Trench Coat - the 'Ultimate' Thread!

[Doctor Damage]

And you can see again the quality-level of todays Burberry trenchcoats. There's just no big difference to my (german) 199 EUR-storebrand-trenchcoat, which is basically the same massmarket-cutaway modell, of course not made from genuine Gabardine, but rather solid 59% cotton/41% Nylon-Gabardine weave.

I agree that too much legend has grown up around "vintage Burberry trench coats", when it fact they were really just good quality but not amazing. I have a couple of coats made in Canada from a West German fabric which are just as good as my vintage Burberry coats. There may have been a time several decades ago when they stood above the rest of the field, but that hasn't been so since at least the 1980s. Still, you can't go wrong if you get one for a reasonable price.

 

[Hanover Fiste]

Question...

I've got a Burberrys' here, and added a the zip-in liner. All signs point to it being
the Real Deal, not a clone. On the back of the left pocket label is a handwritten
notation (repair? modification?) dating it as 1994.

EXCELLENT build quality... if this is a copy, the counterfeiter went to an awful lot
of trouble to cross all the Ts and dot all the Is to make it look authentic.

Only one thing puzzles me... no gun flap!

Anybody know of others without the gun flap?

 

[Doctor Damage]

Question...

I've got a Burberrys' here, and added a the zip-in liner. All signs point to it being
the Real Deal, not a clone. On the back of the left pocket label is a handwritten
notation (repair? modification?) dating it as 1994.

EXCELLENT build quality... if this is a copy, the counterfeiter went to an awful lot
of trouble to cross all the Ts and dot all the Is to make it look authentic.

Only one thing puzzles me... no gun flap!

Anybody know of others without the gun flap?

I have one without the gun flap. They did a bunch of coats in the 1990s and early 2000s without the flap. Some from that era were 100% cotton (instead of Burberry's traditional blend) in colours like grey and olive green with non-standard check for the lining. The same coats from that period often didn't have a throat latch, either.

I have never really bought the argument that there are lots of counterfeit Burberry trench coats out there, which is asserted constantly on other clothing forums. I have no doubt that many of Burberry's flashy fashion items have been counterfeited to capture the "gotta have the latest" demand, but the classic boring trench coats don't fit into that category, and as you state they're so well made it just seems bonkers to bother to counterfeit. I realize they can do super quality stuff in Asia but the whole point of counterfeit is to make quick $$$ by banging out cheap copies, not make lovingly constructing replica items which would require as much labour and materials as the originals but would never get full price.

 

[Hanover Fiste]

I have one without the gun flap. They did a bunch of coats in the 1990s and early 2000s without the flap. Some from that era were 100% cotton (instead of Burberry's traditional blend) in colours like grey and olive green with non-standard check for the lining. The same coats from that period often didn't have a throat latch, either.

I have never really bought the argument that there are lots of counterfeit Burberry trench coats out there, which is asserted constantly on other clothing forums. I have no doubt that many of Burberry's flashy fashion items have been counterfeited to capture the "gotta have the latest" demand, but the classic boring trench coats don't fit into that category, and as you state they're so well made it just seems bonkers to bother to counterfeit. I realize they can do super quality stuff in Asia but the whole point of counterfeit is to make quick $$$ by banging out cheap copies, not make lovingly constructing replica items which would require as much labour and materials as the originals but would never get full price.

I hear ya, loud & clear re. counterfeits... but I must admit that I DID get burned on a
matching scarf. Lesson learned... NEVER buy Burberry online!

As for the trench coat... real or fake, it's a really decent item in any case. My personal
homage to Bogie!

It's fibre blend is the traditional one, not a pure cotton.

 

[Doctor Damage]

^ Your coat looks authentic, to judge by proportions, etc. Mine's the same just a darker shade.

 

[Doctor Damage]

Jack Nicholson in probably a Burberry.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Bump...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/t-magazine/classic-men-trench-coats.html

 

[Doctor Damage]

Bump...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/t-magazine/classic-men-trench-coats.html

Here's a screenshot of the article (which is mostly photos) in Tom's link. I kinda like that Maison Margeula one, which reminds me of a very similar design London Fog dig a few years back, although LF added a belt. Not really a traditional trench coat, though.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Now that’s what I call marketing! A U.K. hotel chain that stocks it’s rooms with Burberries for the guests.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/amp/news/2018/05/25/london-hotel-burberry-trench-coat-rain/

 

[Doctor Damage]

actor Christopher Timothy in an interesting trench, many details and proportions of Burberry but it's not (the pockets are wrong)

 

[Doctor Damage]

Now that’s what I call marketing! A U.K. hotel chain that stocks it’s rooms with Burberries for the guests.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/amp/news/2018/05/25/london-hotel-burberry-trench-coat-rain/

That's pretty nuts! Thanks for posting. I like the short dust covers in the one photo, just covering the shoulders and collar. I should try to make some for myself since I hate using those paper ones from the dry cleaners.

 

[Trenchfriend]

actor Christopher Timothy in an interesting trench, many details and proportions of Burberry but it's not (the pockets are wrong)

But the shell looks like very thick, strong cotton, probably not poly/cotton. Must got weight!

 

[Doctor Damage]

But the shell looks like very thick, strong cotton, probably not poly/cotton. Must got weight!

I agree, it looks like 100% cotton.

 

[Seb Lucas]

In the 1980's I had a Burberry trench from the 1950's. That thing was of an incredibly solid build and made all the imitators, from London Fog up, like cheap trash. The weave was tight and thick and wore like iron. I'm fairly sure Burberry hasn't been up to snuff for a few decades.

 

[Doctor Damage]

In the 1980's I had a Burberry trench from the 1950's. That thing was of an incredibly solid build and made all the imitators, from London Fog up, like cheap trash. The weave was tight and thick and wore like iron. I'm fairly sure Burberry hasn't been up to snuff for a few decades.

There's a legend which has propagated and spread on the interweb that the Burberry Trench 21 model, which was cancelled in the 1990s, was a heavyweight coat, but it wasn't for a long time, if it ever was. You're quite right that nothing in the past few decades has been able to match the quality of the coat you had, although construction quality (by which I mean "how well it's screwed together") will likely have gotten better over time.

 

[-Ariel-]

[URL='https://www.google.ru/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjcgvnxzKHeAhUDEywKHXboA50QMwg6KAEwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.famous-jackets.co.uk%2Fedge-of-tomorrow-tom-hardy-coat&psig=AOvVaw1CsVLNsBqBZrO8AjdcLjXl&ust=1540557190599142&ictx=3&uact=3']Tom Hardy and his trench.[/URL]

 

[Doctor Damage]

^ nice photo, thanks for posting. Funny how he looks kinda skinny there, but is actually well-built.

 

[scottyrocks]

^ nice photo, thanks for posting. Funny how he looks kinda skinny there, but is actually well-built.

He does look thin there. Has he lost weight for a role? Or this an old picture taken before, say, he was more well built?

 

[-Ariel-]

I see on the modern trenches (since 1960s, i guess) the fabric is tough, but the fabric of prewar trenches were more softly. You see how sticking the left lapel of Hardy's trench.

 

[Doctor Damage]

I see on the modern trenches (since 1960s, i guess) the fabric is tough, but the fabric of prewar trenches were more softly. You see how sticking the left lapel of Hardy's trench.

My general sense is that you're correct, that modern high-end coats are made from a tighter-weave cloth that is probably more waterproof than in the past, but is also stiffer.