(Coats Question) Would you wear...

[Kylawyer]

A couple farm-boy ignorant questions for your collective knoweldge base.

Would you wear a heavy black wool overcoat, or are blue, brown, and tan the only acceptable colors?

Would you wear your burberry trench when it's cold but not precipating (not as a rain coat?)

Thanks.

[ccox]

Dear Kylawyer,
Yes and... depends. A black overcoat is fine. I would say that the raincoat makes an excellent travel companion in the event of rain or cold, when one has limited space in which to pack. Now the question of a hat to match....

Also, it has been pointed out in another discussion that barring extreme cold, a nice muffler, hat and gloves with your heavier wool suits does the trick. In milder weather an umbrella works wonders and is easier to tote around than the raincoat.

That having been said, Mr. Bogart's last scene in "Casablanca" would have played very differently were he brandishing an umbrella instead of his Burberry Trench, fedora and revolver.

Regards,
CCox

[RWS]

I eschew a raincoat (or trenchcoat), save that (as CCox points out) it often is convenient when travelling light. As others in the Lounge, I'd prefer an umbrella to a raincoat, unless the weather is cold and blustery as well as wet.

As for a nice woollen topcoat: blues and grays are preferrable to black, in my mind. I use, for example, an oxford-gray tweed or a navy-blue cashmere in town, a medium brown tweed or an old British Civil Defence greatcoat in the country. But a black topcoat is best for evening, with or without the archetypal velvet collar.

[le.gentleman]

I use to wear my black cashmere overcoat together with my dinnersuit only. For daywear I use darkblue, brown, tan and an italian charcoal chalkstripe overcoat - nearly always together with a pocket-square.