MR PORTER team members pick out the pieces they’ll be buying for their New Year wardrobes .

On reflection, it may seem strange that we tend to enter the New Year with a hangover of biblical proportions. Of course, this is how it’s always been. “Dancing in the streets, heathenish cries, sacrilegious songs, tables laden with food and women wearing amulets and offering them for sale,” is how the English missionary Saint Boniface described New Year’s Eve celebrations in 742 AD Rome. But feeling emotional and anxious, with a splitting headache, is not exactly conducive to the fresh start we desire. We are not thinking straight. No wonder we rush into joining a gym we won’t frequent, or sign up for Spanish lessons we eventually resent. A 2014 study noted that, on average, the novelty of being a better person wears off after just 24 days. Traditional resolutions simply do not work.

With this in mind – to save time and really enjoy our January – we’ve decided to make style-related improvements only. Diet plans come and go, but clothes are constant. Below, we have picked out the pieces that we want to start afresh with. Read on, shop the items you prefer, and soothe that hangover.

“I’ve made a decision. In the New Year, I’m going to be buying less, but buying better. I intend to invest in classics that will stand the test of time and are immune from season or trends. Thom Browne is the go-to designer in this respect – he injects a hint of wit and personality into everyday essentials for the modern man. Steering clear of trendy colours, I would pair his wool sweater with Jil Sander’s stark white shirt, and trim Acne Studios navy trousers.”

“I have one of these Officine Generale shirts already, in white. When it arrived, my quality of life (at least insofar as it can be measured through shirts) drastically improved. So the thinking here is, if I go for another one, things can only get better in 2016. Right? RIGHT? [Wild-eyed glare]”

“This year, I’ve vowed to escape the laziness of watching on-demand, blockbuster crap-ola by rewatching more overlooked gems. The other night I caught the 1973 film The Last Detail. I love everything about that Hal Ashby and Robert Towne collaboration down to the peacoats that Jack Nicholson, Otis Young and Randy Quaid wear in it. Nevertheless, I always feel like a sailor on shore leave when I wear one. This peacoat from Japanese label KAPITAL feels more casual, more Saturday-ish thanks to the denim fabric. I’d pair it with a J.Crew white Oxford shirt and Officine Creative suede brogues.”

“I have never been a big buyer of music and have always relied on the radio to satisfy my aural needs. I listen to Radio 6 Music or Radio 4 on my way to work – but I never really get a chance to properly immerse myself. My New Year’s resolution, therefore, is to enjoy more downtime – and I’ll be using this sleek Spotify-enabled device to provide the soundtrack for it. A chunky Lanvin sweater and relaxed suit trousers from Our Legacy are the perfect accompaniment to laid-back weekend listening.”

“New Year, new me. I know, I say this every year and by 6 January I go back to my usual takeaway regime. But not this year. They say you build a summer body during winter. I want to be one of the cool kids at the gym, so I recently bought myself a membership to my local Crossfit gym and the new Nike Training Metcon 1 sneakers. They are perfect for high-intensity exercise, as their flat and firm heels provide an incredibly stable platform when you lift weights, but their flexible forefoot allows you to run with them, too. If you match them with the Pro Recovery Dri-FIT Compression Tights and the Dri-FIT T-shirt, not only will you look the part, but you will stay fresh throughout your training.”

“I’ve noticed a tendency among fashion writers to observe rather than participate. They’ll happily dash off 1,500 words of gushing praise on “Gucci’s new mood”, but when it comes to actually wearing the stuff, they’ll leave it to the street-style set and buy something (probably black) from Uniqlo instead. It’s the fashion version of the fourth of Biggie’s Ten Crack Commandments – “never get high on your own supply” – and my New Year’s resolution is to break it. Here are three ways in which I’ll be proving that, when it comes to style, actions speak louder than words…”

“For me, the New Year always has a “back to school” feel to it. At the risk of #oversharing, each New Year’s Eve my wife and I write our resolutions in the new Smythson notebooks we buy each other every Christmas (gold-stamped with our initials, natch). I like to clear my desk – literally and metaphorically. Tidy desk = tidy mind and all that. If you could see my office, you’d notice my Patrick Bateman-like obsession with aesthetically beautiful stationery. No Staples notepads and Bic biros here, thank you very much. Everything is just so. At least until about 8 January.”