15 Best Women’s Vests | The Strategist

With its large selection of vests varying in length, material, and fit, Lululemon is one of the most widely recommended brands on this list. Often, a Lululemon vest will come with plenty of bells and whistles — like a detachable hood and water-repellent fabric — but this one stands out for its simplicity, according to Helen Morris, a content creator and founder of the San Francisco Women’s Social Club. While Morris was training for a marathon, she was looking for “a nice form-fitting vest that I could run in and also layer under a sweatshirt,” and she landed on this option, which still “looks brand new” after a year of regular wear. Just note: The vest has a slim fit. Morris sized up, which gives her enough room to layer a long-sleeve tee under it while maintaining its form-fitting silhouette that “flatters the curvature of your body.”

If you’re looking for a vest you can wear year-round, petite content creator Anna Lazzarini recommends this denim option from Petite Studio NYC. “In the summertime, you just don’t wear anything underneath it, and it becomes a sleeveless top. In the wintertime, you can use it as a layering piece,” she says. At five-foot-one, she finds the top hits her at the top of her hips, so the patterned tops she typically layers underneath can peek out at the bottom and out the sleeves.

Rains’s liner vest is a streamlined, thinner alternative for anyone who turns their nose up at a bulky puffer vest. It comes recommended by author Jenny Xie, who wears it year-round, layering it over a dress during the warmer months and under a jacket during colder months. “I feel like when I’m putting on a lot of layers and coats, eventually my sleeves don’t fit into the sleeves, because it just gets bulkier and bulkier,” she says. Layered with Uniqlo Heattech and a sweater, this liner never adds to the problem.

[Editor’s note: Xie owns an older version of this vest that’s no longer available, so we linked to the updated version.]

Although this vest isn’t marketed as a cropped option, it’s designed to hit your natural waist and is shorter than most vests on this list. That fit was part of the draw for Strategist writer Brenley Goertzen, who says: “I’m five-foot-five and have a shorter torso, so it actually hits the top of my hips.” She trades it out for her winter jacket once it becomes cold and snowy in Canada, but, she says, “I do feel like it provides good insulation for Toronto weather. The hooded collar also keeps wind off my face and neck.” Lunde has this one, too, and says it’s the wraparound hood that inspired her choice. Just note: The hood isn’t removable, so you’ll want to opt for the Aritzia Super Puff if you’re looking for a similar vest with a detachable hood.

When Lee borrows from her boyfriend’s closet, she usually grabs this polyester-acrylic-blend fleece from Octobre Éditions, which she says reminds her of a chore jacket. Since the piece is technically made for men, it has an oversize and boxy fit, which she likes. “I look for that in any of the vests that I wear,” says Lee. “I don’t want any fitted vests.” Best of all, since it doesn’t have a collar, it’s easy to layer.

Everett-Ratcliffe was drawn to this vest because she wanted a lengthy layer to keep her warm during outdoor sporting events in the fall and winter. In “any stadium, the seats are cold,” but with this vest, she says, “my butt is covered.” Although she typically wears leggings or jeans under the vest, if the weather called for it, she could even wear sweatpants thanks to the vest’s oversize fit. As for upper-body layers, she says, “I could wear a fleece under it, or a whole jacket under it, and have that extra layer of warmth if I needed it.”

As someone with a shorter torso, I often find that vests described as “cropped” are the perfect length for me, and this one is no exception. It is similar to the Aritzia Super Puff in form and function, and both include a detachable hood and water-repellent and wind-resistant fabric. The biggest differences between the two pieces are price point and fill power. So if you’re looking for a slightly slimmer fit, I’d choose the Wunder Puff thanks to its lower down fill power. I’m constantly checking that I still have my wallet and keys, so I also appreciate that the pockets zip all the way (Aritzia’s vest only has one button for pocket closure).

Content creator Claudia Williams picked up this wool-blend vest from Sézane in anticipation of a trip to Austria. “Having a little pattern and a little texture is always a good way to spice things up when you’re living out of a suitcase,” she says, which is why she wore the black-and-white houndstooth version she purchased everywhere from a classical music concert to a solo date night. Since it’s fashioned with snaps rather than buttons or a zipper, she likes to leave the bottom ones undone to let her bottom layers peek through, whether it’s a long dress or a top. 

A cashmere puffer is one of those wardrobe pieces destined for a particular moment: when it’s not cold enough for a wool overcoat yet you still need something dressier than, say, an Aritzia Super Puff vest. In the year that I’ve been testing this one from Quince, I’ve enjoyed layering it over button-ups when heading to the office and over striped long sleeves when having drinks with friends. I wish it were as warm as my Lululemon and Aritzia vests, but as the most affordable cashmere puffer vest I’ve found, something has to give (and in the case of this one, it’s the insulation, which is 100 percent polyester).