Help me identify/date this topcoat.

[Warbaby]

A wealthy friend of my brother gave him this vintage(?) topcoat. It was too small for my bro' so he passed it on to me. Fits perfectly except for the too-long sleeves (an easy fix). The fabric is a very heavy, black wool twill, with a fur collar and horn buttons. The lining is a black satin that has a burgundy flash in shifting light.

I've lightened the photos to show the detail - the coat is very black.

 

[Edward]

Fantastic looking coat.... looks like something I'd expect a European Diplomat to be wearing in London - one of the top men at the Swiss Embassy, maybe... I'd love to see it paired with a stroller and homberg...

 

[BellyTank]

Nice.

And, yes- it needs a black Homburg and an umbrella.

Have you checked for further labels..?
In the pockets, for example.

"Alexander's", anyone..?


B
T

 

[Baron Kurtz]

"Made in/by … Expressly For …" I've always taken to point at middle 60s and later gear.

bk

 

[AlanC]

Gorgeous coat. One doesn't see much made in Holland kit.

Would you mind a shot or two of the collar attachment on the underside of the collar? I'm curious about the stitching.

 

[Dinerman]

Looks good on you. Very elegant.

 

[Tomasso]

"Alexander's", anyone..?

The overcoat most likely came from this merchant. And probably not much later than the early 70s, when their decline began.

 

[Warbaby]

Fantastic looking coat.... looks like something I'd expect a European Diplomat to be wearing in London - one of the top men at the Swiss Embassy, maybe... I'd love to see it paired with a stroller and homberg...

Thanks, Edward. My wife's comment on the coat was that, if it weren't for the shaggy hair and the beard, I'd look like a Swiss banker.

Now I must find an appropriate Homberg to wear with it...


Tomasso - thanks for the link to the Alexander's history. That's very likely where it came from.

 

[thunderw21]

Quite a beautiful overcoat. The collar gives it that extra kick.

Nice find!

 

[Warbaby]

Mo' Pix

Gorgeous coat. One doesn't see much made in Holland kit.

Would you mind a shot or two of the collar attachment on the underside of the collar? I'm curious about the stitching.

The fur collar was apparantly sewn in with the fabric turned inside out as there is no visible stitching. The other seams on the underside of the collar appear to be hand stitched.

The sleeves appear to have been lengthend by the previous owner - there is an added piece of fabric that doesn't match the rest of the coat. That guy must have been a real knuckle-dragger because I have monkey arms and the sleeves are way long on me. I think if I have that extension fabric removed, the sleeves will be just right for me.

Here's a photo of the underside of the pocket flap.

And the tag inside the inner pocket.

 

[John in Covina]

Alexander's is of course probably a Men's Shop somewheres.
I mention it because as i recall, there was an Alexander's in the A&S shopping mall in Babylon, NY.
I have hazy memories of going there as a kid with mom.

 

[H.Johnson]

What nice work. Obviously made by a real tailor. The size (Maat) on the make-up label is interesting - 40R. That's not a continental size, implying that it may have been made in Holland, but its market was almost certainly the UK or USA, as is evinced by the English label.

The style is long-lived in the UK, (as is the covert coat etc.) but teh patch pockets are somewhat unusual.

 

[carter]

Warbaby, That topcoat hearkens to the mid-60's or early 70's. I remember them from around that time.

 

[Warbaby]

Warbaby, That topcoat hearkens to the mid-60's or early 70's. I remember them from around that time.

Does that mean I have to wear orange bell-bottoms with it?

Seriously, thanks to all of you for the opinions - and the compliments. I really like the coat a lot and once I get the sleeves shortened I'll have something a bit classier than the USArmy trenchcoat that I usually wear with a suit.

Of course, its classiness is a moot point since, as I've mentioned in some other threads, I'm living in a place where no one dresses up. Ever. Not even lawyers. A place where I'm considered eccentric and avant garde for wearing a tie.

If I get a homburg they will fear me...

 

[Fletch]

Alexander's is of course probably a Men's Shop somewheres.
I mention it because as i recall, there was an Alexander's in the A&S shopping mall in Babylon, NY.
I have hazy memories of going there as a kid with mom.

Alexander's was located thruout the greater nyc area. They folded in the mid 1990s, or at least, that's when they closed their store just up from Bloomingdale's in Manhattan. By that time they were a cut-rate chain; I dont know if they always were.

 

[Tomasso]

Alexander's was located thruout the greater nyc area. They folded in the mid 1990s, or at least, that's when they closed their store just up from Bloomingdale's in Manhattan. By that time they were a cut-rate chain; I dont know if they always were.

Here's the Alexander's story. It was linked to in my post above.

 

[Fletch]

Well f*¢!! me running if you didn't! Good work.

 

[dhermann1]

OT Diversion

There was a time when the Alexander's store was as synonymous with the Bronx as A&S was to Brooklyn. The main store was near 149th St and 3rd Ave., an intersection known as the Hub (with apologies to Boston). That area is also close to the epicenter of the South Bronx self immolation of the 1970's. By the late 90's that area looked almost like Berlin in 1945. That's only a slight exaggeration. It was just north of the famous precinct known as Fort Apache. I'm happy to report that the Bronx has made great strides since then, tho it still has a LONG way to go. I don't know what that original Alexander's store is now.