A beautiful dozen: grey coats

It is only when I embarked on a quest of collecting twelve grey coats I realised how challenging the task was going to be. I craved the Dior grey, the icy, silvery hue, almost as if made by elves from the lightest web and fogs woven through it, the colour of haze that spreads over the dewy fields on a September morning – not a heavy, dusty cloud stuffed with rain drops ready to fall, a subtle nuance that can turn something sparkling and gorgeous into dull and lifeless.

I think that the love for the shade was brought by my memories and nostalgia for the colour does remind me of snow and moody Russian winter forest where every tree, every bush and twig are generously frosted with those blue-grey ice microcrystals. It also takes me back to rainy Paris and its mirrored streets. And the window of MaxMara shop where I first saw a light grey cashmere coat – so beautiful, desirable and perfect in its luxurious wrap-around-me softness.

There are very few colours more beautiful and elegant than grey, but there are quite a few that will look harmonious with it, so a classic coat serves as a wonderful investment piece, especially for the girls with pink skin undertones when the came shade looks a little out of place and the black – to harsh to bear.

Where to buy: 1. Double-breasted wool-blend coat, Stella McCartney (£1085), 2. Tropez belted wool coat, Reiss (£275), 3. Oversized wool coat, Richard Nicoll (£1395), 4. Mesmerize coat, A.F.Vandevorst (£1256), 5. Wide lapel wool blend coat, Mango (£139), 6. Light grey cashmere coat, MaxMara (£877), 7. Wool blend oversized coat, Mango (£119), 8. Grey wool Maple coat, Surface to Air (£380), 9. Double-faced mid-length coat, Jaeger (£350), 10. Palomba coat, Sportmax (£565), 11. Florelle soft grey tailored coat, Fenn Wright Manson (£250), 12. Double breasted wool coat, Maison Martin Margiela (£1220)

Photo source: Vogue UK August 2010 (photography: Willy Vanderperre; styling: Miranda Almond)