The fleece you'll wear from October to April

A fleece jacket is the most-worn piece of clothing most people own between Halloween and Easter, and the difference between a good one and a great one is whether it still looks new after twenty washes. The classic in this category is also the most-discounted, which makes it a perfect example of when to wait and when to buy.

The classic, and the price that says wait

Columbia Sportswear Men's Steens Mountain Fleece JacketColumbia Sportswear$45.50 $130.00

Columbia's Steens Mountain is the fleece everyone has owned at some point. It is warm for its weight, it is cheap when it is on sale, and it pills after a season of hard use. The trick with this jacket is that its list price is fiction: it spends most of the year at a third off somewhere. When you see it at list, that is a wait. When you see it at half, that is a buy.

The rows show the gap between stores on the same jacket. It is usually substantial.

The one that holds up

The Better Sweater costs two or three times the Columbia and lasts four times as long. The knit face does not pill, it looks fine at an office, and Patagonia will repair it. It is rarely discounted at Patagonia; it is regularly discounted at outdoor retailers clearing colours. If you can wait for a colour you don't hate, you can save a lot.

The women's classic

The North Face's Osito is the soft, high-pile fleece that half the country seems to own, and the reason is that it is genuinely cosy. It sheds a little when new and it is not a layering piece. As a stand-alone jacket for errands and school runs it is exactly right. Watch the rows; department stores discount this one hard.

The kids

Columbia Sportswear Boys' Steens Mountain II Fleece JacketColumbia Sportswear$31.50 $45.00

Columbia Sportswear Girls' Benton Springs Fleece JacketColumbia Sportswear$31.50 $45.00

Columbia's kids' fleeces are the same jacket as the adult classic, scaled down, and priced so that outgrowing one doesn't hurt. Buy a size up. They shrink a little and children grow a lot.

When to buy

Fleece discounts in a wave: the outdoor retailers clear last year's colours in September and October, the big boxes discount in November, and everything hits its floor in January. If you need one for this week, buy the store that is lowest in the rows. If you can wait until January, wait.