Wrap up warm and grab an extra layer of style this winter in a good coat. Emma Pinch reports

GETTING your winter coat just right is a fashion masterstroke.

With no more effort than a shrug and wriggle, a good coat can transform a shapeless couch potato into a sharply tailored businesswoman or a knock ’em dead glamour puss.

Dogtooth coat, £30, by H&M ; jeans, £38, and boots, £65, by Urban Outfitters

Navy coat, £155 ; floral dress, £48 ; tights, £8 ; all by Urban Outfitters

Fake fur coat, £149, by GIVe ; jeans, £38, boots, £65, both by Urban Outfitters

Red military coat, £239, Ted Baker ; red beret, £28, Urban Outfitters

Purple ruffle coat, £75, by Red Herring at Debenhams ; jeans, £38, by Urban Outfitters

In the winter, your coat will generally be the piece of clothing people see, and from which new people you meet outdoors at least, make their first impression.

And it’s worth remembering that a well- tailored coat that doesn’t strain anywhere and nips at the waist, smoothes lumps and bumps like nothing else.

The biggest coat story this season is the military coat. It’s everywhere, and a glimpse in shop windows says dogtooth patterned fabric, classic trenches, loose-belted wrap coats and origami folds and exaggerated hips and shoulders are found in coats as well as dresses.

Fake fur never goes away, and the irresistible-to-the-touch number from George Davies’s new store, in Liverpool One, is getting a lot of interest.

Coat do’s and don’ts

Do spend extra on good tailoring;

Don’t bulk up with too many folds on a trench coat or billowing anorak;

Don’t go double breasted if you’re wide/big busted;