NEW YORK - A camel-coloured coat may sound bland, but it could be just the thing to spice up a cool-weather wardrobe.

While a camel coat makes a classic chic statement, the style is malleable enough to be either a trendy boyfriend jacket or traditional trench. Its place in fashion history, on the backs of Katharine Hepburn and Grace Kelly, and Ali McGraw and Kate Moss, give it a solid pedigree, and the colour - a range of shades between tobacco and fawn - has a richness to it that, quite frankly, makes you look rich.

"Camel looks indulgent like winter white but has the pragmatism of grey and black. It's the best of both worlds. ... A camel coat evokes throwaway glamour," says Michael Kors, who for many seasons has used camel as a core of his fall collections.

You can wear camel with any colour in your wardrobe, including black, which makes a camel coat a good investment piece, but one that you don't have to spend a fortune on, says Stephanie Solomon, fashion director of Bloomingdale's. She says she owns three styles - a zip-front, a peacoat and belted version - and she's had each for at least 20 years. They come out of the closet every time she wears the black pants, black shirt, black heels combo.

Kors suggests pairing camel with white or bold brights like red or orange; stylist Mary Alice Stephenson recommends it with one of the season's other trends, a neon colour like hot pink or electric blue.

Macy's vice-president of ready-to-wear fashion, Nicole Fischelis, says the contrast colour doesn't really matter because what most complements a camel coat are brown leather accessories - the belt, the boot, the bag. She likes a little animal print thrown into the mix, too.

Camel coats aren't always camel-hair coats, but that's the garment that really made its mark in the middle of the 20th century as a sign of sophisticated taste. Camel hair is from the soft undercoat of the camel, with a similar feeling - and similar cache - to cashmere and alpaca, explains Marlene Middlemiss, fashion design instructor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Over time, some manufacturers ...[next page]