I’ve always struggled with the notion of a trench coat, double breasting and belting are not the most flattering look if you’ve been blessed with no waistline. That’s not to say that this problem has hindered me from actually buying into the trench trend every season though.

At the last count I think I was the proud owner of 6 – oh yes, from the Max Mara car coat version, an investment piece with some of my hard earned early paychecks, though never coming back into style I can’t quite bear to chuck it. The two vintage numbers, from a consignment store in Amsterdam, at $10 a piece why have just the one right ? Added to which I came over all creative and switched the buttons for some mismatched ones and also thought that musty smell was part of the fun of a vintage find (until people standing next to me on the subway began to comment). All the way through to the Zara metallic military look complete with epaulettes – clearly I should be heeding my own advice on how to only attempt one trend at a time with that one.

So this season I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of trench inspired pieces that are beginning to filter into the stores – not your bog standard style but lots of imaginative takes on the trench theme that even I could carry off. Almost simultaneously we have seen a steady flurry of papparazzo shots of any number of your favorite celebs working this look in brights and pastels – I think we can all agree, we need a new trench this season.

The classic of all trench makers is of course Burberry, but this season even they have mixed it up with some cute ruched looks, satin metallic takes on the trend, and suede coats with oversized shoulders – I’m not sure how rainproof these would be but they certainly look fab.

There are some great bright versions – look at Anna Sui’s nylon cobalt blue coat – the ‘in’ color this summer.

Or a plaid take on the theme by Boden

Fancy a bit of 60′s inspired two tone with asymmetric detail? No problem, Alexander Wang has it covered.

To shop the look for less, try Banana Republic for a conservative take, J.Crew for a more exotic look or Theory for a cropped style.

If you are similar to me and don’t have a waist to speak of, choose single breasted and without a belt – if you can’t escape the belt tie a knot with it at the back, remember, any cinching of belts for this shape just makes you look wider. For those out there who have a shapely hourglass, grab that trench and cinch the belt as tight as it will go – this is your Audrey Hepburn moment.

If you don’t want to buy in to the full on ‘dress as a man’ vibe that’s going to be huge for spring, pick up a trench and you’re half way there. There are so many variations of this look you can work it every which way – choose something cropped, ruched or metallic or even opt for the Celine theme and wear the thing as a dress.