Greatcoat in heavy melton in dark navy

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£710.00 — ex VAT

Long, double-breasted coat, made in London, with heavy (27oz) woollen melton from West Yorkshire — a replica of cloth woven for the British Army going back to Victorian times — as well as dark horn buttons from the Midlands.

Waiting

Sold out almost if not entirely, this, by the looks of it. However, it might very well come back again some day — albeit likely in different cloth, or with a tweak or two, here and there. To be notified as soon as the time comes around, kindly please send word to .

Sizing

This is a big coat even for big coat standards, with sleeves as wide as some trouser legs. It is intended to fit easily over a considerable number of other garments, including but not limited to shirts and knitwear and jackets. Please go down a size if layering requirements are not so steep or for a less commodious fit.

XS S M L XL
To fit chest 36 38 40 42 44
Pit-to-pit 20 21 22 23 24
Back length 44 44¼ 44½ 44¾ 45
Sleeve from centre-back 33½ 34 34½ 35 35½

The method of sleeve construction, with the sleeve cut as one continuous panel from neck to cuff, means the shoulders accommodate and drape smoothly over human contours of every shape and size — rendering a shoulder measurement both impossible and irrelevant.

The greatcoat lives up to its name — at least in the dimensional sense. It is the lord high constable of outerwear, in keeping in all the most important ways to its military lineage. But yet it deviates from that lineage, here and there, to make for a more comfortable, approachable, and everyday overcoat.
The greatcoat has a collar quite unlike any other, being able, at full sail, to affect a partial eclipse of the sun for anyone within stone's throw. It has gently rounded points, and is cut to closely skim the neck at the back and sides.
The collar may also be worn up, of course — supporting its own weight come what may. And, with the help of a teeny button on one side and a buttonhole on the other, it may be fastened across the neck to fully guard against the elements. It steers well clear of the chin when worn this way, rest assured.
The buttons on the greatcoat are large, solid horn — dark in colour and matte in finish — and each is a little different from one to the next. They are in that regard as if alpha-keratin snowflakes — such is the beauty of being a product of a high-grade natural material, rather than, say, a plastic replica.
The greatcoat has a saddle shoulder, which is unusual for this type of coat — or indeed, for any coat — and happens to offer up the best of a classic set-in sleeve (the clean and structured lines) and the raglan (the soft profile over the shoulder). Epaulettes sit obediently between the lines made by the saddle construction.
The greatcoat is traditional and reserved when it comes to pockets: it has one on either side at the front, both of them covered by a large and slightly round-cornered flap.
The saddle shoulder softens up the silhouette of the coat considerably, but the cut is still resolutely true and traditional to the bold lines of old military outerwear. It has deep armholes and wide sleeves — swallowing up anything from knitwear to jackets, and even other coats if they're not careful.
Running right up the back of the greatcoat is an inverted pleat, to give shoulders more room to flex and legs more room to swing.
There's a half-belt running across the back, meanwhile — breaking up the sheer length of the coat and, through some deep pleating, pulling together the body on either side of the centre-back. This belt and pleating combination gives the rump of the coat as much pomp and prestige as the face.
Inside, the greatcoat has a chest pocket on the left-side as worn. Handy. Perhaps more importantly, though, the inside of the coat is faced with an extra layer of outer cloth — meaning that, when fully done up, there are four layers of thick cloth between the chest of the wearer and the harsh winds of the world outside.
The greatcoat is lined halfway down the back with a smooth and slinky satin, cut as a single panel. It helps with sliding the greatcoat on and off, being as the outer cloth has the potential for friction. The sleeves, too, are lined with the same cloth.
The wool melton is a replica of cloth woven by the same mill, on the same premises, over half a century ago for the British Army. It is heavy, sure, but with tremendous drape and flow. The yarn from which it is woven — of British sheep — is worsted-spun, hence is more lustrous than usual.

As worn

The gent here is slightly north of 38 in the chest. The coat he's wearing here, then, is a size S.

Makers of

The coat is made in north-east London. It is a very specialised skill, assembling coats from heavy cloth, and every reasonable step — and the odd unreasonable step — is taken to ensure things are built to last, from the cutting of the pattern to the work on the machine, but without the results being stiff or bulky.
The wool cloth hails from a mill founded in the Heavy Woollen District of West Yorkshire in the 1800s. Carding, blending, spinning, and weaving — it all happens on the same premises. This unique arrangement means that the fleece’s change into top-grade cloth could not be more tightly tuned.
The horn buttons were cut, shaped, and polished by the last such factory in Britain (now defunct). It was part of a tradition in the Midlands first linked to the meat industry of the 18th century. "It is no easy task," said William Hutton in 1780, "to enumerate the infinite diversity of buttons made in Birmingham."

So they say

The coat is magnificent: the photos don't do its stature justice. When I put it on for the first time I felt like the coat was wearing me, rather than vice versa, as a sea of melton engulfed me. I am even tempted to use it as a blanket due to its shear size and heft. I look forward to seeing what the frigid winters here can throw at me with this by my side.

So says a man in the States who purchased the greatcoat in melton in November 2022.

First time getting it on and going out: it's almost ridiculous how good it feels being in the cloth. Every time I thought of it I almost started laughing when walking on the sidewalk.

So fed back a happy German man in November 2022.

I just want to thank you for your help to purchase the coat. It is one of the most beautiful things I have seen in my life. The melton wool is perfect, and the colour is magnificent.

Words of joy from a man in Italy — the very first person to purchase the greatcoat, incidentally — in November 2022.