The best wet-weather essentials to see you through spring in style.

“April is the cruellest month,” wrote poet Mr TS Eliot in his 1922 modernist masterpiece The Waste Land. But if April showers are cruel, imagine how everyone feels in Britain when it's still raining in May, June, July and onwards. The words "insult" and "Injury" spring to mind. Happily, you can style your way out of these somewhat miserable conditions. Here’s how.

The raincoat can be a tedious thing, drab and grey like the conditions it’s designed for. But not in the hands of British brand Mackintosh, who has been making them for so long that they know how to pull off the look with considerable flair. The above example, in a bright royal blue, will not only keep you dry but fill your day (and that of anyone lucky enough to pass by you on the street) with some much-needed colour. Wear it over a navy suit or, if you’re going down a more casual route, with a striped sweater and slim black jeans.

Now, the following advice does not constitute permission to go stamping about in puddles in your Derbies. But investing in a pair with Dainite (as opposed to leather) soles, such as the above example from classic English shoemaker Cheaney, will minimise the risk of wear and tear in the face of the occasional and inevitable downpours this month. Wear them with a pair of grey wool trousers, and make sure you take an umbrella to shield the uppers.

Anyone who has braved an April downpour swaddling their laptop like a yowling newborn baby under their sweater/coat/newspaper can now breathe a sigh of relief: Canadian performance specialists Arc’teryx Veilance has designed a bag that is not only waterproof but rather attractive, combining a sleek, minimal aesthetic with all the protection you need for your important bits and bobs. It’s also much better than the traditional copy of ES Magazine for holding over your head when you’re caught without cover.