Peplum Jacket: How to Style Boucle with Skirts and Trousers

A peplum jacket is a fitted jacket with a short flared panel that fans out from the waist over the hips, and the edit of designer peplum and boucle jackets at Coveti shows how much shape that small panel adds. Style one with a slim, high rise lower half, so the flare has a clean line to sit against, and keep volume in one place only. This season’s worked examples come from the Cruise 2027 tailoring at Zimmermann at Coveti.

By Coveti Editorial. How we research and write: our editorial and AI policy.

The anchor is the Clash Boucle Peplum Jacket in cream, also in deep navy, a fitted wool blend boucle jacket with a flared peplum waist and antique brass buttons. We pair it with the Clash Draped Midi Skirt in black and the Clash Wool Cropped Flare Pant in bottle green. For a softer, plusher take on cropped outerwear, see our sibling guide on how to style a shearling jacket.

Key facts

• A peplum is a short flared panel set below the waist of a jacket, top and dress, adding shape over the hips.
• Boucle is a cloth woven from looped yarn, which gives it a nubby, textured surface.
• The Zimmermann Clash Boucle Peplum Jacket is 74% wool, 16% alpaca wool and 10% polyamide, fully lined, with blouson sleeves, front patch pockets and topstitching throughout.
• Zimmermann describes it as a regular fit in a heavyweight, non stretch fabric that is true to size.
• It comes in cream and deep navy, in Zimmermann sizes 0 to 4, which correspond to UK 8 to 16.

What is a peplum?

A peplum is a short, flared panel of fabric attached at the waist that fans out over the top of the hips. On a jacket it turns a straight torso into an hourglass, because the fitted waist reads narrower beside the flare.

Peplums vary in three ways that change how they wear. Length runs from a short ruffle of a few centimetres to a skirt that reaches the high hip. Volume runs from a soft, barely flared panel to a stiff, sculpted one. Construction runs from a separate panel stitched to a waist seam to a flare cut into the body of the garment. A short, soft peplum is the easiest to wear; a long, stiff one is the most dramatic.

On the Clash Boucle Peplum Jacket, the flared peplum waist shapes a fitted silhouette, and blouson sleeves add volume at the arm to balance it. The house also works the idea in knitwear this season: the Clash Wool Utility Sweater in black has a sculpted peplum on a rib knit, and the Clash Wool Drawn Sweater has a soft peplum hem in a striped merino blend. Our guide on how to wear a peplum blazer covers the sharper, tailored version.

What is boucle?

Boucle is a fabric made from boucle yarn, a yarn twisted with small loops along its length, which gives the cloth a nubby, three dimensional surface. The name comes from the French word for curl, and the loops are what you see and feel.

That texture has practical consequences. Boucle hides small creases and signs of wear, it adds visual warmth, and it reads as dressy even in a simple cut. The same loops catch on hook fastenings, rough bag straps and prong set jewellery, so it needs a little more care than a smooth wool. The Clash jacket’s blend of wool with alpaca wool gives a soft, warm handle, and a small share of polyamide adds strength to the loops. Being fully lined, it slides on over a knit without the boucle catching inside.

For a wider look at textured jackets, read our list of the best tweed jackets for women; tweed and boucle are often grouped together, though tweed is a firmer, flatter weave.

What do you wear with a peplum jacket?

Wear a peplum jacket with a slim, high rise lower half that meets the jacket at the waist: a pencil skirt, a straight midi, a cropped flare trouser and dark straight jeans all work. The peplum supplies the volume, so the bottom half should supply the line.

The Clash Draped Midi Skirt in black is a wool silk blend with an asymmetric cut and a fluid high low hem, so it moves beneath the peplum instead of fighting it. The Clash Wool Cropped Flare Pant in bottle green is high rise and cropped, in stretch wool, with a self covered waist belt; worn under the jacket, the waist sits exactly where the peplum begins and the flare returns at the ankle. For a full length option, the Clash Wool Silk Flare Pant is a high rise, wool silk blend trouser with centre front pintucks that run the eye down the leg.

Can you wear a boucle jacket with denim?

Yes, a boucle jacket with denim is one of the easiest ways to wear it, because flat, smooth denim sets off the looped surface and takes the formality down a notch. Keep the denim dark and the rise high, so the peplum finishes at the waistband.

• Deep navy boucle with dark denim. A tonal pairing that reads as polished. The Denim Applique Relaxed Flare is a high rise, dark wash jean with embroidered bird appliques and a wide flared leg.
• Cream boucle with black denim. The sharpest contrast. The Vintage Velvet Denim Flare in vintage black has a velvet finish, a fitted high rise waist and a slim flared leg, a textured partner for textured cloth.
• Boucle with a denim shirt. Worn open over a crisp denim shirt tucked into tailored trousers, the jacket turns casual without losing its shape.

Our Zimmermann denim guide covers the house denim in depth.

How do you wear a peplum jacket for the office and for evening?

For the office, wear a peplum jacket in a dark cloth over a straight skirt and tailored trousers; for evening, choose a pale boucle with a fluid skirt and satin shoes. The jacket stays the same, and the cloth around it changes its register.

1. Office. Deep navy jacket buttoned over a fine knit, with the bottle green cropped flare trouser and a low heeled boot. The antique brass buttons are the only jewellery the outfit needs.
2. Office, without the peplum. If you prefer a straighter line, the Clash Wool Cropped Jacket in bottle green matches the trouser in the same stretch wool, with a high stand collar, gold tone buttons and lightly padded shoulders. Worn together they read as a suit.
3. Dinner. Cream jacket over the black draped midi skirt, with the Idle Platform 95 in black satin, a platform with a polished gold charm chain and an adjustable ankle strap.
4. Party. Wear the jacket buttoned with nothing but a fine camisole beneath, a slim velvet trouser and a small clutch, and let the boucle play the part of the dress.

Which colour boucle jacket is easiest to wear?

A dark boucle jacket such as deep navy is the easiest to wear often, because it works with black, grey, green and denim, and it shows less wear at the cuffs and pockets. A cream boucle jacket is the more striking choice, and it brightens a dark winter wardrobe in a single piece.

Texture changes how colour reads. The loops of boucle catch light and cast tiny shadows, so a navy boucle looks softer than navy gabardine, and a cream boucle looks warmer than a flat cream wool. That makes cream far easier to wear with black than a smooth white jacket would be. If you want one jacket for every season, choose the dark shade and wear it with denim in spring and with wool trousers in winter. If you already own dark tailoring, the cream version adds the most new outfits, pairing with black skirts, bottle green trousers and pale knits alike.

Who suits a peplum jacket, and how should it fit?

A peplum jacket suits most figures when its waist sits at your natural waist and its flare ends at the high hip; fit matters more than body shape. A peplum placed too low widens the hip, and one placed too high shortens the torso.

• Straight figures. The peplum creates a waist; choose a fuller flare.
• Pear figures. Choose a soft, short peplum that skims the top of the hip, worn over a dark, straight lower half.
• Full bust. Keep the jacket open at the top button and choose a peplum with enough length to balance the chest.
• Petite frames. A short peplum and a high rise trouser keep the leg long.

When you try one on, check that the waist seam meets your narrowest point, that the buttons close without pulling over a thin knit, and that the sleeves reach the wrist bone. Blouson sleeves like the Clash jacket’s gather at the cuff, so judge their length with your arm bent. Zimmermann calls the jacket true to size in a regular fit; the Zimmermann size guide gives the bust and waist measurements, and our edit of Zimmermann knitwear and coats shows the season’s outerwear together.

The pieces at a glance

How we measured: prices are read from the Coveti catalogue and compositions from the house composition on each Zimmermann product page. Sizes are the sizes Zimmermann showed in stock on 6 November 2026, given in UK sizes (Zimmermann 0 is a UK 8) and in EU sizes for shoes. Stock moves daily, so the product page is the final word.

Peplum jackets around the world

United States. Coveti prices every piece in US dollars. Zimmermann runs boutiques on Madison Avenue, in the Meatpacking District and in SoHo in New York.

United Kingdom. Coveti lists every piece in UK sizes. In London the house has boutiques on Bruton Street and Sloane Street.

Europe. In Paris Zimmermann sells from rue François 1er, the Faubourg Saint-Honoré and Galeries Lafayette. Sizes convert directly: a UK 10 is an EU 36.

Gulf. The first Middle East boutique opened at Mall of the Emirates in Dubai in 2024, followed by Atlantis The Royal, The Galleria Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi, Kingdom Centre in Riyadh, The Avenues in Kuwait and Marassi Galleria in Bahrain. Our Zimmermann guide for the UAE and Saudi Arabia covers the region.

Boutique locations are from the house and trade press, checked October 2026. Shipping terms are in the Coveti logistics and returns protocol.

Frequently asked questions

What is a peplum jacket?

A peplum jacket is a fitted jacket with a short flared panel below the waist that fans out over the hips. It defines the waist and adds shape through the lower torso.

What do you wear with a peplum jacket?

Slim, high rise pieces such as a pencil skirt, a straight midi skirt, cropped flare trousers and dark jeans. Keep volume in one place, so avoid full skirts under a full peplum.

Does a peplum jacket suit a pear shape?

It can, when the peplum is short and soft and ends at the high hip, because it skims the hip instead of adding width. Pair it with a dark, straight lower half.

Can you wear a boucle jacket with jeans?

Yes. A boucle jacket over dark, high rise jeans is one of the easiest ways to dress it down, because smooth denim sets off the texture of the cloth.

How do you stop boucle from snagging?

Keep it away from hook fastenings, rough bag straps and prong set jewellery. If a loop pulls, ease it back to the reverse with a blunt needle and never cut it.

Is a peplum jacket appropriate for the office?

Yes, especially in a dark cloth worn over a straight midi skirt. Tailored trousers work just as well, and a navy boucle peplum reads as polished as a suit jacket.

Curated by the Coveti Studio.