How considerate of the world’s political, banking and oil classes to put their dear little heads together and come up with such a splendid set of reasons for the rest of us to wear this winter’s very fashionable knitwear.

Nine months ago, when I watched Stella McCartney’s oversized, felty cardigans womble their way down the catwalk I thought she’d got carried away with nostalgia for a misty, damp British past, one in which people dressed more or less appropriately for the weather.

It’s not that we no longer feel the cold. It’s more that in these days of overheated offices, hermetically calibrated loft spaces and climate change, there isn’t much of it about. In places where it does still snow, they seem to prefer wearing white mink trimmed with gold ingots to lambswool cardies. Or so I thought.

But thanks to the economic meltdown, Stella has been proved spot-on. If you’re a fan of cosy, you’re in luck. There’s an awful lot of inventive knitwear around once you start looking, quite a lot of it the shape of a tea cosy. Isaac Mizrahi even has something called a tea cosy dress for sale on Net-a-porter.com, I notice. It’s not very tea cosy-shaped, to be honest, but what did Americans ever know about tea? I think the point is that he’s tapping into a subliminal need in us all right now to retreat to the land of HobNobs.

I have been fearlessly trying on lots of this knitwear of late. Inspired by a fantastically chic Italian woman I saw in Milan, I even bought one of those little cape-y things in Sportmax for €45 (I didn’t know you could find anything in Sportmax for €45, but we live in shocking times). It’s waist-length, a bit stretchy, doesn’t have any sleeves so every time I move my arms it rides up a bit and – I’m guessing here – was probably inspired by that classic, the straitjacket. But it is a statement, livens up a long-sleeved T-shirt or polo neck no end, and looks better with a narrow, ankle-length trouser than with skirts. I suggest you try one or two on before dismissing them.

Other knitted innovations I’m impressed with this winter include Joseph’s ultra-fine, buttonless, asymmetric cardigans (slightly longer at the front, so that you can tie, twist or fling them over the shoulder). They’re more versatile than warm – but at £249, versatile’s good.

I also like this new trend for wearing skinny cardigans over something dressy. Alberta Ferretti uses thigh-length ones to bring a more casual feel to glamorous velvet dresses. It’s a clever trick, and one that can be enhanced by using a belt to cinch things in.

Provided you juxtapose some sex appeal with your knitwear, this could be the way forward. Now turn down that heating.

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