I wouldn’t want to wear a coat due to the added bulkiness, my mom would suggest a vest. She has been sporting down-feather vests for years. I never liked to give in to her vest nonsense, but I’m starting to see her vision. While I personally may not prefer the same vest style as my mom, luckily, there are plenty of other options.

Puffy Vest

I swear half of the outfit TikToks I get on my For You page are all with the same Amazon vest. The vest is super puffy and cropped—two of this year’s major trends. I’m not quite sure of the exact brand of the vest since, as typical random Amazon brands do, there are many companies selling what appears to be the same vest. This vest can honestly be styled so easily. A simple outfit of flared leggings and a cropped long-sleeve becomes perfect for winter with the addition of this vest. Flared leggings could also be swapped out with jeans for a slightly less casual look. Now the few things I wouldn’t recommend with this style of vest is wearing a not cropped shirts and or a baggy shirt. An uncropped shirt would be much better suited for a longer vest so it doesn’t look like you’re just wearing a child’s vest. A baggy shirt can make the vest uncomfortable because of the added fabric and can make for odd bunching along the arm holes.

Fleece Vest

During a typical Sierra Trading Post expedition, I found a patterned fleece vest from Telluride Clothing Company. The pattern bringing in extra colors could make for difficult styling, but I haven’t had much trouble. I like to go with either a white top or pull one of the more minor colors within the pattern—like light pink. Personally, I tend to prefer fleece vests over puffy ones. The puffier ones make me feel a little bulky. With a fleece vest, the fabric is thin while still soft and warm. While cropped coats and vests are all the rage this year, I appreciate the length of my fleece vest. I love layering crewnecks with vests, and as I mentioned previously, I feel that cropped vests call for cropped shirts. I haven’t seen fleece vests as much as puffy vests, but I am hoping that is soon to change. The comfort is unmatched in my book. 

Down Vest

As I said earlier, I don’t tend to wear these much, so I’ll dive into my mom’s styling for these. My mom tends to wear down vests with leggings and a hoodie, and the vest is often zipped. She’ll finish her fit with either tennis shoes or her UGG Tazz Slippers. If my mom wears it, it must be comfortable. From my limited down vest experience, I can agree with that. The weight of down vests makes them easy to wear for a long period of time and the material keeps loads of heat in. While these aren’t trending, they’re probably the most practical style. These never go out of style: they are truly timeless. The size makes them easily packable for travel, and they are an effectively warm layer for any outdoor activity.

These are my top three vest picks of the season. While I am entirely biased toward fleece vests, I would recommend all of these to anyone in search of the vests of the season.