Thoughts on suit supply overcoat and colour choice

[Blake Stitched Blues]

Structured overcoats with lapels like the two above never, ever look good with jeans. On the rare occasion that you'll see a good example it's always a picture of a someone with model looks and the coat worn open. In real-life, and buttoned-up, you end up looking like a rectangle with stumpy legs who started building an outfit only to run out of money when he got to trousers.

You don't have model good looks. You don't have a stylist. You don't have designer stubble. You're (hopefully) not illogical enough to throw on an overcoat over a tshirt. You'll realise that only an idiot wears an overcoat open in winter. You'll get sick of the wind, rain and snow hitting your chest. You'll button up the coat only to pass a shop window and realise that an asshole on the internet was right all along and now you look like a rectangle with stumpy legs who started building an outfit only to run out of money when he got to trousers.

If you insist on going down this road a balmacaan is much easier to work with. @dieworkwear has a nice article on his site about Lodens. They are lovely things and more suited to the kind of outfit you're going for. You get to try and track one down on the internet which is always a fun adventure.

My advice - stop swimming against the sartorial tide and trying to jam a square peg in a round hole. Get yourself a pea-coat and call it a day. Or look at something in the Barbour/M65 family with a liner/sweater/scarf as appropriate

 

[dieworkwear]

I like topcoats with jeans. I think it's one of the easier looks to pull off. I agree that single-breasted coats often look better when they're worn open, however. I also think that double-breasted coats oftne look better when they're worn closed.

But when it's really cold, I think it's also fine to just button-up a single breasted coat. Most people are too cold to notice you anyway.

I like peacoats because they're affordable, but not that crazy about how they look when worn. I think fundamentlaly, I like coats where I can pop the collar from the back, and that's a harder look to pull off with a peacoat because the lapels are so ginormous. Obviously lots of cool photos of guys with popped peacoat collars, but I find I'm self conscious of the look in real life. And if you wear the collar down, it just looks ... meh.

Only thing I don't like abotu the jeans with a topcoat look: I think topcoats are a good way to get that tailored look without wearing a sport coat. But once you're indoors, you're back to wearing a sweater and jeans, which is kind of ho hum looking.

 

[dieworkwear]

The coat only comes in one length and I'm only 5'7" so the coat may be a bit long for my liking.

You can always shorten the coat from the hem. To judge whether you like the look, ask the tailor to pin them at the length you're thinking of getting. Then see how you like the look.

I personally like coats to be around the knee, but it depends on the overall silhouette.

Structured overcoats with lapels like the two above never, ever look good with jeans.

I would be surprised if SuitSupply or S&M topcoats are structured. All my overcoats are very soft, and some fully unstructured. Otherwise, when worn over a tailored jacket, you'd have two layers of padding.

 

[FlyingHorker]

Structured overcoats with lapels like the two above never, ever look good with jeans. On the rare occasion that you'll see a good example it's always a picture of a someone with model looks and the coat worn open. In real-life, and buttoned-up, you end up looking like a rectangle with stumpy legs who started building an outfit only to run out of money when he got to trousers.

You don't have model good looks. You don't have a stylist. You don't have designer stubble. You're (hopefully) not illogical enough to throw on an overcoat over a tshirt. You'll realise that only an idiot wears an overcoat open in winter. You'll get sick of the wind, rain and snow hitting your chest. You'll button up the coat only to pass a shop window and realise that an asshole on the internet was right all along and now you look like a rectangle with stumpy legs who started building an outfit only to run out of money when he got to trousers.

If you insist on going down this road a balmacaan is much easier to work with. @dieworkwear has a nice article on his site about Lodens. They are lovely things and more suited to the kind of outfit you're going for. You get to try and track one down on the internet which is always a fun adventure.

My advice - stop swimming against the sartorial tide and trying to jam a square peg in a round hole. Get yourself a pea-coat and call it a day. Or look at something in the Barbour/M65 family with a liner/sweater/scarf as appropriate

All of the above applies to any casual trouser by that logic, including cords and moleskins. You're right with the rectangle+peg leg look.

Tbh I think an overcoat/topcoat is worth buying just to feel cool. That was the main reason I bought one, and it's probably the best purchase I made.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

I would be surprised if SuitSupply or S&M topcoats are structured. All my overcoats are very soft, and some fully unstructured. Otherwise, when worn over a tailored jacket, you'd have two layers of padding.

I only have one truly structured overcoat; it's vintage German in black and white herringbone wool and has shoulders like a suit of armour. Nothing commercially available these days is like that.

FWIW, my most versatile overcoat is a vaguely military style long coat in thick olive cotton, from a short-lived label called Conference of Birds. It doesn't quite cut it in the deepest winter here, but for the shoulder seasons and early / late winter, it's great. And it looks as good with any of tailored clothes, workwear or more contemporary stuff.

 

[dieworkwear]

A topcoat paired with jeans looks so natural to me. I think it's one of the easiest ways to incorporate tailoring into a wardrobe, presuming that you find sport coats hard to wear in today's age. All you need are slim-straight jeans, a chunky sweater, and maybe a collared shirt. Boots or sneakers work. If it's cold, wear a scarf and some gloves. If it's really cold, put on a chunky turtleneck sweater. Those things can feel like furnaces.

I don't know if the people below have "model looks," but they definitely don't have stylists. Topcoat with jeans is so basic, it's almost a J. Crew look. But it's also good!

I think single-breasted topcoats look better when worn open, but if it's truly cold out, it's also fine to fasten it. Not everything has to be about maximizing how an outfit looks. Plus, things like waxed cotton Barbours and M65 also look better when worn open, so you have the same problem. A topcoat will just be warmer than those two, and if it's raining, protect the bottom half of your body.

 

[Blake Stitched Blues]

All of the above applies to any casual trouser by that logic, including cords and moleskins. You're right with the rectangle+peg leg look.

Tbh I think an overcoat/topcoat is worth buying just to feel cool. That was the main reason I bought one, and it's probably the best purchase I made.

Yes, I agree. I don't like them with any cotton trousers. Tell you the truth, I don't like them with odd trousers either unless worn with a jacket underneath. A bal on the other hand, looks quite nice with rustic cords and grey flannels.

@dieworkwear I'm using the term 'structure' quite loosely. There may not be padding but the shoulders have that angular, squared-off shape that looks too austere with casual wear to my eye. Simon at Permanent Style has written in the past about English tailors who offer 'unstructured' jackets to appeal to a younger, trendier demographic. They remove the padding and use less canvasing but the shape and overall result is more or less the same. It's never going to look like the rounded shoulder seen on Neapolitan tailoring.

 

[dieworkwear]

Yes, I agree. I don't like them with any cotton trousers. Tell you the truth, I don't like them with odd trousers either unless worn with a jacket underneath. A bal on the other hand, looks quite nice with rustic cords and grey flannels.

@dieworkwear I'm using the term 'structure' quite loosely. There may not be padding but the shoulders have that angular, squared-off shape that looks too austere with casual wear to my eye. Simon at Permanent Style has written in the past about English tailors who offer 'unstructured' jackets to appeal to a younger, trendier demographic. They remove the padding and use less canvasing but the shape and overall result is more or less the same. It's never going to look like the rounded shoulder seen on Neapolitan tailoring.

I actually think a set-in sleeve is easier to wear than a raglan sleeve. I like both, but a raglan sleeve gives you a rounded silhouette, which doesn't alwasy look good on certain guys. Whereas a set-in sleeve helps square off those shoulders and give you a more masculine siilhouette.

Some guys can look quite frumpy in a very rounded raglan sleeve, but it's hard to say without seeing the coat on someone.

 

[Blake Stitched Blues]

Whereas a set-in sleeve helps square off those shoulders and give you a more masculine siilhouette.

Yes, I agree. The same is true for jackets.

But find me one that looks right with jeans. Not a balmacaan or a pseudo-bal - I want to see one like the square shouldered, lapeled number the OP posted. Because more often that not you end up looking like the picture below. A rectangle with stumpy legs who started building an outfit only to run out of money when he got to trousers.

 

[FlyingHorker]

Yes, I agree. The same is true for jackets.

But find me one that looks right with jeans. Not a balmacaan or a pseudo-bal - I want to see one like the square shouldered, lapeled number the OP posted. Because more often that not you end up looking like the picture below. A rectangle with stumpy legs who started building an outfit only to run out of money when he got to trousers.

To me, I don't have a disqualifier on the peg leg look, that's the gist of it.

It's not ideal, but a good enough compromise to be able to wear an overcoat with casual clothing.

 

[dieworkwear]

Yes, I agree. The same is true for jackets.

But find me one that looks right with jeans. Not a balmacaan or a pseudo-bal - I want to see one like the square shouldered, lapeled number the OP posted. Because more often that not you end up looking like the picture below. A rectangle with stumpy legs who started building an outfit only to run out of money when he got to trousers.

I mean, that's just a bad outfit all around. I don't think it has to do with the set-in sleeves or the fact that he's wearing jeans. His coat is too tight. He's wearing a tie without a sport coat, which makes the tie look like an affectation. The cloth on his coat looks a bit flat. He's wearing his coat closed (which would still be an issue if he was wearing a Barbour). The outfit would look bad even if he was wearing grey flannel trousers.

Multiple people in the photos I posted above are wearing topcoats with set-in sleeves, including Greg and Peter. Here's three more

 

[Blake Stitched Blues]

I mean, that's just a bad outfit all around.

Yes. but find me a good outfit.

Multiple people in the photos I posted above are wearing topcoats with set-in sleeves, including Greg and Peter.

Sure, but they're all pseudo-balmacaans (brand new sentence!) with the exception of #2. Which is over-sized with drop shoulders. visibly unstructured and made of a very rustic wool. Everything about it screams 'I understand fashion'. That is not the kind of coat the OP is talking about.

 

[dieworkwear]

Yes. but find me a good outfit.

I think the outfits I posted look great. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Blake Stitched Blues]

I think the outfits I posted look great. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yes, but none of them show the type of coat the OP is asking about. It's analogous to a newb asking if he can wear his boxy, big-shouldered three button Cordings jacket with jeans and you answering in the affirmative with pictures of mofos in EG Bedfords.

 

[dieworkwear]

Yes, but none of them show the type of coat the OP is asking about. It's analogous to a newb asking if he can wear his boxy, big-shouldered three button Cordings jacket with jeans and you answering in the affirmative with pictures of mofos in EG Bedfords.

I'm not sure what you mean. This is a set-in sleeve topcoat. I said I think the S&M one looks better than the Suitsupply.

Here's S&M

Here's just one of the many coats I've already posted on your request

Looks pretty similar to me.