Trench Coat - the 'Ultimate' Thread!

[MK]

One of the things that makes or breaks "the Look" is the length of the coat. You will notice that Bogie's only goes to his knees.

That keeps him from looking short. Actually....I wish mine was that short....but the shorter sizes seem to be harder to find.

Which model London Fog did you find?

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Daryl's REALLY cool Bogart Trench Coat

I went over to Orlando today and saw these coats in person and i bought myself one. Its our rainy season here and until Mr. Marlowe gets us all together on a custom job which might take some doing i needed a trench. The bad thing is now i want a new fedora to go with the taupe color of the coat. I guess i'll call Art for one of his creations!! I've heard he has bought a ton of antique blocks so this should be fun. Thanks Ky Blue for the lead on the trench coat.

 

[Marlowe]

Okay, I'll go into the details of the "Blaine Coat" (my mental nickname for the trench coat Bogart wears in the film "Casablanca.")

In order to bring details to your attention, I'm going to contrast it with Kentucky Blue's trench coat. Keep in mind that I AM NOT CRITICIZING KENTUCKY BLUE'S COAT. I will be merely comparing and contrasting it to the "Blaine Coat." Blue's coat is a very good-looking trench coat. I hope he gets many years of enjoyment and use out of it.

Having made my disclaimer, I'll start at the top and work my way down.

In the photo that MK posted above, notice the ends of the collar on the Blaine Coat. They are very pointed, and the edge of the collar itself lies very close to the upper edge of the lapel. It also looks as though, if you were to close the coat across with the collar up, the line of the upper edge of the lapel would point from one side of your neck to the opposite armpit. Blue's coat looks as though the line of the upper edge of the lapel would point more straightly across your chest, along your collarbones or thereabouts. Further, Blue's coat looks as if the collar and lapels would work more independently of each other--as though you could close the lapels and button up and the collar could still be left open. The Blaine Coat appears that if you closed the lapels and buttoned up it would pull the collar closed across your throat, too.

The Blaine Coat has a strap arrangement on the underside of the collar and a button on the opposite underside for strapping the collar closed while it is up. (It's very hard to see in the movie. Only in one short shot in the railway staion scene.) I can't tell how Kentucky Blue's coat is designed in that respect.

The epaulets (the "straps" that go from shoulder to neckline) on Blue's coat aren't as long as the ones on the Blaine Coat. The Blaine Coat's epaulets reach all the way from the shoulder to the neckline, whereas Blue's go about two thirds or three quarters across. I cannot tell how Blue's epaulets are attached to his coat due to the angle they are at in the photos I have access to. The ones on the Blaine Coat are like a loop. They start at the neck, go out to the shoulder, where they pass under a belt loop-like keeper, and go back to the neck, where they are sewn down (not buttoned).

Kentucky Blue's coat has armholes at the shoulder, to which the sleeves are sewn, as on the Blaine Coat. It's hard to tell, but it appears as if Blue's armholes may be larger than the ones on the Blaine Coat.

Like the Blaine Coat, Blue's trench coat has two "gun flaps" (the flaps of material that cover the chest area of the coat) whose lower edges are in a shallow V pointing down. While Kentucky Blue's coat has buttons to hold the lowest point to the body of the coat, the Blaine Coat does not. Also, it appears that the Vs of the gun flaps on Blue's coat point slightly toward their opposite sides, while the V shapes of the Blaine Coat point pretty much straight down.

On the back of the coat, Kentucky Blue's "rain cape" (the panel of material that covers the upper back of the coat) has two points along its lower edge. From the photo of it hanging I can't tell if the rain cape is attached to the body of the coat anywhere along its lower edge or not. The Blaine Coat has one point along its lower edge, i.e. its lower edge has a shallow V shape to it, and the rain cape is attached to the body at the tip of the V.

The belt of the Blaine Coat has four lines of stitching spaced evenly across, running along its length, and has four small loops on the lower edge of the back with the small loops holding D-rings. Blue's coat just has stitching around its perimeter and no D-rings. Also, if I recall correctly, the belt loops on the Blaine Coat are narrower than those on Kentucky Blue's.

I can't recall right now how the openings of the pockets were arranged on the Blaine Coat except to say that they are at approximately the same location and angle as on Kentucky Blue's coat. I just can't recall if they button closed or not. (I believe so, but cannot recall clearly.)

I can't see the arrangement on Blue's coat for the "riding slit" in the back (like a vent on a suit jacket). On the Blaine Coat it is in the form of a kind of pleat that starts in the center of the back of the body of the coat about 6 or 8 inches below the bottom of the belt and goes down to the hem of the coat in the center of the back.

Likewise, I can't address the length of Kentucky Blue's coat, but as you can see in the photo above, Bogey's coat only came to perhaps the bottom of his kneecap. (And no further, I reckon.)

The Blaine Coat was almost certainly made of a lighter weight material. Compare how wrinkly it is as it hangs on Bogart with how smooth Blue's coat looks. It also looks lighter in color. If I had to guess, I'd say a light "stone" kind of color (light tan and light gray), or an equally light tan with a tinge of olive.

It's my opinion that the Blaine Coat was designed and built for the film "Casablanca." I don't think it was an off-the-rack item purchased for the film or brought from home by Bogart himself. I've searched high and low and never found an identical coat anywhere. Many are similar in various degrees and aspects, but never quite the same.

As I said before, I'm not trying to break bad on Kentucky Blue's coat. It's a fine-looking coat. I would be perfectly happy to own one myself. (But, except for a close replica of the Blaine Coat, I'm pretty much set for trench coats right now.)

Hopefully, some will find this info useful, or at least interesting.

 

[MK]

I knew you would chime in sooner or later.

Thanks for the superb analysis.

 

[Imahomer]

Hopefully, some will find this info useful, or at least interesting. [/B]

I'm constantly amazed at the knowledge level some people have on various topics. That's a very detailed comparison and eventhough, I'd never notice half of those things, I tip my hat to your detailed eye. :cool2:

 

[Marlowe]

Thanks. I went through all the scenes in which the coat appears in the film pretty much frame-by-frame, looking at its details. I'd have to look at them again to get the rest of the details I missed this time. (It's been months.)

It's interesting to discover that what we see isn't always what was there to be seen. For instance, in the bar fight scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," Indy whips out an automatic pistol at one point. For about 20 years, I believed it was a Colt 1911, although it was a Browning Hi-Power. And I owned a Browning Hi-Power for 12 of those 20 years. Likewise with the Blaine Coat--without really studying the details, I would have probably just been able to pick up any London Fog, Burberry's or other trench coat and figure I had "the coat from 'Casablanca.'"

But, hey, that's just me: Maybe a little too hung up on silly, insignificant little details.

 

[BellyTank]

Man that site's a nightmare...
It's a nice coat but a krazee price.
Some nice styling. I've seent the d-ring waist-strap arangement before- even on coats with buttons but mainly leather ones -it's a little different. A normal button closure would probably only go from throat to waist- so with the belt and the waist-strap, you wouldn't really be losing much. i'm guessing it has a neck/throat closure of some kind...
Nice coat! Expensive though @ $900 considering it's not leather.
BT

 

[LuckyLighter]

I found a pretty decent looking trenchcoat this weekend while shopping for a suit. It was at K & G Fashion Superstore, which is like a higher end Burlington Coat Factory--although, really, I thought K & G had better prices. Anyway, I found this trenchcoat for $99 that looked great, as far as the color and the length were concerned, though I don't exactly have quite the detail oriented eye like Marlowe does. I wish I had made a note about the designer, but I'll be going back to that store for some other stuff, because their prices really were amazing for very high quality clothing and accessories.

If I end up getting it for Christmas, I'll post some pics.

 

[Sergei]

What about this?

I found this on SierraTrading Post:
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/xq/asp/base_no.45715/dept_id.L2~7842/qx/product.htm

Only $69.

It's close, but only one gun flap. I wonder if a tailor could fix it? I also see that the one gun flap is also way wrong. And the epaulettes are buttoned on the end, instead looped.

Anyway, close...

-Sergei

 

[MK]

It looks a lot like my London Fog.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I've started looking, but finding a Trench with the sharp pointed collar is nex to impossible. The cape over the front of the left and right shoulder has that reverse scallop shape to it too.

I havn't seen one like that in the catalogs either. As Ludicrous as it may sound to some in regards to a rain coat. Money does talk and they did used to make custom overcoats and still do. That one may be a studio make.

 

[LuckyLighter]

Originally posted by Matt Deckard
I've started looking, but finding a Trench with the sharp pointed collar is nex to impossible. The cape over the front of the left and right shoulder has that reverse scallop shape to it too.

I havn't seen one like that in the catalogs either. As Ludicrous as it may sound to some in regards to a rain coat. Money does talk and they did used to make custom overcoats and still do. That one may be a studio make.

Yeah, and try finding one that has epaulets on the shoulders. I've been looking for a legitimate trenchcoat, not just a raincoat. But for some reason those two words have become (incorrectly) interchangable. Which ticks me off that people are so oblivious to the history of the trenchcoat.

All the coats that I have found have either been too trendy and modern, or close, but without the epaulets or gun flaps. Or just the wrong color. It turns out the one I had found a couple of weeks ago at K&G Superstore was an Olive colored Ralph Lauren trenchcoat. It had the epaulets, and a gun flap, but the color was wrong...like I said it was olive. But for 90 bucks, I've been thinking about getting it anyway.

 

[Sergei]

Drop in price

I found this on SierraTrading Post:
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/xq/asp/base_no.45715/dept_id.L2~7842/qx/product.htm

Only $69.

It's close, but only one gun flap. I wonder if a tailor could fix it? I also see that the one gun flap is also way wrong. And the epaulettes are buttoned on the end, instead looped.

Anyway, close...

-Sergei

Price now, an amazing $49.

-Sergei

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Still a nice coat. I need a 48R so its too small for me :cool2:

 

[LuckyLighter]

Any Satisfied Customers?

I see that they still have some 46L in stock. I'm tempted to buy one, but I have no experience with this company. Has anybody bought from these guys in the past?

 

[SHARPETOYS]

I see that they still have some 46L in stock. I'm tempted to buy one, but I have no experience with this company. Has anybody bought from these guys in the past?

I have bought from this company before and i had zero problems with them.
I hope this helps.

 

[Panamabob]

I've ordered boots from them and some other knickknacks and they were quick and correct.

 

[Sergei]

My order came in from Sierra Trading Post. For $49 this is a huge deal. It comes lined (zip out). It's clearly worth more. Highly recommend. I see they have sizes from 40 to 44. But running low.

 

[Sergei]

Speaking of fit. Should the length be at the knee or "grazing the calf"??? I ordered my coat long. I normally wear regular length jackets and coats. But don't know why I ordered this way... But looking at the pictures of Bogie, it looks right below the knee, not at the knee.

 

[AlanC]

Bruce Boyer in Elegance states that both Bogart and Peter Sellers wore Burberry's in their films, for what that's worth. He tends to be fairly reliable I think.

My trench is a *gasp* Nautica that I picked up a couple of years ago on deep clearance at a store in Lexington, Kentucky for about $30. They apparently had purchased literally a truck load of them. I just looked in the closet and it does have looping epaulets, but only one front flap (right shoulder). The lapels have an appropriately narrow notch as well. Nice zip out lining and an interior cell phone pocket, just like Bogie!

No offense to London Fog wearers (hey, I've got a Nautica so I won't throw any stones), but I have a hard time equating LF with Burberry or Aquascutum on quality. One of my thrift store goals is to find an Aquascutum or Burberry trench.

By the way, here is Boyer's description of the classic features of a trench:

"Today the authentic version has changed not at all from the days when it was accorded battle-ready staus: it is still double-breasted, waterproofed cotton khaki cloth, with epaulets, wrist straps to tighten against the wind and wet, a storm shoulder flap and back yoke, wedge back pleat, large collar and throat latch, and reinforced belt complete with D-rings."​