French Connection Coats: Which to Buy, and Which to Skip

French Connection's coats this winter are loud. There's a burgundy faux-leather trench with a gloss on it, and a houndstooth check blown up so big that each tooth is the size of your palm. If you want a plain navy coat that disappears in the Tube queue, shop somewhere else. If you want the coat people ask you about, this is a good place to look.

We have 62 pieces of French Connection women's outerwear in stock on so-me on 28 October, sold through French Connection's own site and Debenhams. Only about fifteen of them are proper coats. The rest are bombers, blazers, short jackets and, for some reason, around sixteen waistcoats. So this is the coat part of the range, sorted by type, with prices. The coats run from £44 to £210, and more than half of them cost between £114 and £175.

French Connection trench coats

Four trenches, and they're the strongest part of the range. The Kaci (£150) is khaki with a black double collar and a tie belt, 116cm long on a size S, and it's the one I'd buy: the contrast collar makes a classic shape look designed. The Solene (£155) is the quieter one, longline with a light pink undercollar and buckle straps on the cuffs. The Athene (£160) is the burgundy crinkle faux-leather trench from the top of this piece, double-breasted and 112cm long. You'll know in about a second whether it's you. The Aussie (£44) is a cropped denim trench, which makes it a jacket with ambitions. Good in March, no help in January.

Wool, check and faux fur coats

If you're buying for actual cold, start here. The Adele (£114) is a charcoal wool-mix pea coat, boxy and double-breasted, and short at 72.5cm. The Torie (£160) is a pink chevron wool-blend coat, single-breasted and tailored, for anyone whose wardrobe is all black and wants the coat to be the colour. The Lucilla (£80) is a double-breasted wool-mix midi in that oversized black and camel houndstooth, 110cm long. At £80 it's the best-value coat in the range.

The Remi (£60) is a longline brown and cream check wrap coat with a tie belt, 121.5cm long, in a soft, fluffy fabric. The Maribel (£175) is the faux fur: brown, belted, relaxed in the body and 106.5cm long. Worth it if you'll wear it to more than two parties. Skip it if you're buying one coat for everything.

Puffers, parkas and faux suede

There isn't much padding in this range. The Minnie (£190) is a longline black puffer with a khaki layer built in and a ribbed funnel neck. It looks good, but £190 is a lot for a puffer, and I'd skip it. The two padded coats sold through Debenhams are the cheap, warm option: a longline quilted puffer with a hood at £80 and a midi parka with a faux fur hood at £70, both in black. The Cambridge (£210) is a waxed-cotton parka with a cropped inner layer built in and a glossy oversized collar. It's the most expensive coat here and also the most useful in a wet British winter.

Faux suede is the other thing French Connection are doing a lot of. The Laney short coat (£130) pulls in at the waist with internal toggles, and the Camry aviator (£150) has faux shearling on the collar, cuffs, hem and lining. Both are short and brown, and both are for dry days, because suedette and rain don't get on.

French Connection coats and jackets by colour

Black is the safe buy, and most of French Connection's black outerwear is padded. Brown is where the faux fur and the faux suede are.

French Connection coats under £100

Five of the coats are £100 or less right now: the Lucilla, the Remi, the Aussie and the two padded coats from Debenhams. Jackets at that price show up here too, if a short layer is all you need.

My verdict: the Kaci trench if you want the coat everyone asks about, the Lucilla if you want that at £80, and the Cambridge parka if you're properly cold and can stretch to £210. Skip the Minnie unless you've fallen for it. Prices and stock move quickly at the end of October, so favourite the coat you want and let Price Radar tell you if it drops.