The return of the coat

Oversized, belted, worn with intent: the coat is the whole argument of the season.

For a few years the coat was an afterthought, something to be shrugged off at the door. This season it is the point. Shoulders have widened again, hems have dropped to the calf, and the belt is back, tied rather than buckled.

What changed is the way a coat is meant to be worn: closed, all day, as the outfit rather than over one. It rewards good cloth. A heavy wool melton in oxblood or bottle green does most of the work; everything underneath can be plain.

Three to know

The double-breasted overcoat with a low button stance. The wrap coat with no buttons at all. And the car coat, cut short and square, which is the one most people should actually buy.