The Big Chill
Overcoat Season
A good man deserves a good overcoat. Our last Q&A session featured a lot of overcoat questions. That tells me a lot of you are ready to embrace the thinking man’s outerwear. I celebrated the special overcoat before, way back in the first year of this newsletter. An overcoat can be classic and reassuring or dynamic and daring. That’s to say: an accepted standby that looks good on all men or a more assertive sartorial statement specific to you. It should not be a sad shapeless blue sack you got at a warehouse sale years ago. And it shouldn’t be a parka, which are for ski slopes, steelhead fishing and shoveling snow.
You wear an overcoat more than you think and if you have an overcoat you love you’ll find even more reasons to share it with the world. A long jacket brings more formality to your cold weather arsenal while you stride purposefully down the street. It also helps you make a suitably dashing entrance to a restaurant, hotel lobby or opera house. It also brings dignity to a quick visit to the news agent to get the Sunday paper.
If you’re looking for a classic then you can go to the usual suspects. I’ve worn this Mackintosh in blue for years. It’s much lighter weight than their old raincoats (which I loved, but felt like being wrapped in rubber). This isn’t romantic but it’s extremely useful, great for travel and easy to pack. I heartily endorse this investment.
What about an Austrian Loden coat in the reassuring green? I have one from Schneiders Salzburg (that they used to carry at Drake’s). You can find one in specialty stores or in various corners of the internet. I brought mine to Italy one brisk January and wondered if I was even more behind the times than usual. I needn’t have worried. Every man in Turin was wearing the same one, even though their average age was north of seventy. The shoulders can look a little squared at first, but you quickly get used to that and they look great on.
But we really want a devastating and individual overcoat. This might require a stealthy long-term plan. You crouch silently waiting for your moment. Seasons come and seasons go and you don’t see a jacket worthy of your dreams. Then suddenly, it’s there and you’re ready to act decisively. You put a serious dent in your platinum card knowing that this jacket will be with you until you retire and move to Sicily.
An overcoat is a good time to take a dip in the double-breasted waters. My greatest overcoat (deeply discounted Kiton at Bergdorf Goodman twenty years ago) was the first double-breasted jacket I had, I still wear it lovingly.
There are some seriously good overcoats out there right now (for those new to this newsletter, I don’t receive any commission if you use these links).
-What about this wonder charcoal grey herringbone polo coat from J. Mueser?
-It seems like Drake’s makes a great overcoat every year. The streak continues with this brown houndstooth Raglan coat which I would wear in a heartbeat.
-This brown Polo herringbone topcoat is lovely. If money isn’t an issue then the Purple Label cashmere overcoat is quite something.
-I’ve always liked the Rubinacci Ulster coat, like this one.
-If you’re ready for camel hair (and you probably are) then this Sid Mashburn topcoat looks very smart.
-Very into the overcoats at Wythe New York. Here’s a wildly great Raglan overcoat.
The other option, which is so exciting I can hardly bear it, is to have an overcoat made. You can do that at a tailor. J. Mueser is great. I had one made for Emilie years ago, and now, in a nice bit of symmetry, she makes them with Jake for her brand Clementina.
If you commission a jacket then you have more fabric options: deep brown Prince of Wales check or subtle herringbone. That seems indulgent, but we’re talking about a jacket you’re going to wear and love as long as you’re upright. And what’s better than an indulgence that, over time, strikes you as irrefutable common sense?
I boarded a Eurostar early Saturday morning and was glad I'd worn my overcoat. It's a single breasted Sealup in navy blue Lora Piana waterproof wool with a belt.I think it is called the Academy and I suppose it's got a certain 1930s student at Oxford look. It reminds me of the coats in the film Rebecca. I don't know if the Contender would approve but I wore brown fine wale corduroy trousers, a blue blazer from the merchant fox and an old tie from Hermes and brown suede Heschung boots. And obviously I carried a duffel bag ( a Tom Beckbe which isn't made any more). I didn't see any chaps in overcoats but the very dangerous looking tall blonde with whom I shared a taxi was wearing a long camel overcoat. So there you have it. Wear an overcoat.
I purchased the Donegal Overcoat from Private White last year, it is not too heavy and looks great.