British warm coat

[Guest]

Would you consider this to be "A British Warm", or is it some kind of German Ulster?



/G

[Guest]

For what it's worth, because of the epaulettes I would say it was a British warm overcoat. And a rather short one.

RadicalDog

[Guest]

P.S. Also, a classic ulster would have turn-back cuffs, not buttoned ones.

RD

[Guest]

It does have a specific name but I cannot, immediately, think of it - but it speaks of: retired colonels, victorious at a race meeting in the Shires, an unself-consciously doffed brown felt hat and well-swung whangee-handled brolly and log fires and hot, buttered crumpets, waiting at home; together with battered, broken-in, turkey red slippers, long, weedy, gravel drives, leading up to sandstone edifices and vast expanses of irreparable, leaking, slate roofs (and old pales to catch the rain, otherwise dripping onto forgotten, attic-bound trunks of regimental uniforms and moth-balled, plumed bicorne hats); Petersham, billiard pipes, Afrikaans' mixture, Swan Vestas, horseflesh (and sweat) and the smell of well-loved tweeds (that he keeps rescuing from the the bag for the charity shop); 'the six o'clock news and a lime juice and gin', the former Miss Joan Hunter Dunne, sitting on the sofa, awaiting his return home in his Rover 3.5 - and, in short - a world that has passed away.

[Guest]

It does have a specific name but I cannot, immediately, think of it - but it speaks of: retired colonels, victorious at a race meeting in the Shires, an unself-consciously doffed brown felt hat and well-swung whangee-handled brollies; chamois gloves so thin and tight that you could take finger-prints; log fires and hot, buttered crumpets, waiting at home; together with battered, broken-in, turkey red slippers, long, weedy, gravel drives, leading up to sandstone edifices and vast expanses of irreparable, leaking, slate roofs (and old pales to catch the rain, otherwise dripping onto forgotten, attic-bound trunks of regimental uniforms and moth-balled, plumed bicorne hats); Petersham, billiard pipes, Afrikaans' mixture, Swan Vestas, horseflesh (and sweat) and the smell of well-loved tweeds (that he keeps rescuing from the the bag for the charity shop); 'the six o'clock news and a lime juice and gin'; the former Miss Joan Hunter Dunne, sitting on the sofa, awaiting his return home in his Rover 3.5 - and, in short - a world that has nearly passed away....

[Guest]

It looks like a British Warm Overcoat to me, except the drape of the cloth suggests something lighter than melton. RD, perhaps you meant it is a bit LONG if anything - the original military model was worn above the knees.

Costi

[Guest]

Yes, Costi, you are quite right regarding the coat's length (though the civilian evolution of the WWI British warm was and is often cut longer than the original Royal Army issue garment; also, I've seen lots of pictures of WWII British officers wearing a rather loger version of the coat). I also agree regarding the material: the figurine doesn't seem to be wearing melton, and it's not in the typical dark drab or olive drab colour. Finally, I can't really tell from the illustration whether the buttons are the typical leather-covered ones or not.

[Guest]

It looks like a heavy cotton to me.

RWS

[Guest]

See the link for the current spec of the British Warm (under the heading Coats and Mackintoshes):

http://householdcavalry.info/coats.htm#macs

[le.gentleman]

Unfortunately, the pictures in this thread are not working anymore. Recently, I wrote an article about the British Warm myself which might be of interest to you.

[Russell]

Unfortunately, the pictures in this thread are not working anymore. Recently, I wrote an article about the British Warm myself which might be of interest to you.

Thanks for the link to your excellent article & photos.

Do you have any suggestions as to where to obtain some 34oz Melton?

Regards
Russell

[jb]

I have a question about Melton cloth that your article did not mention. I had always heard from cloth salesmen (3 decades ago) that Melton was felted also. Is that still the case? We always used Melton for undercollars, of course.