It is late October, which means there are precious few days left when you will see daylight on both sides of the office, that Strictly is starting to get interesting, it is 10-to-Christmas already – and in fashion terms, it is time to buy a new coat. Some things never change.

Except, maybe they do. Or rather, maybe they should. If you love clothes, it makes no sense to treat them as disposable. Does anyone need to buy a new coat every year? Possibly, if you buy just one coat and wear it day in, day out in all elements. But if you spend the winter flitting between your work coat and your going-out coat and your super-practical, really-hope-no-one-sees-me coat, then you’re not wearing any of those coats thin. Also, don’t know about you, but I’m getting older, and I swear that a year goes by now in about 10 minutes, so doing anything once a year feels like a more hectic schedule than is absolutely necessary.

You can’t buy the coat I’m wearing here, because it’s a Jaeger one I’ve had in my wardrobe for years. (That’s the point of buying a coat from somewhere like Jaeger, surely: you have a coat you can feel good about for six years, not six weeks.) And there is something comforting about getting a coat out of storage. (Caveat: I say “storage”, which sounds terribly grand. What I mean is: from inside my suitcases, which is where I stash out-of-season clothes, still in the bags they come back from the dry cleaner in.) It’s a bit like dragging the box of Christmas decorations out of the loft. Springtime has blossom and baby animals to remind you about renewal and the circle of life; on the other side of the year we have baubles and cinnamon and wraparound camel wool, which is not as good, but a lot better than nothing.

If this is, in fact, the year when you do need a coat, invest in a classic like the trench or wool ones pictured, all of which should last you years. Otherwise, get out the classic you already own – camel or navy, knee-length, grownup, definitely not streetstyle clickbait but, frankly, who needs that? See if it might not work over, say, a new scarf-print dress. I love scarf prints, but have yet to master how to wear an actual silk scarf without feeling ridiculous, so I am very into a dress or blouse version. A scarf print is equal parts sophistication and joie de vivre, which is an excellent combination. Whether a new dress, or a coat that’s already in a suitcase under the bed: the point of fashion is to make you feel good.