The moment August ends a wealth of winter coats flood every conceivable shopping place; online, the Highstreet, eBay… everywhere. There are puffer jackets in shiny metallics, wonderfully bright bouclé coats, rainbow colours, decadent textures and yet, somehow, our wardrobes are full of black and grey outerwear – at a push, a camel coat may make an appearance – but that’s as risqué as things get. We eye-up a pastel blue McQ coat and note how it won’t go with 90% of our wardrobe, we wonder if it is too ‘out there’ and start having nightmares that Sue from accounts might gossip with Jane from marketing about how wacky our new jacket is (how embarrassing). Or perhaps you are perplexed by purchasing something a little pricey that might not be fashionable next season; after all, for most of us, a winter coat is the biggest single purchase we make for our wardrobe. And so, the cycle continues: we stick with our black coat for its versatility and wave goodbye to the Margiela silver puffer that made our eyes truly sparkle.

I wrote this as a love letter to the statement coat, to the people who make them, to whom we owe it to wear their gloriously not-boring creations. A statement coat goes with much more of your wardrobe than you think, sure it may date in a few years but hold onto it for 10 and that garment is solid gold vintage. Wearing what you please is so much more fulfilling than staying plain to avoid being stared at as you walk down the street.

1. Wear it with all black everything. This is the most user-friendly way to pull off the coat of your dreams. Find all of your black clothes, put them on, then put the coat on top. Ta-da! You’re wearing a bold coat and feel tres chic. SHOP: Bouclé Coat, Taxi T-Shirt, Spongy Flared Trousers & Black Arrows Sneakers.

2. One way to combat how ostentatious you can feel in a coat is to be over casual. Trainers, a tracksuit, a cap. Very ‘model off duty’ and a way to nonchalantly wear a jacket that looks like it was the first thing you picked up as you left the house to grab your oat flat white. SHOP: Leopard Double-Breasted Coat, Cropped Velvet Sweater, Logo Tape Track Pants & Felted Wool Baseball Hat.

3. Ramp up the sex appeal: Wear it with a lacey top, itsy bitsy shorts and fabulous boots. SHOP: Nappy Belted Wool Coat, Lace Slip Top, Embroidered 5  Pockets Vintage Shorts & Bimba Boots.

4. Get the accessories on point: the scarf, the bag, the earrings: all the accoutrements that make an outfit cohesive and pulled together. SHOP: Embroidered Shearling Coat, Striped Knit, D-Ring Leather Pouch With Zip Coin Case & Studded Jagged Frame Sunglasses.

5. Let your inner weirdo SHINE. Colour block. All those clothes you thought you couldn’t wear with the coat? You totally can. Don’t dress for others, dress for yourself! SHOP: Reflective Puffer Jacket, Twisted Front Satin Dress, Glitter Panel Midstar Sneakers & Marant’s Socks.

By the time you’ve paraded around in the aforementioned 5 outfits you’ll want people to gossip and stare, after all, you didn’t wear a statement coat to not get noticed.