Trench Coat - the 'Ultimate' Thread!

[Edward]

You make a good point, Edward, I didn’t like the color of this coat at first and I didn’t appreciate that it offered a different style than a traditional tan trench coat until after your comments and I had a good look at it with other outfits. I also thought about the black one, yet, I try to live simply and I only need one coat, so, this one is going to have to be it for a while, perhaps a long while.

It's interesting to see somewhere like Marks & Sparks offering a one-colour-only option, and that being tan - I wonder is that due to the fashionability of Burberry in recent seasons - and Burberry's traditional colour being a khaki / tan? It does seem to me that if you were going to go for a one-only trench, a mid-dark grey would be the most flexible option. Some of us today (myself included, probably) have way more overcoats than necessary, but I imagine that was a rare thing back in the 30s, so most men would have been buying one coat to go with everything. Maybe it was simply the influence of its military origins that made khaki/tan the standard rather than something more flexible like grey (IMO, a grey would go better with a black suit, or some blues), but then it also seems to me that men's clothing back in the Golden Age featured considerably more browns than would be the norm nowadays when blacks would be more usual than brown. Tans would match in really well over a brown suit.

 

[carter]

Burberry from Ebay

After watching Burberry Trenchcoats go for well over $200.00 on Ebay, plus shipping, I decided to grab this one before it got away. BIN from a seller in PA. $89.00 and shipping was included.

 

[Edward]

Looks like an excellent buy, Carter. Great price. Seems from the photo - the excess buttons inside - too that yours is the style where the winter weight liner buttons in rather than a zip-in (as mine is). I'd regard that as more desirable, simply because it's more vintage-correct in detail, if I'm not mistaken. I wonder how difficult the liners are to find on their own - I don't think I've seen many Burberrys on sale on eBay with them in place, so maybe there's a whole stack of them in drawers and closets all over.... [huh]

 

[cookie]

You done good on that price jeesh!!!!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[J. M. Stovall]

I want a trench that is waterproof, not just water resistant. What are the choices? It seems like most are just cotton.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

A rubberized one?

You can apply rubber roof primer to any trench coat in order to make it waterproof.

.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Orvis has a Gortex model, but nobody else seems to make one that says it's waterproof. I don't want anything plastic, I want it to look like a regular trench, but I don't want tan and that's all the Orvis comes in.

 

[Feraud]

That is a beautiful trench Carter. I have the same one. You will be very happy with it.

 

[Alan Eardley]

A rubberized one?

You can apply rubber roof primer to any trench coat in order to make it waterproof.

.

And make it smell like an old Belstaff. Believe me, there's nothing like it...

Alan

 

[TCameron]

Good find on the Burberry. I just picked up one in a secret special warehouse north of Boston for $85. It's tight in the shoulders and a little short in the arms, but a find nonetheless.

annnd apparently webshots insists on having thumbnails in forums.

 

[Mr. 'H']

Looks like an excellent buy, Carter. Great price. Seems from the photo - the excess buttons inside - too that yours is the style where the winter weight liner buttons in rather than a zip-in (as mine is). I'd regard that as more desirable, simply because it's more vintage-correct in detail, if I'm not mistaken. I wonder how difficult the liners are to find on their own - I don't think I've seen many Burberrys on sale on eBay with them in place, so maybe there's a whole stack of them in drawers and closets all over.... [huh]

Hi Edward,

I have a vintage 1940s coat I bought in Aardvaarks in Pasadena whilst visiting with Wildroot.

It is from the 40s and there is a zipper to zipp in a winter liner (which was gone when I got it). It's a really nice coat.

 

[carter]

Originally posted by Edward
I wonder how difficult the liners are to find on their own - I don't think I've seen many Burberrys on sale on eBay with them in place, so maybe there's a whole stack of them in drawers and closets all over....

There is one lady on Ebay who is selling a Burberry Trench with no belt, no wrist belts, some holes, staining, etc. but it has the correct winter lining and detachable wool collar. I figured it would go for $25.00 or less. Oh, was I ever wrong. It escalated rapidly and may have achieved earth orbit by now.

I'll have to check

Here's the good news. I contacted Burberry USA and they still sell both the zip-in and button-in liners for just under $149.00 US plus tax. For an additional $50.00 US, you can order a replacement wool collar. So, with a good buy on the shell with belts and buttons intact, an additional $200.00 US will get you a very servicable trench. It'll even have that worn-in look. :fedora:

:coffee:

BTW, Burberry USA currently has two Trenchcoats on their website that are on sale for under $1000.00 US. Limited sizes but the price for NWT is super.

 

[Jovan]

Carter: Nice buy, but I am curious what the small D-rings at the belt are for?

 

[carter]

Jovan,

I have no idea. So I called the Burberry store in Dallas. The information they gave me is from The Little Black Book of Style.

When Thos. Burberry created the Trenchcoat for British troops in WWI, The D Rings were for carrying hand grenades.

Now I'm going to go buy the book.

 

[Feraud]

I assumed the d-rings on the belt were a wartime leftover.

In looking into the matter I found this.
See Paddy's Trenchcoat Refernce Photos -1 for pictures.
Specifically this one which states,

Full belt with slide buckle, and belt rings to which accessories may be attached.

 

[carter]

Feraud, Now there's a handy reference. There truly are more items of valuable information posted on the Lounge than one imagines. :eusa_clap

 

[Edward]

Yeah, the D rings were for carrying accessories. I don't think I've ever read of anyone carrying hand grenades on them(!), though I believe an officer's pistol holder could be attached in some manner, allowing the coat to be worn closed against the elements as intended but with gun still readily accessible. If memoery serves, ammunition pouches were also typically fastened on like that too. Since i learned a bit more about Burberry via this site and others, this has become one of my favourite features on a trench.

There is one lady on Ebay who is selling a Burberry Trench with no belt, no wrist belts, some holes, staining, etc. but it has the correct winter lining and detachable wool collar. I figured it would go for $25.00 or less. Oh, was I ever wrong. It escalated rapidly and may have achieved earth orbit by now.

I'll have to check

Here's the good news. I contacted Burberry USA and they still sell both the zip-in and button-in liners for just under $149.00 US plus tax. For an additional $50.00 US, you can order a replacement wool collar. So, with a good buy on the shell with belts and buttons intact, an additional $200.00 US will get you a very servicable trench. It'll even have that worn-in look. :fedora:

Yeah, it's amazing what some folks will pay for stuff on the bay - I think aside from auction fever folks all too often just assume always cheaper on eBay. I once watched a leather jacket in the style of one Brad Pitt wears in a scene in Fight Club shoot way up over GBP220 in an ebay auction - the same jacket was available new all over the web for £150.

I'll definitely check out that option of a liner when I'm feeling a little more flush - a justifiable expense, I think, when it turns it into a year-round coat... thanks for the heads up on that.

Hi Edward,

I have a vintage 1940s coat I bought in Aardvaarks in Pasadena whilst visiting with Wildroot.

It is from the 40s and there is a zipper to zipp in a winter liner (which was gone when I got it). It's a really nice coat.

That's a nice looking coat. Interesting that the lining zips in that early - I'd been under the notion that that amount of zipper was a more recent feature, but obviously not. That's cool, my Burberry might be more 'period' than I thought, then. I don't actually know what age it is, but it is one of the all-cotton models. Not sure if that dates it - did they switch to poly cotton mix later on, or do they offer both options still?

 

[carebear]

In the picture above, showing the front of the soldier, it looks like suspenders are attached to the d-ring, which makes more sense than "accessories", especially since there are two in back as well. (remember, the guys who write the text in ads are not necessarily the guys who use or make the gear, then and now)

Adding suspenders to the belt (buttoned through the shoulder epaulets no less) would allow the coat belt to be used to hold standard pouches and such, and the pockets to hold heavy-ish items, without sagging or flopping around. It would allow the wearer to not have to take off their Sam Browne from the regular uniform blouse underneath just to wear some belt gear in the rain.

That's what I'd do anyway, looking at it from a soldiers field-use perspective.

 

[Edward]

In the picture above, showing the front of the soldier, it looks like suspenders are attached to the d-ring, which makes more sense than "accessories", especially since there are two in back as well. (remember, the guys who write the text in ads are not necessarily the guys who use or make the gear, then and now)

Adding suspenders to the belt (buttoned through the shoulder epaulets no less) would allow the coat belt to be used to hold standard pouches and such, and the pockets to hold heavy-ish items, without sagging or flopping around. It would allow the wearer to not have to take off their Sam Browne from the regular uniform blouse underneath just to wear some belt gear in the rain.

That's what I'd do anyway, looking at it from a soldiers field-use perspective.

Sounds logical to me.... does that mean then we all wear thed belts upside down nowadays (i.e. with the D rings to the bottom)?

 

[carebear]

I dunno. [huh] In the pic Carter posted of his actual coat they were up as well.

With only the two cloth belt loops on the sides and the belt being fabric as opposed to webbing, you sure aren't hanging much weight off those belts from a d-ring without a lot of sagging.

As far as the grenade idea goes, contrary to Hollywood, you don't want to be hanging grenades by their spoons. They're far better off in a pocket or pouch. I'm pretty sure the safety clamp on a Mill's Bomb would preclude hooking the spoon through a d-ring anyway.