The best spring jackets for women: 12 favourites for every forecast

From bouclé and bomber to quilted, suede and multiwear, our jacket edit will lift the mood – and have you ready for the most changeable of seasons

• The best women’s spring wardrobe updates for under £100

Spring is the most confusing season when it comes to fashion. Mornings can be grey and drizzly, but come the afternoon, the sun may be shining like it’s August. A trusty spring jacket will help you navigate the forecast and the transition into the warmer months.

The perfect spring jacket is lighter in weight and often softer in colour than a winter one. Taking inspiration from the flowers, greenery and lush landscapes these months bring is a great way to add joy to your everyday. A pastel-coloured jacket can instantly make your outfit feel more seasonally appropriate, too. Leaving behind the warm embrace of your puffer isn’t easy, and I love a classic black coat, but neither seems fitting on a bright April morning.

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V&A Dundee celebrates the history of the catwalk, from discreet salons to today’s extravaganzas

Scottish designers are showcased alongside a backstage set and props including a Chanel-branded megaphone

In 1971, Manolo Blahnik created shoes for the designer Ossie Clark’s catwalk show in London. Relatively new to shoemaking, the Spanish designer forgot to put steel pins in the heels of the shoes, which meant that models wobbled, unbalanced, down the catwalk. Blahnik thought it was the end of his career. But the press thought it was a deliberate style; the photographer Sir Cecil Beaton even christened it “a new way of walking”.

The sandal in question, a green suede heel with ivy leaf embellishments, is just one treasure currently on display at the V&A Dundee’s new exhibition, Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show, which helps bring to life more than 100 years of history, charting its journey from the discreet salons of 19th-century London and Paris all the way up to the extravaganza it is today.

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‘Linen is meaningful in Belfast’: how an old industry is weaving the city a new identity

Fabric that once defined Northern Ireland’s capital is at heart of its stylish revival, embraced by designers, royalty and heritage farmers alike

On a cobbled street in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter, next door to a hipster coffee shop and opposite an ice-cream parlour that has a near-constant queue since going viral on TikTok, the elegant Kindred of Ireland boutique is doing a surprisingly brisk trade in artfully oversized butter yellow linen blouses and exquisite Donegal mulberry tweed jackets finished with a length of rose pink linen tied in a bow at the nape of the neck.

Half a century after the Troubles, Belfast is finding a new identity through an industry that once defined it. Linen – the fibre that built its wealth and earned it the name Linenopolis – is being woven into a story of renewal. Almost a century after the postwar collapse of an industry that, at its peak, employed 40% of the working population of Northern Ireland, linen is returning as a marker of identity.

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Pastel perfection: what to wear with gentle, spring shades

The key to stopping pale colours feeling saccharine? Breaking them up with tougher textures – here are three ideas to whip up this weekend from our styling editor

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Jess Cartner-Morley’s April style essentials: fancy brollies, Biscoff eggs and the perfect holiday dress

Whether it’s a tiered tulle skirt or a hardworking Henley tee, our fashion expert’s Easter basket is brimming with joy

• The best women’s spring wardrobe updates for under £100

I am a big fan of Easter, which is an underrated holiday in my opinion: lots of joy and food, but better weather than Christmas (or at least more daylight) and less stress.

So my April shopping list starts, naturally, with a chocolate egg. More goodies include not one but two stormingly gorgeous new-season high-street skirts. Also, an umbrella to keep you smiling through the inevitable spring rain – and the shades you’ll want when the sun comes out. Because that’s April for you!

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