I used to hate puffer jackets but now I wear almost nothing else

I used to hate puffer jackets. I misguidedly thought they were the sartorial way of saying, “I can't be bothered”. But I have come to see the errors of my ways. In France, we have a proverb that says “Il n'y a que les imbéciles qui ne changent pas d'avis”, meaning (in a not-so-polite way), that only the narrow-minded never change their minds.

And so I've come to love puffer coats so much that I now wear almost no other winter coats, especially when I'm out and about with my daughter and I want to be comfortable as well as stylish.

Because make no mistake, puffer styles are nothing if not chic. Thanks to designers such as Dior, Khaite, Chloé and Isabel Marant, and high street stores like ARKET and Zara, the padded jackets have been given a luxe upgrade.

This season is all about that quiet luxury trend. Raey's hooded mega coat and Norma Kamali's quilted trench and Ganni's padded recycled-fibre jacket are all perfect examples of this.

There are plenty of more maximalist styles as well, and I've seen bold animal prints at Valentino, Miu Miu and Gucci. Silver is a huge trend for autumn/winter 23, so expect to see lots of it here as well.

Styling-wise, the trend is actually much easier to wear than you think. The street style set are big fans of dressing a puffer up with a knitted dress and chunky ankle boots, or an oversized suit and heels.

Shop my edit of designer and affordable puffer jackets available to buy now.