Shearling: How to wear the manly yet cosy fabric with confidence

As per usual, I've left my hunt for a new winter coat to the last minute. But because I'm craving something a tad more original than the inescapable quilted ski jacket, I'm resisting a panic buy. And this season I've noticed that shearling – sheepskin with the wool left on – has made a welcome return. This shaggy textile was at the top of many a fashion designer's wish list, with labels such as Acne Studios and Coach embracing this manly yet cosy fabric with confidence.

Admittedly, buying the real deal doesn't come cheap; this cropped fitted style from JW Anderson (1 - see gallery below) has an eye-popping four-figure price tag. But I'm hesitant about taking the vintage route. I may well find a bargain but it's likely the proportions and cut will be out of kilter with this season's reinvented slimmed-down silhouette. The result? Instead of channelling 1960s French heart-throb Alain Delon, odds-on I'll look like our own nation's favourite wheeler-dealer, Del Boy.

Lucky, then, that there's the affordable high street to fall back on. Whether it's real shearling such as this car coat from Reiss (2) or faux alternatives from Topman (3), we can all now do luxe with a less than luxe price tag. Wear these coats over a pair of sharply tailored trousers and this season's other love, the rollneck.

Shrinking violets should perhaps head down to Mango, where you'll find a fleece-lined denim jacket (4) with a plush collar to match. It's less ostentatious but almost as warm.

If this is still too outré for your tastes, then accessories are the simplest way to acknowledge this trend. A trapper cap (5) is a stylish way to keep your ears warm, or these gloves (6) from River Island will protect your digits from the cold. But don't even think about going for all of the above at once; dressed in sheepskin from head to toe you'll look like mutton dressed as lamb.