When it comes to sale season, it's always worth saving yourself for COS. Not only is everything 50% off, meaning, for example, that most dresses are well under the £50 mark, but the timelessness of these clothes is such that they pretty much look like everything new-season, though perhaps slightly more summery. No matter, however, for everything can be layered up with a fine-gauge polo neck or a chunky cardigan (see here for a timely lesson from @fashionandstyleedit).

So what's sitting in our basket? For autumn dresses, which you can keep wearing with slouchy knee-high boots until well into winter, it's got to be the black drawstring dress (down from £79 to £23.70). 'Sack' and 'tent' aren't particularly appealing words but could both be applied to its easy-to-wear silhouette that is still super flattering (trust us). The oversized shirt dress, which could either be worn as a shirt or a shirt dress, is also worth investing in (reduced from £59 to £41.30). The cargo pant is back in business for autumn and this is a great pull-on version (now £20.70) that would look very sharp with lace-ups or loafers. And with the return of the kilt, COS' cream skirt feels like a crisp way to do pleats. P.S. Alexis Foreman owns the sweatshirt skirt, now £27.50 and available in cream or black, and isn't it, when you think about it, the perfect thing to gently ease yourself out of sweatpants?