Mays Mode College
It is spring. Not officially, but who cares. I replaced the Christmas lights outside with a parasol and pots of hydrangeas, and I pushed the basket with mittens and scarves up to the attic. Only a fashion problem arises; it is too chilly for ’without a coat‘, but too warm for that puffy winter coat. Enter: the trench coat. A classic that has been around for almost 125 years and yet is incredibly en vogue every year.
The trench coat, that's a ‘discovery’ of Burberry, right?
There is another brand that claims the success, Aquascutum, but I give the credit to Thomas Burberry who was not only the inventor of gabardine (the fabric the trench coat is made of), but also designed the coat. He offered the trench coat to the Ministry of Defence in 1901, as the coat was to be used for high-ranking military personnel fighting in the war.
What is on the bingo card of the real trench?
You can easily check off a real trench. Here we go:
1. Made of leather, gabardine or poplin (linen weave with fine rib structure)
2. Length to mid-calf or just below the knee
3. Belt around the waist and at the ends of the sleeves
4. Double row of ten buttons
5. Wide lapels
6. Flaps on the shoulders that are fastened with a button (it is said that these were used to hold your rifle against)
7. Color is khaki
And how did the trench coat become a fashion item?
The higher-ranking military personnel wore the coat (I believe they even had to purchase it themselves), making it a status symbol in the trenches. After the war, they took the coat home (since they paid for it themselves and hey, what a handy thing it was because you could attach cards and other things you needed to the belt) and there the eyes of their wives fell on the coat. We are writing about the period after World War I, which was an important period in the emancipation of women. They gained the right to vote, Gabrielle Chanel literally took charge, we cut our hair short, started smoking, and thus that coat of the husband was theirs to have.
The trench coat is also an iconic piece of clothing in films and series, right?
Absolutely. You can picture Dick Tracy and Peter Falk (a.k.a. Columbo) in it, just like Neo in The Matrix and Rick Blaine in Casablanca.
The trench is classic and timeless and at the same time incredibly of now. It's like the marinière: you just can’t go wrong. Of course, you have the trench from Burberry because every brand now almost has a trench. My love du moment is the trench coat from Denham The Jeanmaker. Super comfortable and stylish and also for a very reasonable price.
