"Simple, short and sporty from Burberry Prorsum (£895), elegant, streamlined and leather-trimmed from Ralph Lauren Collection (£1,895), chic with a velvet hood and satin-ribbon fastening from Alexander McQueen (£1,595), and reversible, capacious and belted from The Row (£3,980).
Valentino has a heavenly dark grey one in felt/wool embellished with a cloud of colourful hand-embroidered butterflies, which helps explain the price (£13,050). There’s also a less expensive version in the same material but printed with a butterfly instead (£3,045).
Dior has taken the pretty, coquettish route with a baby-pink cashmere cape adorned with sexy black pleating peeking out beneath the hem (£5,200), while its white and black cashmere design has plenty of dash (£4,100, second picture). Gareth Pugh sent an extremely dramatic one down the catwalk in pure white wool, cut geometrically like a diamond (from £700). For even greater theatrical effect, it would be hard to beat Antonio Berardi’s short grey and white frilled version with a high collar (£1,041, first picture).Salvatore Ferragamo has also gone in for capes in a big way this autumn. Take, for instance, the versatile version in plain black wool (£1,555) – it has a high neck with a clasp, making it more weatherproof than most, and it would, of course, go with almost anything. Its leopard-print wool style in rust and black with a huge black collar (£2,665, fourth picture) has more panache – spot-on for the smartest of parties. Lastly, Dolce & Gabbana’s grey cloqué cloak with hand‑appliquéd folkloric motifs and a glamorous fur-trimmed hood (about £13,790) is very Little Red Riding Hood. My favourite is Saint Laurent’s swingy navy and cream check number (£1,415)." How to spend it
Alexander McQueen, 020-7355 0088; www.alexandermcqueen.com.Antonio Berardi, www.antonioberardi.com. Browns Fashion, 020-7514 0039; www.brownsfashion.com. Burberry, 020-7806 8904; www.burberry.com. Dior, 020-7172 0172; www.dior.com. Dolce & Gabbana,www.dolcegabbana.com. Gareth Pugh, www.thecorner.com. Net-a-Porter,www.net‑a-porter.co.uk. Ralph Lauren Collection, 020-7535 4600; www.ralphlauren.com. The Row, see Net-a-Porter. Saint Laurent,www.ysl.com. Salvatore Ferragamo, www.ferragamo.com. Valentino,020‑7235 5855; www.valentino.com.