The Best Men's Winter Clothing: Five Pieces Worth Owning

The Bedale has been in Barbour's range for decades and remains the most useful single piece of winter clothing most men in Britain can own. The waxed cotton sheds drizzle and wind, the corduroy collar stands up against the cold, and the two-way zip and studded storm flap keep the weather where it belongs. It is short enough to wear over a jumper without swamping you, and Barbour's zip-in liners take it properly into winter.

It is not warm on its own — this is a shell, not a coat — and the wax finish needs reproofing every year or two, which Barbour will do for you. The Bedale is the shortest of the classic waxed jackets, with the Beaufort and Border cut longer, so it works as easily over jeans as over tailoring.

The Expedition was developed for researchers working at Antarctic stations, and it shows: a down-filled body, a windproof outer, a deep hood that seals around the face and pockets you can actually get a gloved hand into. Made in Canada and built to be worn hard for years.

For most of Britain it is more coat than winter requires. It is heavy, it is expensive, and you will be uncomfortably hot on a bus at four degrees. Buy it if you spend real time outdoors in genuine cold — standing on touchlines, working outside, travelling to places where minus ten is normal. If you want the look without the rating, the brand's lighter city parkas and bombers are the sensible route.

A 700-fill goose down jacket in the boxy, high-loft shape that has been copied endlessly since the nineties. It is remarkably light for the warmth it gives, the hood packs away into the collar, and the whole thing stows into its own pocket — which makes it the piece that travels well and lives in a bag from October onwards.

What it is not is waterproof. The nylon face fabric is shower-resistant at best, and in steady rain it wets out and stops insulating. Wear it on dry cold days as your outer layer, or under a shell when the forecast is grim. It runs large and boxy, so try it over the jumper you intend to wear underneath rather than sizing up out of habit.

John Smedley has been knitting at Lea Mills in Derbyshire since 1784, and the fine-gauge merino crew neck is the piece that quietly does the most work in a winter wardrobe. It sits flat under a jacket without bunching at the shoulders, breathes indoors instead of cooking you, resists odour and holds its shape season after season.

Choose a crew neck for versatility — it works under a shirt collar and under a coat — and a dark neutral you will not tire of. The trade-off is care: this is hand wash or wool cycle, dry flat, no tumble dryer. Fine knits also snag, so watch bag buckles and watch straps.

A scarf is the cheapest way to make a lighter coat viable, and this one comes from a Scottish mill that has been dyeing, spinning, weaving and finishing cashmere in Elgin since 1797. It is warm without weight, long enough to loop properly, and it does the one thing a scarf must do: close the gap at the neck where a coat lets cold air in.

Cashmere needs a little respect. It pills, so keep a de-pilling comb handy; moths love it, so store it clean and sealed at the end of the season; and it should be hand washed cool or dry cleaned, never machine washed with the rest of the laundry.