The paninari wore it first
Ski style for London drizzle and New York snow: six city après-ski outfits that commute well, and the one rule that keeps costume at bay.
By jelli.world, the bag brand. Our styling advice, with sources linked in the text and jelli.world products offered for sale.
Picture Milan in the mid-1980s, Piazza San Babila, where the fast-food chain Burghy had opened its first branch. Teenagers gather outside in glossy Moncler puffers, with Levi's 501s cuffed at the ankle, Burlington argyle socks and Timberland boots below. They were the paninari, named after a Milan café, and AnOther's history of the subculture describes the puffer as their "preferred choice of outerwear". The Pet Shop Boys put them in a song in 1986.
None of them were skiing. That's what makes the paninari such a useful reference: they took a mountain jacket and wore it as city clothing, with total confidence, forty years before anyone said "après-street". City après-ski outfits work on the same principle. Take one or two pieces with genuine alpine credentials, usually the boot and the knit, and set them inside an outfit that is unmistakably urban. The mountain becomes a flavour, not a theme.
The slope came to town
The move has been gathering pace. In February 2025 nss magazine reported that après-ski chic had gone well beyond the mountains, noting Sacai's autumn/winter 2025 show in Paris, where the designer reworked skiwear "with an urban twist" using ski goggles, multicoloured Russian-style hats and tall white fur boots. The magazine also pointed out snow boots and earmuffs turning up "including places where there is no snow at all".
A year later, around the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, Grazia's trend report quoted the commentator Kimberly Carney naming the city version "après-street": athletic ease meeting city polish. It's a good phrase, and the polish is the operative word. Without it, you just look as if you've come straight from Gatwick.
The one rule for city après-ski outfits
Keep two mountain pieces, no more. The boot counts as one. A ski knit, a fleece, a puffer or earmuffs can be the other. Everything else, coat, trousers, bag, should belong to the city: tailored, clean-lined, in fabrics you'd wear to work. Three mountain pieces on a Saturday is fine. Four is fancy dress. The paninari got away with more because they were seventeen and Milanese, which is a licence few of us hold.
London, where it drizzles
London winters are damp, grey and rarely snowy, and the city is walked rather than driven. That changes the edit.
The commute. A navy double-faced wool coat, a cream lambswool roll-neck, dark straight-leg jeans with a clean hem that just breaks over the boot, and colourful sheepskin boots. The boots are the only alpine element, and they carry the whole idea. On a grey Tuesday a pair in pink or mint is the most generous thing you can do for a carriage full of strangers. jelli.world's Sherpa boots are colourful snow boots in real sheepskin built for exactly this kind of everyday drama. On a genuinely wet day, though, sheepskin and puddles aren't friends: switch to a waterproof boot and move the colour to your bag or hat.
Saturday on the flower market. A Fair Isle crewneck in faded red and ecru, wide-leg chocolate cords, a cropped black puffer and a fluffy bag in a shade that isn't in the jumper: cobalt, say, or lime. Chunky lace-up boots in tan.
The pub with a fire. A grey marl half-zip fleece over a white T-shirt, straight black leather trousers, a ribbed beanie with no pom-pom, and sheepskin boots. The leather keeps the fleece honest. Without it, you're dressed for a dog walk.
New York, where it snows
New York gets proper snow and a wind that tears down the avenues, so the city version sits closer to the original.
The office. A long black puffer worn over a charcoal quarter-zip and a navy blazer, black wool trousers, chunky snow boots. Keep a pair of loafers under the desk if the dress code requires it.
Downtown brunch. A short faux-fur jacket in a caramel shade, a cream cable knit, white jeans worn deliberately in winter, sheepskin boots in pink or orange, and earmuffs. White jeans in snow is a cheeky look. That's why it works.
The park after snowfall. Here, go nearly full mountain: a padded one-piece or snow trousers, an oversized fleece, a beanie and mittens, and the grippiest boot you own. Get there early, before the paths are packed into ice.
Small-scale logistics
City après is lived on public transport, and that dictates details. Trains and buses are hot, so wear a thinner base than you think and choose an outer layer that opens fully. Big puffers and bags eat space at rush hour; on those days, carry a smaller fluffy bag across the body rather than a large one on the shoulder. Fluffy bags are the friendliest accessory on a crowded platform, but they deserve care: keep them away from the wet wheel arches of buses.
Hems matter more than people think. Trousers should either clear the top of a snow boot or fall over it cleanly. Anything that bunches at the ankle above a chunky boot shortens the leg and spoils the line.
What to leave on the mountain
Salopettes, which look strange in a sandwich queue. Goggles worn as a headband, unless you are on a Sacai runway. Head-to-toe white on slushy days, when the grey spray from passing cars will find you within a block. Hard, ski-boot-style shoes that clatter on escalators.
Let the boots lead
The paninari understood that the right jacket in the wrong place can be the most stylish thing in the city. Start at your feet: jelli.world has Sherpa boots and fluffy bags in colours that cut straight through a grey sky.
Common questions
What are city après-ski outfits?
They are everyday city outfits with one or two pieces borrowed from ski style, typically a chunky snow boot, a ski knit, a fleece or a puffer, worn with tailored coats, jeans and trousers rather than technical kit.
Can I wear sheepskin boots in London?
Yes, on cold, dry days they're ideal for long walks between stations. On properly wet days, swap to a waterproof boot and let a bag, hat or knit carry the colour instead.
How do I stop city après-ski looking like a costume?
Limit yourself to two mountain pieces, keep everything else cleanly tailored, and skip technical items such as salopettes and goggles. Texture and one bright colour do more than any themed accessory.
Last reviewed: 15 October 2026