The London Lounge

Dear members,
I would like to acquire a Trench coat. Can you please suggest a source where to get it from?
Aquascutum as far as I know was sold to Chinese and only sells in China (so we count it as not an option).
Burberry and other high street brands are an option, but honestly I don’t want it to look flashy. L’impermeabile I can never see how to buy and where to find.

Is it worth it to have it made bespoke? Can a bespoke maker actually make a Trench and make it water resistant ? Which maker would you suggest?

Best,
Alex

Holland & Sherry make a 'trench coat' cotton, which might or might not be a ventile cloth.

Richard Anderson will sell you a ventile coat, SB/raglan. Others might make you a topcoat from said material.

Otherwise, a trench coat is viewed as more of a manufactured item than an opportunity for handwork.

If you really want a trench coat, there is one, and only one, option: get a Burberry. Everything else is a copy.

Burberry's heritage line is a reasonable facsimile of their poly/cotton coat from 40+ years ago, except that it is 100% cotton gabardine. There is nothing flashy about it, except that it is obviously a Burberry to those who know what a Burberry looks like.

The modern Burberry is also slimmer than those of old. They come in both modern short, and "long" lengths, although the long isn't quite as long as the coats of old.

Henry Poole is now publicizing a technical fabric raincoat they are making and selling. I don't have any experience with that product but I would imagine it is reliably waterproof.

Even if Burberry is synonymous with the trench coat there must be a number of good makers besides it out there. Grenfell was another famous and reputable maker of rainwear. I have a belted trench made by Mackintosh which proved itself not only waterproof but watertight on one occasion. However, Mackintosh uses a rubberized cotton which will wear very warm since it absolutely does not breathe.

Hope this helps.

A shame that Aquascutum has fled the western market. I liked their version, and their linings were just a hair less conspicuous than the Burberry check.

Concordia,
I agree. I don’t feel comfortable people knowing I am wearing a high end brand - I like to be discreet, esp, in my home country or with colleagues. Anyways, I bought one and will wear it in my spare time. I don’t agree that it’s low quality. There are some elements which are such as the buckles (which I plan to replace) but I do believe the raglan version is strong in terms of style especially. I like it .

Concordia wrote: ↑

Thu May 20, 2021 3:58 pm

A shame that Aquascutum has fled the western market. I liked their version, and their linings were just a hair less conspicuous than the Burberry check.

+1

Anikolov1 wrote: ↑

Thu May 13, 2021 2:44 pm

Dear members,
I would like to acquire a Trench coat. Can you please suggest a source where to get it from?

Dear Alex - some years ago I also wanted a trench coat / durable raincoat. My particular objective was to acquire what would actually serve as an overall / protection from dirt and wear while travelling on UK trains & London Underground & taxis, rather than a declaration of my style preferences. If it's raining, I normally use an umbrella, .

Because I thought the item would therefore be expendible, I decided to find a good second-hand one on ebay and for the price of a reasonable 2 course lunch in Town I ended up with a Burberry trenchcoat in green.

I learnt 2 things:

(1) Burberry quality is excellent and the item serves very well in keeping me grime-free.

(2) I don't really like trench coats - they are a bit fussy and, style-wise I think a plain SB Raglan-sleeved raincoat is a better option. So I bought one of those (actually 2...)

There is that. Occasionally, I've come close to thinking about an actual trench coat, and got the single-breasted fly front instead. But you'll know if that is a necessary step for you.

https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/ ... jpg?w=1280

https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/ ... jpg?w=1280

Private White do a lovely ventile mac. Excellent quality and not at all flashy.
https://www.privatewhitevc.com/products ... 4755848256

andy57 wrote: ↑

Thu May 13, 2021 4:15 pm

If you really want a trench coat, there is one, and only one, option: get a Burberry. Everything else is a copy.

Burberry's heritage line is a reasonable facsimile of their poly/cotton coat from 40+ years ago, except that it is 100% cotton gabardine. There is nothing flashy about it, except that it is obviously a Burberry to those who know what a Burberry looks like.

I think you may be slightly mistaken. I have had two classic Burberry trenches: I got one 45 years ago, and the other about 15 years ago. Both are 100% cotton gabardine. I don't believe the classic coat—by far their most expensive—was ever made in anything but 100% cotton.

loarbmhs wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 25, 2021 4:18 am

andy57 wrote: ↑

Thu May 13, 2021 4:15 pm

If you really want a trench coat, there is one, and only one, option: get a Burberry. Everything else is a copy.

Burberry's heritage line is a reasonable facsimile of their poly/cotton coat from 40+ years ago, except that it is 100% cotton gabardine. There is nothing flashy about it, except that it is obviously a Burberry to those who know what a Burberry looks like.

I think you may be slightly mistaken. I have had two classic Burberry trenches: I got one 45 years ago, and the other about 15 years ago. Both are 100% cotton gabardine. I don't believe the classic coat—by far their most expensive—was ever made in anything but 100% cotton.

I am mistaken about a great many things, but not about this. Burberry used to make two versions of their classic trench coat. One (the original) in 100% cotton and one in 50% cotton and 50% polyester. If you went into either of their central London stores back in the day (say, in the 1970s), the salesperson would ask you where you lived, or where you intended to wear the coat. If you answered something like "here, in the UK", then you would be steered toward the poly-cotton version. The salesperson would, if questioned, make a statement along the lines that they recommended the all-cotton version for warmer climates only.

Examining the two versions of the trench coat, there were differences in the details. The throat latch was different, and the hip pockets were different. I have no doubt that the two coats were priced differently, too, but I have no recollection of what that might have been.

How do I know this? I have a poly-cotton Burberry that I purchased from the now-closed Haymarket store in the early '80s, I think. And I have a couple of modern "heritage" Burberrys purchased here in California over the last few years. The modern versions resemble a hybrid with some of the design details of the original, 100% cotton version and some that are more similar to the poly-cotton version.

All are still unmistakably Burberry. And I still assert that if what you want is a classic trench coat, there is no substitute. Buy a Burberry or buy a copy.