The mac is made from Ventile: a high-performance weatherproof cotton. It is uncoated and has a clean, crisp handle. Ventile is almost impervious to water — a consequence of a very dense weave — and is also highly breathable, durable, lightweight, and comfortable. In short, an incredible fabric.

The mac has a placket of six buttons — real horn, dark matte tortoisehell in colour, made in the Midlands. There are two large button-through patch pockets on the front of the mac. They’re document / A4 sized. Hidden inside both of them is a smaller, flatter pocket (right).

As well as the hidden button-through pocket, the pockets on the front of the mac also have a concealed side entrance. “Warmer pockets” is the technical term. At the end of the sleeves of the mac is a cuff fastening — good for keeping the weather out if ever it takes a turn for the bracing.

The body is lined with wool-melton from a mill in West Yorkshire. It’s a charcoal melange, comprising various shades of dark grey. It’s warm and hard-wearing, suffice to say, but soft on the skin. The arms, meanwhile, are lined with black cotton — better for sliding arms in and out of.

Inside the mac are two pockets. There’s a chest patch pocket with a pen / pencil compartment on the left side as worn (above right) and a larger pocket below the waist on the opposite side (right). Both pockets are button-through, again using horn buttons.

The chap here is 5ft 10in (177cm) and wears a size small.

The Ventile cotton is made by a mill in Lancashire. Ventile is a cloth with a storied past, being first developed by scientists in the 1930s, and put to its most notable use — for pilots’ immersion suits — a decade later. It is one of the highest performance, natural, cloths made in the British Isles.

The melton lining is woven by a mill in West Yorkshire. Tightly woven, 100% new wool, and with a smooth finish — it is for all intents and purpose a top-grade outerwear fabric, but is used on the garment internals here because it is supremely comfortable and friendly on the skin.

The dark horn buttons are made — that’s cut, dyed, and polished — by the last remaining manufacturer of horn and corozo button in England. Based in the West Midlands, the factory has been in the hands of the same family since opening in the mid-1800s: five generations of top-quality button-making know-how.

The garment is made and finished in a small factory in North London, which excels with outerwear, shirts, and trousers. It’s a place of meticulous cutters, unflappable seamsters and seamstresses, and a well cared-for and marvellous-looking contraption for making button-holes.