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COAT FROM THE TRENCHES IS FASHIONABLE

December 19th, 2011 Leave a comment Go to comments

THOUGH COMBAT gear has become fashionable on the streets of Paris and Toronto, the firm which has truly capitalized on military garb is a coat company.

One of the prized possessions of the British firm, Aquascutum, is a letter from a First World War soldier thanking them for his trusty gabardine coat which survived, “cold, ice, sleet and liquid mud.” The coat, now identified with the Bogart-type sleuth and the Bay Street businessman, was originally designed for the soldier in the trenches. “I suppose, at the end of the war, there was a certain glamor about uniforms, especially if you won,” says Chris Wildt, marketing director of Harridge’s, explaining the continuing popularity of the Aquascutum trench coat. “But I don’t think that anyone has come up with a better coat design.

Only about 10 coats are returned each year, out of the thousands we produce.” This distinguished-looking coat had rather functional beginnings. The wider raglan sleeves were first designed to accommodate the bulky uniform of the war hero, Lord Raglan. The brass rings that hang at the back are not mere decoration. They held hand grenades. The flap on the right shoulder was an innovation to prevent wear and tear. “When you fired a gun in the trenches you wore away the padding of the coat,” says Mr. Wildt. “This way, only the flap had to be replaced.” In keeping with the military hierarchy, epaulets were added so one could distinguish the colonels from the privates in the mud.

It would seem that over the years the only thing that has changed is how the belt is secured – in the fashionable Italian loop rather than flat against the waist. There has been some experimentation in the Aquascutum studios, says Mr. Wildt. The coat will be available in heavy-duty corduroy and, as always, lapel width, color and length will follow current trends.

The spring style that is a best-seller among men who want to keep in step with fashion is the fuller raglan-sleeve coat in military tan gabardine – a coat that would be all too familiar to some of their grandfathers.

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