Topcoat in covert cloth in gravel grey

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£400.00 — ex VAT

Topcoat, made in London, with dark grey covert cloth from Somerset, a lining of melton from Yorkshire, and horn buttons from the Midlands.

Sizing

The coat fits true to size, and so the mannequin — the most standard 38 in the world — wears S. The shoulders are soft and unstructured; the sleeves are average width. If intended to be worn over a few layers — a heavy sweater, say, or shirt plus jacket — then best go one size up.

XS S M L XL
To fit chest 36 38 40 42 44
Pit-to-pit 20 21 22 23 24
Shoulder 17½ 18 18½ 19 19½
Sleeve from side-neck 30½ 31 31½ 32 32½
Back length 35 35½ 36 36½ 37
The topcoat is a long double-breasted overcoat, which wears like a tailored jacket, only heavier, longer, and less structured. It is made with covert cloth: a heavy wool fabric, tightly woven, and very dense — traditionally intended to withstand hunting and other back-of-horse and game-bird chasing endeavours.
It has an asymmetric collar, with a latch on one side, which may be buttoned back on itself (as above) or buttoned across the throat to keep out the wind (see left). The topcoat as a whole, in fact, is someway between the formal and informal, and looks just as right with the collar sitting down as popped up.
The coat has four buttons across its front, matte in finish and dark in colour. Each is a little different to the next: a consequence of being an individually made natural product, rather than an ersatz plastic copy. The buttons at the front each have a "backing button" (below-left) to give extra strength.
One of the most novel aspects of the coat is its construction: a hybrid of two types of sleeve. There's a raglan sleeve at the back, which provides a space and freedom of movement — much more than a coat of this ilk would ordinarily be expected to provide — but then the smart lines of a inset sleeve up front.
The topcoat has a pair of imposingly large postbox pockets at the front, with, on one side — overlapping the patch below — a smaller glove pocket.
There's a single jet pocket on the inside of the topcoat, on the left-side as worn. Best not over-complicate.
The coat is half-lined in the body with a soft mid-grey melton, from West Yorkshire — with a decorative little pleat down the centre — while the sleeves are lined with lightweight cotton.
The lower region of the body is unlined. This is an easy-going and unstructured sort of coat, after all. The seams inside, meanwhile, are finished cleanly and carefully with mid-grey cotton binding.
This is covert cloth: a fabric of rich tradition whose raison d'être is to be smart and rugged at the same time. It is dense, heavy, and serves as an impenetrable membrane against thorn and bramble. It is a twill — hence its faint diagonal lines — woven with grey and black yarn — hence its marbled appearance.

As worn

The gent here is a standard 38 in the chest, and is wearing the topcoat in size S.
Same coat, same man, same size — just a different colour is all.

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 cloth is woven in Somerset by one of the most illustrious names in British textiles. It is a mill which has woven for the great and good for two centuries and, in particular, has long had a thumb in the pie of military cloth — putting in the largest order for textiles, no less, during the Second World War.
The wool lining 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

I received the topcoat this week, and couldn’t be happier. The fabric is completely unique and the construction is top notch as usual. Thanks for accommodating early shipment, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with next.

So spoke kindly a man about his topcoat in merino tweed at the back end of 2017.