If you’ve taken a peek at the weather app recently, I’m sure you’re aware that the forecast is looking rather cheery (yes, I know—the UK still has a few wet days on the horizon, but things are looking up!) I, though, fell into the uninformed category. Having raided my capsule wardrobe this morning, I set off on my commute armed with a wool jacket, thick denim jeans and backless loafers, and the glorious sun-soaked rays spun me through a loop. The outfit I’d chosen was too cold-weather coded.

With some free time on my lunch break, I decided to lock in and take my job as junior fashion editor seriously. After digitally perusing the high street for an on-trend jacket to relieve me of my wool layer, a variety of expensive-looking shapes appeared to me. 11 stores and three Blank Streets later, I landed on a three-way tie between Zara, M&S and H&M.

With years of high-street shopping under my belt, the secret to finding the perfect jacket is a rather simple one: the time of year. I’ve found that it’s during this in-between period, when you’re unsure what’s going on with the weather, is the best time to invest in a new piece of outerwear. Maybe it’s because it falls just before we’re inundated with a flurry of spring/summer 2026 styles, or maybe it’s because it’s when we tend to hold out for that perfect investment buy, but either way, this is when the high street works the hardest to capture our attention. And I’m all ears.