Targeting the fashion-conscious under 35s with its slogan "look good, pay less", Penneys yesterday kept the winter season's trends in sharp focus, mixing tamed grunge with more ladylike tailoring for youthful winter swag seekers on a budget.

The oversized coat with its sloping shoulders is the big fashion story for winter and it comes in muted leopard print, brash tartans or in acne-style dark green, all at undersized prices with nothing topping €40.

Biker jackets are also more voluminous and abstract in various ways, in pale pink, creamy white with sheepskin style revers or salt-and-pepper tweeds.

Punk, following a major exhibition in New York, has inevitably had its effect on fashion this winter which explains the widespread use of tartan, check and lumberjacket styles worn with slogan T-shirts, shredded jeans and biker boots with a hoodie slung around the waist.

There is a lot of texture and pattern, from tiger print overshirts to dark brocade skinny jeans and gold foil sweaters.

Aran jumpers get a style update, too, being studded with crystal, while black quilted mini skirts are a nod to Chanel.

An extensive selection of ankle boots, some peep-toed or strapped, others studded, were all about €24. Beanies decorated with gilt crosses completed the overall casual male/female look.

Glitziest items were multicoloured sequinned tops for evening, but the most talked-about items at the moment are its inexpensive “statement” necklaces – big, bold and jewelled, along with rings of the same nature which add jazz and polish to any outfit — and all for under €10.

French openings
The company, which operates in eight European countries and has approximately 47,000 employees, will open its first store in France – in Marseille– in December with a second French store expected to open in Dijon next spring.