The puffer jacket has a bad reputation in certain circles and some of it is deserved. Badly proportioned, too shiny, too puffy, and it reads as purely functional in a way that does nothing for the rest of what you are wearing. Grey is the colour that gives the puffer its best chance of working properly. Not quite as stark as black, not as loud as navy, it sits quietly alongside almost everything else in a wardrobe without demanding attention.

We have been looking specifically at cuts that sit closer to the body without compressing the fill so much that warmth becomes an afterthought. Collar height matters more than most people realise. So does length. A jacket that hits at the right point on the hip changes the proportion of the whole outfit.

The ones we have picked here work on a building site and on the school run and in between those two things, which is where most of us actually spend our winters.