The Best White Trench Coats Handpicked by Claire

A white trench coat asks more of its construction than a camel or navy one ever will, because there is nowhere for a shortcut to hide. The colour shows every flaw in the cloth, which is why the good ones are made from a proper cotton gabardine with real body to it, tightly woven so it holds a crease at the lapel and skims rather than clings. Look at how the belt sits and how the storm flap falls. A cheap version goes limp at the shoulder and yellows within a season. A well made one keeps its structure through the sleeve and holds a clean line down the front, which is the whole point of the shape in the first place.

The double breasted front and the storm flap were built for function, not decoration, so a good coat still closes properly and the belt still does something rather than sitting there for show.

Fit matters more than in most coats, because white has nowhere to hide a sleeve that is too long or a shoulder that is too broad. It should sit close through the shoulder, skim rather than swamp the body, and stop somewhere between the knee and mid calf, since anything shorter starts to look like a mac rather than a trench.

Styling one is less about matching and more about contrast. White against denim, against black tailoring, against a print dress it is thrown over on a changeable day, always reads sharper than white on white.

It is at its best over something with a bit of texture or colour underneath, so it has a job to do rather than just sitting there. Roll the sleeves, leave it open over a jumper, or belt it properly over a shirt and trouser for anything that needs to look put together without trying too hard.

It suits the in between moments most, the spring mornings that turn into warm afternoons, city trips, meetings, anything that needs a coat that reads considered rather than heavy. It is not a coat for downpours or deep winter, cotton gabardine is not built for that, but for the long stretch of unreliable weather either side of summer, nothing else does the job with quite the same authority.