HERE AND NOW

[am55]

Well well on that topic... recency bias being what it is I started noticing hats and in particular one chap in an orange T-shirt, jeans (neatly rolled up) and a very soft, orangey straw hat of great quality walking his dog whilst driving through town. I think the rest of the outfit being so relaxed made the hat work, that and its obvious quality.

 

[Luigi_M]

Sorry to interrupt your summer conversations guys, but here and now my old bones need an overcoat on them ...
I'm not particularly fond of loden coats, but this one from Schneiders is somehow different - raglan sleeve and a simple short vent in the back. Even the colour is more 'urban' than the schwarzwald of the usual lodens.
I must add I thrifted it for a mere € 50!


Bonus pic: yours truly with a corduroy watch cap - my daughter despises it ...

 

[Swampster]

I have been keeping my eye out for something with that sort of weight and length. I'm told the raglan sleeves really help when wearing over a jacket. I have mostly looked out for a herringbone but something like this would be good too.

 

[Kingstonian]

Sorry to interrupt your summer conversations guys, but here and now my old bones need an overcoat on them ...
I'm not particularly fond of loden coats, but this one from Schneiders is somehow different - raglan sleeve and a simple short vent in the back. Even the colour is more 'urban' than the schwarzwald of the usual lodens.
I must add I thrifted it for a mere € 50!
View attachment 1505870

Bonus pic: yours truly with a corduroy watch cap - my daughter despises it ...
View attachment 1505872

You are close enough to Austria to get away with a Loden coat and they look fine. But not on Brits...

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Margaret Thatcher’s biographer, Charles Moore, recently penned a spirited assault on loden coats — green, Tyrolean overcoats popular with a certain type of patrician Tory.

‘Over the years,’ wrote Mr Moore, ‘I have noticed that British men who wear loden coats always have unsound political views.

‘They are usually slightly on the Right, but of the kind which loves the European Union because it is “civilised” and — though they don’t put it that way — undemocratic.’

It was presumed he was teasing former Conservative ministers Douglas Hurd and Tristan Garel-Jones, both loden men.

But what should I see this week bowling towards me along the Westminster cloisters but Oliver Letwin MP, David Cameron’s strategy supremo in a loden coat.

Mr Letwin, a friend of Mr Moore, laughs: ‘I do indeed wear a loden coat, on the unfashionable grounds that it is particularly warm.’

 

[Clouseau]

A few page back, @JohnAAG wrote :" One of my big take-aways has been the idea of understanding the story behind a particular article or style of clothing. For example, we can look at the classic trench coat and ask why it was designed the way it was, why certain details were added (or removed), why that particular material was used for the outer shell, why those colors were selected, etc. Basically, questions about the intended purpose and functionality of the piece. But there's also the cultural elements to consider: who originally used the coat and in what contexts? How was it used in popular culture? How did it break out to become a staple in men's (and women's) closets? Who's wearing it today and for what purpose? I think it's that combination of the functional aspects and cultural history of a particular piece that creates its story."

This was (for me) spot on. For example the story behind Loden :

- History and Culture (very basically) : a Tyrolean water-resistant woolen material, probably existing since the Middle age, originally made as a cape for shepherds. First color was greyish (natural wool color), now especially known for Dark green (even called Loden green), but also Navy.

- Purpose : The Loden material, warm and water resistant, was adopted by hunters for centuries, and the design of the coat evolved from the cape to the classic (or "Men's staple") version : a single breasted coat, with thick (emblematic) leather buttons, and holes under the arms.

- Functionality : The thick leather buttons are easy to button or unbutton, even if you wear gloves. The holes under the arms gives you freedom of movements and allow you to use a rifle at ease.

Here worn with a "football cardigan" who also has leather buttons.

 

[Clouseau]

BTW if you have the occasion to visit Vienna, drop to Loden-Plankl on Michaelerplatz. Established in 1830, it's worth a visit. A floor is dedicated to traditional Loden coats, in 3/4 or full length.
One of the most traditional stores i visited in my life.

 

[am55]

‘Over the years,’ wrote Mr Moore, ‘I have noticed that British men who wear loden coats always have unsound political views.

‘They are usually slightly on the Right, but of the kind which loves the European Union because it is “civilised”

I was expecting a, hmm, different kind of Europhilia. Less "wet rag", more Zäh wie Leder, Hart wie Kruppstahl. Although who is to know where Brussels is heading these days.

 

[Luigi_M]

I have been keeping my eye out for something with that sort of weight and length. I'm told the raglan sleeves really help when wearing over a jacket. I have mostly looked out for a herringbone but something like this would be good too.

Raglan sleeves are very comfortable, both to put on and to wear; I always liked them.
If you are looking for a specific overcoat, ebay might be your friend.
I've been searching for years a coat like this:

And no, not in hope to look like Bogey. I'm sadly aware it's an impossible event to happen.

 

[Luigi_M]

‘I do indeed wear a loden coat, on the unfashionable grounds that it is particularly warm.’

I'm not sure why, but this line sounds so quintessentially british that I wish I could say something like that.

 

[Kingstonian]

I was expecting a, hmm, different kind of Europhilia. Less "wet rag", more Zäh wie Leder, Hart wie Kruppstahl. Although who is to know where Brussels is heading these days.

They are definitely wets. Loden coats look more at home in Munich than Manchester. These coats have often raised suspicion that Brits wearing them are ‘fellow travellers’ and not to be trusted.

 

[Swampster]

Raglan sleeves are very comfortable, both to put on and to wear; I always liked them.
If you are looking for a specific overcoat, ebay might be your friend.

I am looking - I have it as a saved search
I bought one which looked like it would fit the bill but it was smaller than advertised and wasn't very thick. I would have sent it back but I got what I paid for it at the local vintage clothes shop. They have a couple of coats which are just what I was looking for but they are also too small for me. I want an older coat as it is likely to be thicker and longer.

 

[Nobilis Animus]

The trouble with raglan coats these days is that most of them are made of tweeds, or unstructured, or with odd types of wool. You almost never see one like Bogart's above - which is just like those heavy overcoat materials from the past, but without the set-in sleeve.

It also seems like a lot of raglan coats these days are an excuse for the makers to build them with giant armholes, such that the sleeve will fit at the shoulders, but good luck trying to reach your arms up and not look ridiculous.

 

[Luigi_M]

^^ I must agree.
The only nice raglan coats I have are vintage ones.

 

[Clouseau]

The shops re-opened saturday here, we are now in a state of semi-lockdown.
I went to Uniqlo this afternoon, as i wanted to see the +J collection "in the flesh". I was not disappointed by the +J Bomber.
Otherwise nice cashmere/wool blend coats and Jackets. Interesting parkas and down jackets.

 

[Swampster]

Do your shops allow you to try things on? Most places I have been to here don’t let me. I have bought things, taken them to the car park to try them and returned them if they don’t fit.
Not trousers though