Duffel coat

[Guest]

Any recommendation for good RTW Duffel coats?

The Guardian has a reader's offer for a very very cheap coat, allegedly made by the original manufaturer of the old British Army-issue coats. But it is made of 30% synthetic material, and it fastenes with a concealed zipper. I could live with the latter problem, but I'm not quite sure about the former. Any advice?

[Guest]

http://www.mailshop.co.uk/i-dd-4204g-wb ... fel-coats/

Horn toggles but still 30% synthetic - is that necessarily a problem? It certainly looks as though it'll still itch like hell!!
NJS

[Guest]

Thanks. That's the same one the Guardian offers.

[Guest]

Thanks. That's the same one the Guardian offers.

It looks authentic. I had one as a small child and then another one as a bigger child (they do render good protection from the cold) - I have to say, given a free choice, I'd leave them!!
NJS

[Guest]

There are always a bunch of duffel coats on sierratradingpost.com, an internet outlet, from makers such as Gloverall, Tibbett, Chrysalis or Montgomery.

[Guest]

There are always a bunch of duffel coats on sierratradingpost.com, an internet outlet, from makers such as Gloverall, Tibbett, Chrysalis or Montgomery.

^RJ

[Guest]

I realise most here will disagree, but I think that actually some synthetic fibres in a coat are not necessarily a bad thing, particularly as they are largely unavoidable in ready-to-wear overcoats. I hunted high and low for a Chesterfield recently, and ended up the other day with a lovely, smooth, heavy wool/cashmere/polyamide blend. Finding pure wool suits is easy, but for coats much harder, since to reach the same level of waterproofing as far as I can tell is simply much more difficult with natural fibres. The coat feels nice, and has none of the sheen of many fabrics with high proportions of sythetic material.

If the website linked above offered my size (as so few seem to do), I would tend to see the zip fastening as the larger problem.
NCW

[Guest]

Barbour.
100% wool (there is also a cashmere/synthetic alternative that simply doesn't have the substance, weight, hand and character of the wool blanket-like version)
wooden toggles
dark blue or beige (mine is beige)

[Guest]

Gloverall has its own site:

http://www.gloverall.com/index.php

[Guest]

I have just noticed that Brittany Boutique has what appear to be pure wool duffels:

http://brittanyboutique.com/store/menwo ... ecoat.html

[Guest]

^pvpatty