The colour does a lot of the work. Crimson is bold enough to feel like a deliberate choice, not just something I threw on against the cold, but it's a true, grown-up red rather than anything loud. Worn open over a white blouse and a belt, it looks like an outfit I planned. Buttoned up against the wind on the walk home, it's still the same jacket doing a completely different job.

Then there are the details I didn't notice until I'd worn it a few times, and now can't stop appreciating.

The honest reason it's become my everyday jacket is that it suits the climate I actually live in. Mornings that don't quite know what they want to be, a wind that picks up off nowhere, the odd shower that blows through and is gone again. It's light enough that I never resent carrying it, and it shrugs off a passing shower without holding the damp.

One practical note — the cut is relaxed and generous, which is part of why it layers so well over a blouse. If you're between sizes or want that easy, draped fit, I'd happily go up a size; it's what gives the jacket its lovely loose silhouette rather than anything tight.

So that's my desk-to-dinner secret, and it isn't really a secret at all. It's one good jacket that I trust to keep up with a day that never goes to plan. I put it on in the morning and forget about it until someone tells me they love the colour — which, in Australia, happens more often than you'd think.