Men's fashion: top 10 autumn buys

While this hooded wax cotton jacket in dark green has the sporty factor, it's more minimalist slick than PE kit. It'll make a useful light layer in changeable weather and is a relaxed alternative to the blazer

Hooded jacket, £135, by Cos, cosstores.com Photograph: Cos

The swish portfolio has increasingly become a 'fashion' piece, but it does have business clout as a posh bit of office kit that makes you look instantly organised at meetings. It also has the added advantage of being a useful compartment that fits into a larger bag and will keep documents crisp. Note: we don't call it a clutch, okay?

Oxblood document file, £89, by Reiss, reiss.com Photograph: Reiss

This jumper is brilliant because it's dead simple – a slab of navy, a slab of burgundy, a nice rib stitch to finish. There are lots of other good knitwear bits coming to the menswear department of M&S this season, so keep an eye out

Colour block jumper, £35, by M&S Autograph, marksandspencer.com Photograph: Marks & Spencer

The buckle shoe has been experiencing a renaissance of late, and this high-shine leather pair from Zara offer a bargain version of the trend. They work equally well with scruffy jeans or a suit

Monk shoes, £79.99, by Zara, zara.com Photograph: fotografozara1/Zara

At their menswear show in January, Prada gave each outfit the polo neck factor by layering one under the shirts. It's not necessarily the easiest look to replicate because unless you use a super fine cotton roll neck, it's all going to look a bit bulky. This cotton one in camel is worth experimenting with, and would also work as an alternative to a sweatshirt with jeans

Camel roll-neck, £19.90, by Uniqlo, uniqlo.com Photograph: Uniqlo

This coat is more than chic, it's also shower proof, made in Britain and features proper metal buttons. Think of it as a streamlined, stricter alternative to the trench coat. It's also flexible for layering and ideal for chanelling your inner Left Banke Parisian dude. Add a polo neck for extra Gallic points
Navy cotton peacoat, £250, by Jigsaw-online.com Photograph: Jigsaw

Nike Blazers in leather make for a good trainer option this autumn, whether you're wearing them with rolled up jeans or wanting to dress down a pair of smarter trousers. Aside from this lovely grey, they are also available in a pinky-burgundy-red colour too

Grey leather trainers, £67, by Nike, asos.com Photograph: Asos.com

Corduroy needn't look fusty as this patterned shirt proves. With its cool steely grey colour, old-school geometric pattern and button down collar, the All Saints Cecil shirt is ideal for pepping up an autumn outfit without going over the top. Plus, a flash of this collar under a navy jumper will look just lovely

Cord shirt, £85, by All Saints, allsaints.com Photograph: All Saints

Everyone got stuck into the Christmas jumper last year so here's a jolly trophy sweatshirt for this year. From the usually discreet Sunspel, this robot and octopus image is taken from the brand's extensive archive
Robot sweatshirt, £105, by sunspel.com Photograph: Sunspel

Anoraks needn't be naff, and the idea of mixing outdoorsy coats with tailoring is rippling through menswear this season. This particular jacket benefits from some good functional aspects: it's got fleece lining, concealed zip-away hood, ribbed cuffs and tons of pockets
Blue cotton windcheater, £125, by French Connection, frenchconnection.com Photograph: French Connection