admin Zara has always been one of my default brands but, as someone who spends more cautiously than they did in their twenties, and simply isn’t as hung up on having something “new” anymore, my appetite for quick fashion fixes has waned somewhat. This applies to all brands—not just Zara.
It’s funny—I actually have more willpower shopping online compared to when I go into real-life stores. The urgency doesn’t feel quite as intense virtually as it does when you realise there’s only one left in your size of the piece you’re eyeing up on the shop floor. Still, when the Who What Wear team asked me to head out into the field and get to grips with Zara’s new winter collection in the wild, my interest was piqued. Would I end up liking pieces when they’re actually in front of me that’d I’d previously scrolled by in-app?
In my opinion, Zara truly comes into its own in the winter months. Fabrics become more premium (much of what I would end up trying was wool or wool blend) and the colour palette feels instantly more refined. This would be the first time I’ve physically been in a Zara store since the latest collection launched, and I was excited to see it up close. So, I hopped on the bus into Edinburgh’s town centre (I live and work from home in Scotland) and headed straight to Edinburgh’s St. James Quarter, which happens to be home to one of the biggest Zara stores in the UK.
First impressions? There’s a lot to like! I saw more coats I could have taken home than I have wardrobe space to house. The shoes lined up at the bottom of each display translated into a roll call of the biggest footwear trends of the season; cue spiky boots, Mary Janes, stacked loafers basically anything that can be buckled. Tailoring is a big focus for the brand this season, this much is clear, but how would my favourite pieces—most of which included trousers—translate on me, a 5’3″ woman with an hourglass figure who is a true size 12? And let’s face it, Zara isn’t exactly known for its consistent sizing, is it? Well, let’s find out! Scroll on to see the pieces that impressed me during my Zara winter 2023 try-on…
