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Fashion coat newsflash: Go long (as in Melania’s grass-sweeping trench she wore on the Trump state visit), or go short (as in Joanna Lumley in a short brown trench, front row at the Burberry show last month), but whatever you do don’t settle for in the middle.

As of now, the just-below-the-knee hemline is an instant ager. Go high go low but don’t play it safe.

I have nothing against long coats – other than that they’re as practical as satin slippers. Too much coat is heavy and unmanoeuvrable. 

Where does it all go when you get in a car, or onto a bus, never mind a bicycle? In the rain, think of the weight, and the drag! How would you dry it? 

These longer luxey coats are at their best worn belted over pavement-grazing trousers with high heels, or open over short skirts and sheer tights – neither of which I’m likely to be wearing any day soon.

So that leaves us with a couple of alternatives: the middle of the road coat, finishing somewhere just below the knee, which will make your clothes look old for reasons I’ll get onto; or the shorter coat which we are henceforth calling a Joat.

The Joat has both coat and jacket qualities. It’s substantial like a coat, finished like a coat, warm like a coat, but it finishes high on the thigh, so it has the ease and flexibility of a jacket.

The advantages of a Joat are legion. With a coat this short, you can see the line of the trousers or jeans underneath. 

A Joat shows off the full sweep of a midi skirt. And the big look for autumn – knee boots with a below-the-knee skirt – is crying out for a Joat on top. (A longer coat would make this combination feel too heavy and covered up.)

As a general rule you don’t want hemlines to fight with each other and with a Joat there’ll never be any question of that. 

A longer-line coat can be a lovely thing but if you’re in the market for a new coat and versatility is top of your list, then the Joat is what you should be looking at.

Top of my list is a grey scarf coat from Cos (£189, cos.com) which is as smart as it’s sleek and, thanks to the inbuilt scarf, you can look streamlined from chin to thighs - just add trousers.

The other irresistible scarf coat is brown faux shearling by Autograph for M&S (£150, marksandspencer.com). It has quite a different feel – cosy, glamorous and wintry – and it’ll really come into its own later in the year. (It doesn’t drop in stores until November.)

The classic pea coat – double-breasted, bottom-covering, thick wool with a stiff-enough-to-stand-up notch lapel collar – is arguably the definition of a Joat. 

I’m still wearing my M&S version from a couple of years ago, but if I wasn’t, I’d be tempted by Mango’s chunky lapel style (£99.99, shop.mango.com) and M&S’s wool-blend double-breasted coat in khaki (£78), which is identical in cut to a pea coat apart from having a two-button rather than four-button fastening.

John Lewis does a relaxed, soft almost-shacket version with patch pockets described as a ‘short city coat’ (£79, johnlewis.com), which looks good in chestnut – but this one is polyester so you would definitely need a liner underneath to keep you warm in a few weeks’ time.

The same goes for Zara’s double-breasted and fabric-belted short beige coat with a button-secured funnel neck and tab details on the sleeves (£59.99). 

It looks smart now, but probably is not the Joat to see you through when the temperature drops.

I also like John Lewis’s And/Or range button-up funnel neck jacket in brown and yellow and cream plaid, wool mix (£129). It’s more casual but it would look good with chocolate brown or ecru cords (try the new ones at M&S).

And – though it’s on the pricier side – I’m very tempted by & Other Stories’ dark grey wool and alpaca blend herringbone tweed car coat (£229, stories.com). 

The cut is a loose cocoon shape, double breasted, and the extra wide, notch lapel collar, plus subtle shoulder pads, give it a bit of swagger and extra glamour. 

With smart trousers and a neck tie blouse this looks like it’s straight off the catwalk.

Last but not least, if you like a trench, then short trenches a la Lumley’s are everywhere. H&M does one in the same dark brown that’s a little shorter, more of a just-bottom-coverer (£42.99, 2.hm.com).