Having finally made peace with saying farewell to sunnier days, we’re now looking forward to welcoming the plethora of cold weather options available to us as we teeter on the cusp of winter – whether it be faithful tan leather Chelsea boots, roll neck knits or cashmere in anticipation of our Christmas wish lists. But, when the cold snap truly hits, as indicated by the first frost on the ground and a smack of icy air to the chops, the most important part of any man’s wardrobe is undoubtedly a good winter coat.
In a season where covering up against the climate is paramount, a coat is the first - and near enough only - thing people will see, so it pays to make it a good one. However, given that the majority of us will only have the capital to invest in one or two good quality options, we must choose wisely. Now - we’re not ones to peddle the joyless narrative that good and proper investment pieces should always be purely functional, but of course, in this instance, it plays a heavy part. This means that weighty, quality, well-sourced fabrics such as pure wool and leather should be numero uno on your list of requirements, in versatile shades of camel, tobacco brown, navy, charcoal grey and black.
Usually, to make these practical coat purchases feel purposeful, we seek out luxury designer labels who we know will have spent countless hours fine tuning the details, use only the finest fabrics, and come with near enough a lifetime guarantee. However, our eyes have been opened to a high street brand whose line of affordable men’s coats rival the bigger names in terms of quality and bang for your buck: AllSaints.