I recently bought a Burberry quilted casual jacket and I love it more everyday. Can you believe I pat it like a cat whenever I walk past it hanging up in my room... Anyway, its ideal, looks fantastic on and most of all it's a 9 month of the year wearable item in my climate. No chance it's going to get dusty in a cupboard. I bought it in the New Chino colour but recently was in the Burberry store and tried on (stupidly) the Military Red version and instantly fell in love with that too. I hate the way that colour looks on the web but it's nowhere near as garish in person. More of a muted red.

I've got the money for another one, but am tossing up whether I should have multiples of one coat or perhaps look for a trench instead to get more than one look. I like trenches but I feel they are a little more formal than the quilted and wonder if it's an item that will languish mostly unused since I rarely have a need for dressy wear. My wardrobe consists almost exclusively of jeans and sweaters...

I don't think trench coats are necessarily formal and really depends on the way you style it. I wear mine with jeans all the time. The shorter lengths (knee length and above) tend to look more casual than the longer versions. To me the difference between a quilted jacket and a trench is the weather. I wear a trench when it's rainy or drizzly outside and would wear a quilted when it's chilly outside.

Thanks for your help. I guess a trench is one of those things I think I should have rather than something I really want. It just seems like a trench is a 'must have' item, but then again must have for who?

Just another case of me getting confused about what I really want, and I like the quilted jackets a lot and think I would get more wear from them. I really don't see myself going for a walk in my local park in a trench.

I think that you should get another quilted if you'll get more use out of it. If you want to try out a trench you could get one from a less expensive brand and upgrade to a Burberry if you find yourself using it more than expected.