Go from one season into another in style with a gilet, body warmer or sleeveless jacket.

While Mr Tim Sherwood’s brief tenure as manager of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club will probably be noted for what was perceived as a leaden, rather simplistic approach to game tactics in the post-tiki-taka age of the dynamic gegenpress style of play, perhaps his sartorial legacy should be remembered more warmly. Toasty, even, given his penchant for the gilet. When it came to fashion, Mr Sherwood was far more forward thinking, pioneering touchline styles such as the cardigan with suit – a proto-Mr Gareth Southgate look – and the shirt-and-sweater combo so beloved of his successor, Mr Mauricio Pochettino. But the item of clothing that became his trademark was the insulated vest.

The gilet – vest, sleeveless jacket or even jerkin, if you’re that way inclined – is an article that is rarely considered an essential in the modern wardrobe. You wouldn’t arrive at your destination, unpack your weekend bag and regret leaving it behind in the same way that you might curse yourself for forgetting your socks, underpants or wallet. Or that you’ve left the house with no trousers on. Again. But there are moments when the hug of a body warmer is somewhat reassuring, and not just on a cold, wet Wednesday night in Stoke.

Indeed, with the air feeling ever more tepid, but not quite chilly enough to justify dragging out your winter coat just yet, the gilet is the very definition of what we find ourselves calling trans-seasonal clothing. As in, it has one foot in one season and one in the other. So, when you require an extra layer for the stroll to the train station, but need to whip it off again once you are face-to-armpit with the realities of cramped public transport conditions in busy cities, this is the piece for you.

But, as with Mr Sherwood’s stint in the Spurs’ dugout, the window during which the gilet really serves a purpose can be fairly limited. You could use one to bulk out an outfit in winter, perhaps under a suit jacket – another sartorial trail first blazed by Mr Sherwood. If you are going to take the plunge, now, with the equinox fast approaching, is the time.

Here are four fine examples from the What’s New aisle of MR PORTER. At best, each will add a new dimension to your wardrobe in this very moment, and over the coming weeks and into the brisk months, you will thank us for it. At worst, this is a style investment that could be called, as they say in north London, ‘armless.