The Origin of the Overcoat?

[youngScholar]

I was reading a book otherwise unrelated to fashion when I happened upon the following quote:

"The world is full of overcoats because one day about 1840 or 1850 the Count d'Orsay, a French dandy living in London, was returning from the races mounted on his fine dapple-gray mare. It began to rain and he asked a passing workman to lend him the sleeved smock that was then worn by the English populace. Such was the invention of the overcoat."

How accurate is this?

 

[voxsartoria]

Sator was present that day. As an eyewitness, perhaps he can confirm.

- B

 

[Closer]

I am going to go with "cold weather"

 

[freefinancialadvice]

Wife: Hi honey, how was work today?
Workman: Not bad.
Wife: Where's your coat?
Workman: I gave it to some guy on a horse. So he wouldn't get wet in the rain.
Wife: WTF?

 

[illeagle]

wow count d'orsay sounds like an asshole... "hey peasant, hand over your coat at once! hmm...overcoat...catchy"

 

[Manton]

True origin of the overcoat:

It got cold. Some guy said, "Damn, it's really cold. This sucks." He went to his tailor and said, "I need a new coat." The tailor said, "OK, like the one you have on?" "No, I want one that is really thick and long, for super cold weather." "Hmmm. I will have to ask the weaver to make extra thick cloth. It won't be ready until next winter." "****. Well, whatever, do it as fast as you can."

The Orsay story must be BS, just read War and Peace or Retreat from Moscow, and you will see that greatcoats have been around for a long time.

 

[gdl203]

I would think that places like Prussia or Northern Europe would be the birth places of the overcoat, not France.

 

[comrade]

I had always heard that the earliest representation of
at least the precursor of the overcoat can be seen on the depiction
of Cro-Magnon hunters is the Lescaux Caves of Southern France.
Most likely these were fashioned from fur, as it is not yet known
whether weaving had been developed by 14,000 BC.