Spring's standout clothes for women of every age

This hasn't stopped the stores from filling up with shiny new spring stock, though - so unless you want to miss out, we'd suggest closing your eyes, transporting yourself to a balmy beach and daydreaming about what you might conceivably want to wear come springtime.

The new season is not what you'd call revelatory: rather, it is a progression from last season, with many trends tweaked rather than discarded (good news for those without a massive shopping budget, aka most of us).

Apart from a brief dalliance with the early Nineties, everything is refreshingly forward-looking, rooted in the now and not the past. The result: a crisp new wardrobe that should answer your needs with gusto.

Yes, there will always be trends that only work on 16-year-olds but, more than ever, there are clothes for every age as well. Fashion for everyone: welcome to the new spring season.

The Lightweight Coat
Coats? In spring? This is Britain, after all: and these are coats as far removed from heavy winter ones as it is possible to be. Lightweight trenches and macs are the way to go, either in pale, creamy neutrals or in military hues.

The Ice-Cream Palette
Fans of Neopolitan ice cream can get their fix this season without the calories. London designers in particular sent out collections full of contrasting pastel hues, with candy pink, ice blue and lemon abounding.

The Digital Print
Spots and stripes look positively old-fashioned compared with what is being thrown up by the new print revolution. Huge advances in digital printing, and their application on to fabric, has resulted in a slew of prints that are jaw-dropping in their dexterity. Most are printed specifically for the garment in hand, resulting in a striking, symmetrical effect.

The Wide-Leg Trouser
Banish all images of Seventies flares: wide-legged these may be but that's where the similarity ends. The new trouser is high-waisted, floor-sweeping and sharply cut, in fabric that will keep its shape all day.

The Shortest Short
Be still, my wobbling thighs! Shorts are so short as to be cami-knicker-like, often in bedtime fabrics such as silk or cotton piqué. Happily, there are also longer versions for the less gazelle-like: above-the-knee continues to be a flattering length.

The Subtle Metallic
Nothing as glitzy as you might find at Christmas, mind: for spring, subtle metallics abound. Think Lurex threads woven through a woollen jacket, or a row of burnished silver sequins edging a collar or hem.

The A-line skirt
This will be your lifesaver come summer provided you like your knees. Roomy, casual and versatile, the best ones come in washed-out denim or light canvas. Best worn with a blouse or a T-shirt: tucked in, so the waist is emphasised.

The Bumbag
Handbags? Totes? So passé, darling. Make like it's 1991 with spring's latest accessory, the bum bag. Just think: no more frozen shoulder, and no more raking around in a capacious shopper for your house keys.