The Only 4 Coat Trends To Care About

After a summer so steaming and steadily hot my ‘holiday’ wardrobe became the norm, winter’s sudden return has caught me by surprise. It feels like autumn came and went in the space of a weekend, and now we’re in full-on, gloves-mandatory winter and I’ve come to the sudden realization I don’t have an appropriate coat.

God bless fashion, it’s the only thing that makes the return of this long cold slog exciting. Snuggly sweaters and woolly tights, come at me. At the core of my dream capsule winter wardrobe is a coat, but which one? I want it to look expensive, but not be bankrupting. I want it to be relevant for more than a year, yet resistant to flash in the pan trends. I want it to pull together outfits, but not outshine what’s underneath. Luckily, the growth of the mid-price market has made these far-reaching goals possible.

Having spent the best part of yesterday scouring the internet, I can tell you there are only four coat trends to pay attention to. The most elegant? The trench. Beige use to be considered boring but now buttermilk and caramel have become a by-word for stealth wealth and what better way to spell out the message with the heritage silhouette of a mac. The savviest? Faux fur. I can’t think of a winter in the last decade when a fur coat hasn’t been on the agenda. It’s gone from Penny Lane to Shrimps and now it’s enjoying a certain comfort as a perennially relevant piece. The wildest? Animal print. The call of the wild has echoed around every aspect of fashion this season, from shoes to bags to coats it’s almost impossible to escape the appeal of leopard, tiger and zebra patterns. The aspirational? Check. Whether channelling the Queen’s personal tartan or the allure of the outdoors with a woodsman plaid, this one is high on our wishlist.

Keep reading to see the coats that I’m adding to basket...