'This may well be the world's very first It coat. You need to buy one right now'
What do Carine Roitfeld, Kim Kardashian and I have in common? This coat. Nothing else, to be fair, but no matter. Such is the barrier-crashing, agenda-setting power of the teddy bear coat, which may well be the world's very first It coat. Carine, to give her her dues, owned the grungy-fur look – as opposed to the rich-bitch fur look – way before Kardashians or Kartner-Morleys started cramping her style. Her shaggy black number, in which she looks like a very chic Muppet, and her leather Rick Owens coat with voluptuous fox hem have both been street-style stars at Paris fashion week in their own right for years.
But this year, a brown teddy bear fur coat – oversized, where this one is more modest, but a similar shade and texture – jumped straight from the Max Mara catwalk into Carine's wardrobe, where it became a star. When Kim Kardashian launched her post-baby high-fashion makeover, it was her outing in this coat that got the world taking notice. And now – now, well, I'm wearing the high-street version.
So, if you need an excuse to hit the sales this weekend, this coat is it. This coat is the purchase you need to make right now, this instant, before the teddy bear jumps the shark. You will find the scent of this look – collarless or dressing gown-styled, mid-thigh or ankle-length – everywhere you go, once you are looking. The non-negotiable factors are colour and texture. Colour, ideally, should be the shade of strong builders' tea, or cheap station cafe coffee, but most important of all is texture. Forget the almost-the-real-thing fake furs, because this one should be quite clearly no more a real skin than your teddy is a real bear. A cheerful, pretend kind of fur is what you're after; a familiar softness rather than a fancy one.
Once you've got it, you need to style it right. This is not a coat you can work in a cute preppy way, with J Crew cashmere accessories and a jewelled hairband. You need to go a little deshabille, and gather that coat around you like a hotel bedsheet. Ideally you should add heels, and perfume. But – if you have this coat – right now, you need little else.
• Jess wears coat, £125, topshop.com. Dress, £45, by Definitions, from very.co.uk. Courts, £79, dune.co.uk.
Photographer: David Newby for the Guardian. Stylist: Melanie Wilkinson. Hair and makeup: Laurence Close at Carol Hayes Management.