The new outerwear mood on the streets this winter is hard to miss: the ankle-length puffer coat. Not the hip-length, not the cropped Super Puff, but the full-on down cocoon reaching nearly to the ground, like someone walking in a sleeping bag.

And let’s be real, it hasn’t been that cold. We’re bundled up even when temperatures flirt with the higher side of winter cool, so is this a fashion statement or practical precaution? Maybe a bit of both.

What’s fascinating is how these puffers, once purely utilitarian, became such a defining piece of street style. The modern American down jacket was popularized in the 1930s and ’40s by outdoorsman Eddie Bauer after a near-hypothermia experience. By the 1970s, designer Norma Kamali had reimagined that practical silhouette into a fashion piece she called the “sleeping bag coat,” an ankle-length, quilted version that blurred the line between function and spectacle and was embraced by icons of the era.

Influencers and trend forecasters have dubbed this era of oversized, full-coverage outerwear part of the broader “gorpcore” movement, in which outdoor gear becomes street gear and everyday attire.

If being braced for a final shock of winter cold means looking like a chic, quilted marshmallow on Main Street? Honestly, we’re here for it.