Eight winter coats to keep out the cold and warm your heart

It is what’s on the outside that counts, or so the fashion cognoscenti have declared with the humble coat being heralded as the autumn/winter ’14 hero piece.

Revolutionary, I know. Given the industry’s proclivity for novelty, it’s refreshing to see a strong focus on what we, at 53 degrees North latitude, will probably wear everyday for the next eight months. With practicality the cornerstone of our sartorial decisions (horizontal rain, freezing fog, mutant hailstones), it’s important to nail the élan factor, if only to cosset our egos on those windswept platforms at 8am.

So, what’s trending coat-wise for 2014? Let’s start with the basics: the duffle. Cast off all images of Paddington Bear and ’60s university professors; the 2.0 update is both stylish and sensible. Having originated as a naval convoy coat, the scratchy Melton cloth of yore has since been replaced with more accommodating fabric blends complete with tortoiseshell toggles and rope hooks as standard. For notice-me appeal, swap out traditional navy and camel versions for pillar box red as seen at Hobbs (€380).