The John Lewis buys YOU need to snap up for Spring - including the jeans style that sells like hotcakes and the hero coat

Who doesn’t love John Lewis? A reassuring port in a storm. An actual department store when all around them are shrinking and shutting down. A place where you can buy a TV, some Charlotte Tilbury mascara and, now, an awful lot of fashion. The store sells everything from Burberry to Mint Velvet to Mango (the list goes on and on) and then there’s the distillation of everything out there edited for the John Lewis customer in three ranges: John Lewis Collection, Anyday and And/Or.

The retail market is tougher than ever now and John Lewis is hoping that continuing to raise their fashion game (much in the same vein as Marks & Spencer) will make them a one-stop shop. Key to that mission are the Spring/Summer collections for these in-house labels. Here’s our pick of the best. The hero piece from John Lewis Collection is a new look trench, priced at £149. Capes are a big trend for Spring and the trench coat is still going strong, so no surprise JL has come up with a light design with a detachable short cape.

It sounds fussy but the silhouette is elegant, and the collarless mac underneath is more summer-friendly than a regular trench. Will you wear the cape? Probably not. Trenches do very well for the store and there’s a red and pink check one for the more adventurous. The new JL Collection’s soft, pleat-front, wide-leg denim style (£69) trousers are the next step in the shift towards smarter ready-for-work denim.

Cardigan, £49, jeans, £69, and trainers, £85, johnlewis.com. Dress, £75, and jumper, £32.50, johnlewis.com. Pleats sound off putting but these hang well, the colour’s good, and they will slot nicely into the gap in your wardrobe between jeans and smart trousers. The And/Or soft brown suede jacket (£249), another strong trend for Spring, ticks the John Lewis promise - to be collectable and last year to year - although it is pricey.

Nautical stripes on everything were big news on the catwalks but the one to get and wear to death is a variation on the classic Breton top. This version (£59) buttons up the front to give it a smarter edge; add white barrel jeans (£69) and you have a bulls-eye Spring look. (It’s worth noting that barrel styles across the ranges sell like hotcakes.). John Lewis prides itself on colour and it’s nailed this season’s soft pink - a more flattering alternative to white and as easy to mix in. Their clean-cut structured cardigan (£49) will give your trousers a Spring lift.

Moving along the spectrum, the linen two-piece is back due to popular demand (it was a sell-out this time last year) in Spring burgundy. Jacket, £249, shirt, £79, and jeans, £69, johnlewis.com. Coat, £149, jeans, £69, bag, £119, and trainers, £85, johnlewis.com. Dress, £65, and bag, £99, johnlewis.com. Linen top, £35, Palazzo trousers, £59, Check blazer,  £149. Cardigan, £59, jeans, £69, and trainers, £85, johnlewis.com.