I don’t want to take anything away from the British glove industry, which has enough problems, what with China doing them more cheaply and Italy doing them in many more colours, shapes and lengths. I love gloves. Indeed, one of the compensations of being much older than all those teenage girls with very long legs and very long hair is that I feel I’ve reached the point when I can be entrusted with owning a number of pairs in fine, glossy leather and subtle colours, whereas theirs tend to look as though the rats have got at them. Frankly, I’m worth it.

But gloves have become the stylist’s short cut to making an otherwise boring outfit look momentarily quite interesting on the catwalk. Got another prim (yawn), ruffled cream blouse to sex up? Add some elbow-length black leather gloves. Been dumped with a hideous half-sleeved coat in the wrong shade of red? Pop on some wacky, block-coloured gloves in the wrong shade of turquoise and fuchsia and you’ve got yourself a witty statement about colour.

Not sure what to do with a shaggy gilet that only Agyness Deyn could wear? Hey, how about chucking on some kooky mittens that reach up to the armpits?

This is all very ingenious, but it is cataclysmically misleading to the perennial optimist who finds herself thinking that yes, actually, a classic ruffled cream blouse might be just the ticket when it comes to adding a touch of economical, sexy-secretary chic to the wardrobe – when really it’s the gloves that are the sexy part. The downside of gloves is that even the sexiest of secretaries would find herself hard-pressed to wear them inside all day and actually get any work done.

There are two lessons here. First, always step back and deconstruct a fashion image before heading to the shops. Second, it’s possible that it’s not a new coat you need this year, but some fabulous new gloves. If you’re heading to Italy any time soon, stock up in one of the glove stores you’ll find on every decent shopping street. A pair of long, thin, lined gloves in a sophisticated shade with piping or buttons makes a wonderful, Brief Encounter-ish Christmas gift – check out those on www.aspinaloflondon.com, from £55. Alternatively, www.dents.co.uk stocks a small selection, or, for more choice, try www.glovesonhand.co.uk, which has lovely, cashmere-lined, four-button-length Dents gloves. At £54.99 they’re not cheap, but they’ll give a jacket a fresh kick. Wrist warmers are probably only for freshers who huddle over mugs of Starbucks all day talking about the evils of globalisation, but I love them – see those on www.jackwills.co.uk, £24. Meanwhile, www.toastbypost.co.uk has fingerless mittens, from £22, for those days when you want to pretend your life revolves around the Aga instead of the microwave in the office kitchen. This glove thing is quite transformative.

Times recommends

• Are eldest children really a cut above?
• Peaches Geldof: censored
• Top 10 style-setting films of all time