Why Does Every Person in Hollywood Have This Free People Jacket?

Jayla Andrulonis

April 23, 2020 at 5:45 AM·3 min read

It was last fall when I first spotted a photo of Hilary Duff wearing a quilted jacket that looked like it was made for the sole purpose of browsing pumpkin patches and sipping on spiked cider, as is a prerequisite for any good fall jacket. So, as someone whose jacket-to-regular-top ratio leans illogically on the side of the prior, I locked the Free People style into my internal catalogue of very good jackets I should add to my own collection. But then, something weird happened.

I began to see the jacket everywhere: on my yoga instructor as she breezed into the studio, tied around the waist of people on the train, and of course, on even more celebrities. Very quickly this jacket seemed to have made its way into the closets of many stylish stars, or perhaps it had been there all along and my eye wasn’t yet keen enough to spot it as I scrolled through my Instagram feed? Either way — Free People’s Dolman Quilted Jacket deserves the title of Hollywood’s most popular jacket as it’s been popping up even more lately.

Most recently, Emma Roberts shared a photo of herself wearing the jacket in a muted yellow colorway, further proving it's the ideal layering piece for taking on transitional seasons. Lucy Hale and Vanessa Hudgens have also joined the list of stars who own the Free People jacket, as both have since stepped out during the era of social distancing while wearing it. Taylor Swift even wore it during a scene of her documentary, Miss Americana.

Hilary Duff has proven she’s not just a fair-weather fan of the jacket, having worn it with everything from beanies and jeans, to swingy floral dresses and sneakers since I first spotted her in the style last year. But it’s not just Hollywood darlings who are sold on the quilted and lightweight knit. Upon pitching this story, InStyle Ecommerce Editor, Laura Reilly, messaged me on Slack saying, “lol I have that jacket.” I rest my case, people — it’s everywhere.

While it may be everywhere, I never tire of looking at it, and stars seem, if anything, to only want to wear it more often. Maybe it's because of its slouchy silhouette, which almost fits like a stylish blanket — something we could all use right now. Or the way its sleeves easily roll up in that effortless way that’s still feminine, maintaining the military-like oversized feel just the same.

Regardless of why, it’s clear celebrities have made their case for Free People’s Dolman Quilted Jacket being the ultimate outerwear essential. You can shop the style in six colorways, below.