The Celtic Tiger, especially, with its tendency towards lavish central heating and everyone buying a car instead of taking public transport, led to a fall in demand for a good quality, warm coat. Consumers wanted a look, rather than heat, so designers and stores followed where the consumer led and went for style over substance.

The result? An abundance of pretty, but insubstantial, coats and a whole generation of consumers who know nothing about warm, natural fabrics such as wool, cashmere, merino, mohair et al.

Today, it is a skilled consumer who knows how to identify a warm coat.

I am an obsessive about winter coats. It started when I was 14 and nicked my father's birthday present -- a stunning cashmere Crombie. I have never minded whether a coat is chain store, or designer, charity shop or posh boutique.

The important thing is it has to have character, flatter the form and do its job -- be that warmth, protection from the rain, or giving me authority when I have an important meeting.

With the severe weather we have been experiencing these past few weeks there is no doubt that many stores will have been caught out and not have warm enough coats.

Talking to Jane Baker, of Fran & Jane, she told me how they haven't bought heavy-duty coats in several years because there wasn't the demand.

I know I bought a stunning wool McQ coat four years ago and I think it has only had about four outings, because the weather here has been too mild.

Fortunately, this season, Regine did a quilted coat and jacket in black and mink colours so Fran & Jane have something to offer their cold-suffering customers, as well as stylish, lighter coats. Currently their lightweight, down-quilted coat is down from €229 to €159 and is available up to size 16.

I have my destination shops for coats, categorised according to what I am looking for. Of course, Brown Thomas's International Rooms have stunning pieces by Prada, Marni, et al, but the price ticket is beyond most purses. I have no quibble with that: these garments are made in the finest fabrics, with stunning finish. You do get what you pay for. Right now that can be with a 60-70 per cent discount, so BT's is very much worth checking out.

For tremendous warmth, I don't think Ralph Lauren's quilted coats can be beaten. The Ralph Lauren outlet store at Kildare Village does the brand's best cut, down-quilted, coats. Sadly, they are now sold out. But you know now -- go there next autumn and snap one up, even if you have to put it in storage. It is hard to find a flatteringly cut, quilted coat, especially one of this quality.

Kildare Village also has Anya Hindmarch, All Saints, LK Bennett and N Peal Cashmere, so you have a good chance of finding a good coat there.

Do remember that department stores -- be they Clery's, Arnott's, Boyers, Anthony Ryan or McElhinney's -- can always be relied upon to take care of that consumer service aspect of fashion, thus they will have coats the primary of which function is warmth.

Outdoor pursuits shops such as 53 Degrees North and The Great Outdoors carry lots of down clothing at this time of year. 53 Degrees North has loads of what I call "girly", meaning pretty, quilted coats. Fashion shoe store, Carl Scarpa has "snow boots" -- they may be devoid of fashion, but one can be smug with the contentment of warm feet! They were €100, now €75.

TK Maxx has a lot of ski gear for adults and kids in store right now so it is a good place to go looking for a warm jacket and, even more importantly, they have a lot of Gore-Tex vibe, waterproof and warm, trekking boots and footwear from brands such as Brasher from €50-70, good buys for slushy, slippy, walking conditions.

In the past 10 years, my first stop in the quest for a good all-rounder, practical, stylish, winter coat has been Khan, in Blackrock and Mullingar. Owner Deryn Mackay is one of the best buyers of coats in Ireland. She gets that we need warmth and service and that we want to look sharp, too. She also always buys good quilted coats where she sees them.

On average, her coat prices are €400-1,000. At the moment she has a stunning Rene Lezard pink, pure cashmere number, down from €1,100 to €600 and a striking Forties-style car coat by Sportmax down from €839 to €500.

If you are looking for beauty as well as quality, designer boutiques such as The Design Centre, Costume, Smock, Les Jumelles, Blue, can all be relied on for beautiful cashmere and wool coats.

Yasmine Vellozza, a young Irish designer, who last November opened her first shop on 43 Dawson Street, Dublin, has pure cashmere coats with heavy silk lining, that are succulent to the touch and extremely warm. Even though the prices are high-end, she says she has no problem selling them because people recognise the quality.

"People were coming in looking for serious coats, even before the weather turned," she told me. "They are looking for beautiful fabrics, something that will keep them warm and that is flattering. I am finding people want quality such as the cashmere and angora pieces and they want the wow factor.

"If they have the money they want to wear the best quality they can.

"I made my coats for early spring, taking into account an Irish summer -- so they are in boiled wools and cashmere and angora, and lined in silk. I was thinking warmth, but with summer colouring." Clever woman. I have often wondered why more designers don't do that.

In the medium-price spectrum, Karen Millen is a fantastic shop for high-fashion-influenced coats in wool fabrics. This season they have about 20 different styles of coat, including a Japanese aesthetic puffa. But I rang a few branches and that particular style is sold out now. Currently its coats are down from €399 to around €240.

The Kilkenny Store, now nationwide, was one of the few shops that set out to buy lots of coats and look for quality fabrics such as cashmere and wools.

It had a stunning one by Betty Jackson for about €399.

And news just in -- Kilkenny has just bought Stephen Pearce pottery, which went into receivership last year, thus ensuring the company stays in the country and its beautiful aesthetic lives on.

Now that's heartwarming.