An overcoat is the one garment a Singapore wardrobe keeps for somewhere else. It hangs untouched for most of the year, then has to be exactly right the moment it is needed: stepping off a flight into a London December or a Tokyo February, over a suit, with no chance to have it altered on the way. That is the brief every overcoat we cut starts from, and it rules out anything half-hearted in the cloth or the make.

The cloth comes from Dugdale Bros & Co, a Huddersfield house that has been supplying British tailors for well over a century. It is a grey herringbone coating with a soft, open surface and a visible nap — a true coating rather than a heavy suiting, with the body that makes a long coat hang straight and the weight that keeps the wind out. Herringbone was the right pattern for it. Up close the broken chevrons give the grey real depth; from across the street it reads simply as grey, which is what you want from a coat you will wear over everything.

It is cut double-breasted with a shawl collar. Most double-breasted overcoats take a peak lapel, which is correct and a little severe. The shawl sweeps unbroken from the back of the neck to the buttoning, so the coat has the protection of a double-breasted front with a softer, more relaxed face. Worn open over a suit and tie, the collar frames them rather than competing with them.

The rest of the detailing leans towards the country. Large patch pockets with button-down flaps sit at the hips, deep enough for gloves and a passport and closed so neither goes missing. The sleeves finish in turnback cuffs, and the buttons are a warm tortoiseshell brown that lifts the grey without shouting. At the breast, a plain welt pocket keeps the chest clean beneath the curve of the collar.

Underneath, it is built like everything else we make. Full canvas, with the collar padded by hand so the shawl rolls in one continuous line instead of folding flat. The length falls below the knee, long enough to cover a jacket completely and to keep the legs warm in real cold. Inside, the ŠAKAL label in forest green and gold.