Trench Coat - the 'Ultimate' Thread!

[jeo]

Never seen or posted in this thread before, but I do love my trench coats so I thought I would share of mine from Ben Sherman.

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[-Ariel-]

If I had understood correctly, in the golden era there were only the beige raincoats

 

[Seb Lucas]

If I had understood correctly, in the golden era there were only the beige raincoats

No. Why do would you say that?

 

[-Ariel-]

Because even here I see only the biege trenches from the classic movies.

 

[Doctor Damage]

If I had understood correctly, in the golden era there were only the beige raincoats

No. Why do would you say that?

I've seen a photo of Robert Mitchum in the 1950s wearing a dark trenchcoat, either black or navy blue (the photo is b&w so it's impossible to tell which). But for what it's worth I have rarely seen dark trenchcoats in old photos.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Trench coats came in brown, grey, blue, bone, beige and many shades there of. I owned many trench-coats from the 1940's to the 1950s in those colors when you could still find them in thrift shops in the early 1980's.

Lighter shades may well be more common. In black and white movies the jackets are lighter shades but could be grey and beige and white and camel - probably because lighter shades photograph better on screen.

 

[GHT]

Because even here I see only the biege trenches from the classic movies.

Perhaps the owners of trenchcoats of a different colour are more reluctant to show them. In wintry weather a classic hat and trenchcoat exudes style. Whilst I do have a beige trenchcoat, which I wear with a brown suit, I also have a navy one and this one. The colour is a mix of grey and green. In artificial light it's more grey, in sunlight there's definitely a green hue to it. The lining is fastened by a zipper and can be removed when the weather is warm but wet. I bought it from a stall holder at a WW2 event held at a heritage railway. (Steam trains and all that.) My missus isn't here to photo me in it but when I get the chance, I'll ask her to photograph me wearing it and show you how well it compliments my grey suit.

 

[Doctor Damage]

^ that's very nice GHT, it's one of those US military officer's post-war coats (although a few generals had them during the war)

 

[Doctor Damage]

Trench coats came in brown, grey, blue, bone, beige and many shades there of. I owned many trench-coats from the 1940's to the 1950s in those colors when you could still find them in thrift shops in the early 1980's.

Lighter shades may well be more common. In black and white movies the jackets are lighter shades but could be grey and beige and white and camel - probably because lighter shades photograph better on screen.

Good points, thanks for the info!

 

[GHT]

^ that's very nice GHT, it's one of those US military officer's post-war coats (although a few generals had them during the war)

You are right about the colour, it does have a military appearance, but I thought that the military had double breasted coats, or am I confusing it with the British officer's uniform?

 

[Doctor Damage]

You are right about the colour, it does have a military appearance, but I thought that the military had double breasted coats, or am I confusing it with the British officer's uniform?

The US Army issued heavy wool d-b coats as a stopgap for a shortage of winter clothing for a couple winters early in Europe but once the M1943 jackets and liners became available the greatcoats went away at least on the front line. Officers often wore a cotton trenchcoat with liner. Generals, however, who were not in the front line, later in the war were often wearing coats like the one you have, which after the war became widely issued in the Army and for the USAF as well.

WW2 images:


post-war images (army & air force):

 

[Kenneth Lawson]

Also finally got my trenchcoats, two of them in fact.
The first one is a Botany 500 I got for 14.00 at a Goodwill store.
The second one is a Gleneagles in a light tan color, for 4.00
I know their not "True" trenchcoats in the strictest sense of the word, ie wrong material, but they work for me.
The brown is a little big, but it let me add a jacket under it for more warmth.
The black firs nice and I'll use that one more for dress.

 

[Doctor Damage]

^ omg I can't believe those prices! Thrift stores in my parts are expensive.

Both look like good coats so I think you did well. Botany 500 was a name that London Fog coats were sold under (or alongside), so that coat should be rock solid. I agree the black one fits better (the belt helps, do you have a belt for the brown one?) and is the one to keep for sure.

 

[Kenneth Lawson]

I did good. Both have their belts, I took those pictures just after I got them when I visiting my daughter in Tennessee.
The brown one turned out to be bigger then I thought it was.
I finally found the size tag, its a 44reg. which is far bigger then I can really wear.
However, its plenty big enough to add a coat under it and wear it over for extra protection from the weather. and still look good, at least at a distance..
The black one fits almost as good as my Duster. which I bought new several years ago. I also got lucky with that, as they had one in the store that fits good.

 

[Edward]

Perhaps the owners of trenchcoats of a different colour are more reluctant to show them. In wintry weather a classic hat and trenchcoat exudes style. Whilst I do have a beige trenchcoat, which I wear with a brown suit, I also have a navy one and this one. The colour is a mix of grey and green. In artificial light it's more grey, in sunlight there's definitely a green hue to it. The lining is fastened by a zipper and can be removed when the weather is warm but wet. I bought it from a stall holder at a WW2 event held at a heritage railway. (Steam trains and all that.) My missus isn't here to photo me in it but when I get the chance, I'll ask her to photograph me wearing it and show you how well it compliments my grey suit.
View attachment 146757 View attachment 146758

^ that's very nice GHT, it's one of those US military officer's post-war coats (although a few generals had them during the war)

Yes, it's an AG44, US Army. First issued in, if memory serves, 1961, though they look (especially here in the UK) very much like an earlier civilian garment rather than Vietnam era. Plenty of them around; I have one and am seriously considering a second one, which I'd have a mouton collar stitched onto... Lovely bit of kit.

 

[Doctor Damage]

Yes, it's an AG44, US Army. First issued in, if memory serves, 1961, though they look (especially here in the UK) very much like an earlier civilian garment rather than Vietnam era. Plenty of them around; I have one and am seriously considering a second one, which I'd have a mouton collar stitched onto... Lovely bit of kit.

First issued in 1961? That seems late, unless that's when they were widely issued. It's a somewhat puzzing topic: I've posted photos of identical coats being worn during WW2, so perhaps generals and senior officers had them made up or private purchase during the war, and only later the military adopted the design for actual issue. If anyone knows more, please post.

 

[Edward]

First issued in 1961? That seems late, unless that's when they were widely issued. It's a somewhat puzzing topic: I've posted photos of identical coats being worn during WW2, so perhaps generals and senior officers had them made up or private purchase during the war, and only later the military adopted the design for actual issue. If anyone knows more, please post.

It surprised me, certainly. It coincides with the wider AG44 uniform coming in, though, when the US Army went green instead of brown. There were similar coats issued earlier, of course (c/f m442, M442A, g1....); there was a cotton equivalent OG107(?) something or other in Korea; I've also seen a very similar coat (photos only, not in person) labelled an M51 Overcoat, so it's plausible there have been several similar coats with different nomenclature over the years.

In any case, military origins aside, the AG44 makes a fantastic, civilian overcoat with an overall look that could pass for 40s or 50s, at a currently very affordable price.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Good article on “the trench coats forgotten WWI roots”.

Nice reminder that, even when Bogey was wearing his coat in 1940s films, his contemporaries might have already been thinking the coat a classic and perhaps already assuming its wearer had a possible military backstory.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-29033055

I suspect that most people today see a trench coat and just think “Humphrey Bogart” or “1940s detective” without considering that the roots are older and, in fact, military. As noted several times above, the classic trench coat was a military staple through both world wars and beyond.

 

[-Ariel-]

Do anyone have a catalogue of trenches 1930-1950s?

 

[Kenneth Lawson]

The trench coat tends to evoke a certain sense of nostalgia for a time and place they remember or think they remember.
When it was easy to tell the good guys from the bad guys, and Right was Right, and always won.
But we know it was never that simple. The images of Bogart in a trench coat taking guns away from hoods, and collecting them, and using them to dispatch a form of justice usually only found in movies, partially of the era.
As we know the real world was much less black and white.
There is a certain cool style that goes with the trench coat, particularly the early ones. But even my more modern edition of it carries it, although I suspect its lost on 99% of the people who see it. In fact, a large number of young people who see one today probably won't know what it is, and definitely will have no idea of its history, and connections to wars they've only barely read about, or seen movies about.