Field Coats

[uppercase]

One of the most satisfying combinations I follow in the Winter is to wear a country field coat with city dress.
This is obviously common in Italy and perhaps in the UK as well...I don't know.

We talk here a lot about overcoats, and bespeaking overcoats, but these tend to be formal coats to be worn in the city with equally formal suits - a consistency of style and genre from top to bottom.

I bought a RTW, green tweed field coat from Purdey London, over on Mount Street, a few years during the depths of the recent recession (when was that....2008 or so?) at a deeply discounted price.
London was absolutely empty at the time, the streets were devoid of tourists and the stores were giving things away.
The coat was just an impulse purchase. I really did not need a winter coat, much less a wind resistant, short field coat with deep pockets for ammunition, a blood-proof compartment in the back to put game, high collar, zips and snap buttons, snug cuffs, loose cut and rough cloth.

But I have enjoyed the coat a lot since I bought it, one of those serendipitous purchases which you didn't realize would be so satisfying and useful at the time of purchase.

And I do enjoy mixing up field and town. It just makes the dressing day a little more interesting, unpredictable and satisfying to wear a practical piece of clothing made for field and game.

Is there a place for mixing genres?

[alden]

UC

Yes there is a place for mixing. One of the most elegant men I have ever seen was my neighbor Philippe Noiret, the French actor. He would often mix country and city wear with great skill...and it takes great skill to pull it off! He would wear field coats, heavy wool shirts, boots paired with elegant Lobb shoes, Hermes silks and a tweed coat. Just google his name, select images and you will get the idea.

Men in London often wear Barbour over their suits and Italians have a flair for mixing these styles. It just takes a bit of imagination and a good eye.

Cheers

[couch]

I've worn a Barbour Berwick tweed version of the shooting coat you describe since about 2006. I often wear it with informal city clothes as rus in urbe. I recall meeting another former member, along with manton and aakash and some others for lunch in Manhattan around 2007; he had just purchased a similar one from another maker. He looked great in it and was mightily pleased. And I remember Michael mentioning the Chrysalis version a few years ago. So if LL behavior is any guide, you're not a dangerous innovator.

In fact, my shooting coat is the coat I wear most often in weather that's not so severe it requires the expedition parka. My Barbour has had the cuffs turned and the rear skirt re-hemmed, and the tweed is beginning to show edge wear at the throat latch, so it probably only has another season or two left. I still regularly receive compliments on it, even now that it is thoroughly "broken in." Fortunately I picked up another on sale as a spare, so I have another ten years safely in the closet.

It really is an amazingly useful garment. (I've seen the Purdey version in the Mount St shop in the past.) The outer tweed is quite handsome and of course warm when damp, the length works well if you must drive, mine has a technical waterproof/breathable curtain liner so it works as a raincoat in all but a drenching downpour, and the pockets, water/blood-proof seat lining, and sleeve gaiters you mention have all come in handy (when siting on a damp concrete bench, for instance).

A while back Michael was floating an idea for a tweed odd jacket with bellows hip pockets and an internal support system to allow them to hold some weight. It looked more or less like a traditional lounge or modified Norfolk jacket except for the serious pockets. It was a fine idea but I couldn't think of a situation where I wouldn't prefer either a proper shooting coat or a less bulgy and more refined tweed odd jacket.

So in short, count me a fan.

[hectorm]

Although I like field jackets a lot, I´m not a big fan of mixing them with a business suit. I keep my outerwear downstairs together with gloves, hats, and scarfs and generally those are the last garments I pick before going out the door. In winter, if I´m in city dress and ready to walk out to the office (let´s say in a pinstripe blue suit) my default is one of the long overcoats or a raincoat depending on the weather. I know by now that the combo of informal outerwear/business suit can always be improved -even if you don´t want to go too formal- by substituting a polo or a covert coat for the field jacket for . Occasionally I have worn a field coat over my suits to go to the supermarket or to drop my son at school.
Some would think that the mixing looks nonchalant, but it also looks (assuming honesty) a bit hurried. Nothing terrible about it, but I see it as a lost opportunity –one of the precious few- to wear your nice OCs.

[Leonard Logsdail]

No problem wearing a tweed field coat over a city suit - as long as you like it. I do it, as do some of my clients.

Another option would be to have one made from a non-traditional field coat cloth, like a covert. My covert field coat is one of my favorite pieces to wear around NYC. Or perhaps a cashmere might be more to your liking?

If a tweed field coat for city work worries you, then be innovative! A field coat is not an exclusive tweed product.

Leonard

[alden]

I've been known to wear my field coat, made of 1000 gms whipcord around town

Whipcord (1000ms) Sporting Coat by The London Lounge, on Flickr

Cheers

[Mark Seitelman]

Although I like field jackets a lot, I´m not a big fan of mixing them with a business suit. * * *
Some would think that the mixing looks nonchalant, but it also looks (assuming honesty) a bit hurried. Nothing terrible about it, but I see it as a lost opportunity –one of the precious few- to wear your nice OCs.

I agree.

A field coat on a city suit looks out of place.

I have a solid blue one which I have had for many years, and its sport styling looked out of place with a suit. I wore it once, and I did not like it.

I think that a field coat can be worn with a sports or country suit or a sportscoat and tie.

But, I agree with Len. If you like wearing it with a pinstripe suit, then wear it.

[davidhuh]

Gentlemen,

perhaps I should not comment... My opinion is rather simple. "If you do it, do it gracefully". Many things are possible, if done with a dose of grace

Cheers, David

[pck1]

Is this 1000 gram whipcord available?....that jacket would be very useful on shooting trips upstate...

[uppercase]

So how much rus in urbe are you willing to pursue before veering off into the quicksands of pitti uomo terrain??

Afterall, this is the season when practicality trumps all.

Are you ok with layering, ala cucinelli, a goose down "sweater" on top of your suit?
And are vibram soled suede boots fine with your winter flannel suits?
Rough sheepskin shearling gloves with your bespoke overcoat?
A rabbit fur aviator hat?

I can't image wearing EG's in the slush.

What are the principles you follow in your choices in this best of seasons ??

[hectorm]

So how much rus in urbe are you willing to pursue....

On a typical office autumn day, my rus in urbe is limited to the rare appearance of a brown or olive suit, an occasional tweed jacket, knit tie, rubber soles if it´s pouring. It mainly depends on my mood and what I´m doing that night (like coming home versus going out).
Weekends are open season though. And despite living downtown, rus in urbe is the rule more than the exception. Tweed, flannels, cords, moleskin, sweaters and field coats are the norm for daytime. Although I confess that my layering and combinations are pretty tame for Pitti Uomo standards.
And no rabbit fur aviator hat

I can't image wearing EG's in the slush.

I find the EG Galways with Dainite sole ideal for those slushy day in the city. They look like a decent cap toe derby under your bottom cuffs but they really are combat boots!

[Luca]

No aviator hats here either…
I am fortunate that I can wear tweed coats and odd trousers at the office, so, also, brown brogues. In fact, I am right now.
I don 't really like very 'sporty' overcoats, especially the Barbour-type jackets, over a tie, personally. I think that mid-length or even shortish coverts coats or herringbone tweed coats are great as they work both with 'City' and 'country' clothes.