As the weather outside slowly gets more and more frightful, we choose to take solace in our very favorite aspect of winter: the coats. (OK, and the hot toddies, but that's a column for another time.)

Nothing thrills us more than getting our warm and woolly jackets out of mothballs and bundling up in the cold air -- and the best part is, when it's cold enough to freeze off your eyelashes, pretty much anything goes. Or at least, almost anything, as the following celebrity Dos and Don'ts for winter weather-wear can attest.

DO: Turn up the volume.
We may not love that Katharine McPhee's hair looks like she's prepping to play Meredith Baxter in the Lifetime story of her coming-out, but we're enamored of that coat. It looks cozy as a sweater you'd wear curled up on your couch with a mug of spiked hot cocoa, as flattering as a sleek winter trench, and as fun as a fur turban on an episode of Dynasty.

DON'T: Turn up the volume to 11.
We once fondly remembered Alia Shawkat as Maeby Fumke from "Arrested Development" ... but she's burned on our brains now as Girl Who Made a Poncho Out of Her Car's Floor Mats. Worse, she layered underneath it a Laura Ingalls romper and long johns, then added a hood, a hat and a scarf. It's like she's the winner of a contest where every item you put on your body, you keep -- except she's doing it at Goodwill. Please, do not layer up like this. Yes, it's cold, but winter is no reason to forget you have a shape – nor does it automatically strike you blind, as far as we know.

DO: Remember winter white.

It's a bit scary to attempt a white overcoat, regardless of season: Think of the grime. But while it may not be practical every day, nothing looks fresher or more chic in the dead of gloomy winter than a beautiful white coat (a la Posh, left).

Just make sure you don't sit in anything, spill anything or ... you know what? Maybe it's best to just wear this one on those occasions where you merely need to stand somewhere and look pretty.
DON'T: Forget pants.

Dude. You'd think this would be one of those things we wouldn't have to tell you. And yet ...
DO: Use Cute Accessories

Props to Carrie Underwood for managing to bundle up and still look totally adorable. Credit goes to her figure-flattering wide belt, which helps her avoid Shapeless Coat Syndrome, and her sassy burgundy tights. Never underestimate the power of a splash of color as a sartorial defense against Seasonal Affective Disorder.
DON'T: Be Cutesy

Anti-props to Paris Hilton, who clearly decided that if a splash of color was good, then taking a bath in Pepto Bismol must be better. There's nothing wrong with a touch of winter whimsy, but if you're bundled up in something last seen at recess, that might be a good cue to tone down the whole thing down.
DO: Make a bold statement.

Ashley Olsen clearly knows that a plush leopard-print coat doesn't need much adornment, so she paired it with simple black boots and laid-back hair and makeup -- nothing that would compete with her eye-catching, and toasty-warm-looking, jacket.

If you want to try something that noticeable, take a page from her book and scale back everything else. It's about working with dashes of flair, as opposed to marinating in drama and then deep-frying yourself in OMG.
DON'T: Steal your sister's statement coat and make it crazy.

Mary-Kate Olsen, on the other hand, does not much care for subtlety (nor, apparently, our advice). She raided Ashley's closet and then added crimson shoes, maroon lips, a giant briefcase, and a hat that makes her look like an Argentine gaucho.

Fun with winter fashion is great, but she looks less like a young mogul than she does Liza Minnelli's personal shopper. And that'll send a girl running for warmer weather faster than any blizzard.


All Images Credit: Getty Images