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Show Us Your OVERCOATS

triple-d

A-List Customer
Messages
420
Location
Arkansas
Re gold/silver buttons on coats (and blazers)... I've run into this all the time on other clothing forums. People say "I want a blazer" and then insist on removing the shiny metal buttons and replacing them with something matte or bland horn buttons, presumably because of some lack of confidence in wearing anything other than a dark suit or some weird biases they've picked up in their youth. I always point out that once you remove the shiny metal buttons then it's no longer a blazer, so what's the point? Why not just buy a jacket without shiny buttons in the first place? Buy what you want, not what you don't want and then try to turn it into what you want. Same thing with these military overcoats; there are plenty of bland, monochrome, undecorated civilian overcoats out there, so there's no need to start modifying military coats to make them more civilian. And frankly, if you buy high quality civilian clothing, it's usually better quality than military stuff (yes, I'm right about that, any overcoat made by Brooks Brothers is much better quality than any military overcoat).
So Doc....if you were going to purchase a new overcoat.....Brooks Brothers is the way to go?
 

-Ariel-

Familiar Face
Messages
71
Location
Russia
Just my coat. Not true vintage.
IMG_4240.jpg
 

Doctor Damage

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,324
Location
Ontario
Just my coat. Not true vintage.
View attachment 104340
It's a great looking coat, vintage or not.
I'm with Micheal, it's a great looking coat, the belt brings it together, and the quality is obviously very good. I hope you're happy!

Do you find a lot of vintage stuff in Russia? or do you buy from other countries?

EDIT: One thing, always do up the bottom button on overcoats. Leaving it undone is one of those things that's migrated, wrongly, from the "rules" people who leave the bottom button undone on suits, etc.
 
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rocketeer

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,605
Location
England
Triberg Germany, Christmas 2017.
At last I got a chance wear my second hand Burton overcoat. This coat was bought from a lady whom said it was her late fathers, bought around 1980. It was massive in the arms and around 2ins to long in the sleeves. I took it to an ex Saville Row tailor here in Chelmsford Essex Uk who took the sleeves in and shortened them. he told me it was probably originally bespoke as there was a makers label but no size or fabric description as in most off the peg, even back then, all wool and extremely heavy. The style not noticeable here is an almost double breasted but not quite as there is no trace of buttons or fading where they may have been.
Apart from a sheepskin coat I have never been so warm as this garment is just about windproof.
Complementing the coat is my velour Peschel hat I bought especially for my trips to Germany. Keeping my feet warm are a pair of Aero RAF 1936 patten sheep lined boots.
Here I am at Triberg waterfall(€5 for the falls, or €15 with the laser light and firework show, no thanks). Best part of the day were the two gentlemen advisors in the House of a thousand clocks, the Cuckoo kind, who were apparently discussing my vintage hat and coat for some time, curious if it was an original or newly made hat :)
Oh yes, nearly forgot. The initial price of the coat was a mere £5. The adjustments to the arms were £50 which I thought was excellent value as a coat like this was unavailable on the general retail nowadays. Any info on the type of wool or weight of fabric description would be interesting.
Cheers, John.

26696288_10215014254850385_603084268_n_zps3bztzb3r.jpg
 
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Doctor Damage

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,324
Location
Ontario
^ most excellent coat Rocketeer, and great back-story! I've noticed on older single-breasted coats they tended to position the buttons further away from the edge to give more overlap. Modern single-breasted coats, by contrast, almost always have the buttons right up against the edge of the coat giving very little overlap.
 

rocketeer

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,605
Location
England
Here's some photos published today of Prince Charles in his tweed polo coat, which he's had since the 1980s (see the last photo).

To be honest, personally I think this coat suits Charles much better as an older man than it does in his younger photo. The coat just makes him look rather old fashioned as a younger man. It would look better were he tramping across a field walking dogs rather than this official looking 'visit'.
Just my opinion mind.
 

Doctor Damage

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,324
Location
Ontario
To be honest, personally I think this coat suits Charles much better as an older man than it does in his younger photo. The coat just makes him look rather old fashioned as a younger man. It would look better were he tramping across a field walking dogs rather than this official looking 'visit'.
Just my opinion mind.
I agree with you regarding polo coats. I think the extra details of polo coats -- cuffs, half-belt, patch pockets, etc -- make these coats look "older" and look better on older men. I have a BB one in camel hair and I have tried it on a few times but have never worn it yet for this very reason. As to Charles, I have pics of him wearing it while visiting farms and yeah it's more a country coat. He does have a navy blue overcoat and a mustard overcoat without the details which are more formal (below). The navy coat he's also had since the 1980s but the mustard one is newer.

 

Doctor Damage

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,324
Location
Ontario
^ That is actually a US Navy bridge coat. We have a thread dedicated to those coats only, could you please re-post it over there? Here's the link: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/u-s-navy-bridge-coats.75498/ That piece of cloth is a neck flap that you remove and re-button on the underside of the collar when you flip it up in bad weather. There should be two small buttons on the underside of the collar (if they haven't fallen off).
 

Peacoat

*
Bartender
Messages
6,454
Location
South of Nashville
^ Do whatever you like, but I tend to look to the British royals for how to wear overcoats. The older generations always do up the bottom button.
I agree about the bottom button. No good reason to leave it undone on overcoats, and one very good reason to button it. Quite unlike suit coats and blazers that are left undone for a good reason.
 

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