Trench Coat
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A trench coat is an enduringly popular item of clothing worn around the world. It is generally made of heavy-duty cotton drill or poplin and has a lining which can be removed depending on the weather. It is a descendant of the heavy serge coats worn by British, Canadian and French soldiers in the First World War. The classical trench coat was a creation of Thomas Burberry, inventor of gabardine fabric, who submitted in 1901 a design for an army officer's raincoat to the UK War Office; during the First World War the design was modified to include epaulettes, straps and D-rings, and that version was dubbed the trench coat by the soldiers in the trenches.
A trench coat is an enduringly popular item of clothing worn round the world. It is generally made of heavy duty cotton, drill or poplin, and has a lining which can be removed depending on the weather. It is a descendant of the heavy serge coats worn by British, Canadian and French soldiers in World War I. The classical trench coat was a creation of Thomas Burberry, inventor of gabardine fabric, who submitted in 1901 a design for an army officer's raincoat to the UK War Office. That raincoat subsequently became part of the service uniform of British officers. During World War I, the design was modified to include epaulettes, straps, and D-rings. This latter version was dubbed "trench coat" by the soldiers in the trenches. Towards the Second World War, the trench coat became part of all enlisted men's and officers' kits, especially in the American forces: the US Army, US Army Air Corps, and US Marine Corps.
The typical trench coat is a ten buttoned double breasted long tan, khaki, beige or black coat with cuff straps on the sleeves, epaulettes (originally used to hold gloves and folding service caps, such as the Glengarry Bonnet), and a belt that may also have two small brass D-rings as a salute to its military heritage; the rings originally were used to secure grenades, sidearms and/or swords.
Trench coats have remained fashionable over the years. Their genesis as clothing for army officers lent the trench coat a businesslike respectability, whilst fictional heroes as diverse as Dick Tracy, Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade and Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau have kept the coat in the public eye. On a darker note, black leather trench coats were adopted by the Nazi SS as a means of inspiring fear and respect, and the subsequent Hollywood image of the black-clad, trenchcoated Gestapo officer has entered popular culture. The Columbine High School massacre was widely blamed on the Trench Coat Mafia to which its perpetrators were erroneously said to have belonged, and in the wake of the incident several schools in Denver went so far as to ban pupils from wearing trench coats.
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Military Details That Stayed
Most classic menswear carries a few military details; the trench coat is military detail from collar to hem, and the details survived because each one still works. The storm flap sheds rain from the chest, the belted waist closes the coat without relying on buttons alone, the raglan sleeve slides over a uniform or a suit, and the deep pockets and throat strap answer weather that civilians also meet. Gabardine itself was the breakthrough: a cotton woven so tightly, and proofed so well, that a long coat could stay light while turning rain, replacing the heavy rubberized and serge coats soldiers had endured.
From Kit to Classic
Officers bought their own trench coats, took them home, and kept wearing them; film fixed the silhouette in the public mind, the detective, the correspondent, the traveller, and fashion adopted a coat whose authority came from use. Modern versions vary the formula, shorter lengths, single-breasted cuts, colours beyond khaki and black, technical fabrics, but the reference design is unchanged enough that trench coat needs no season to sell. It is the standard example of a garment crossing from uniform to wardrobe without losing its name, its construction or its story.
Common Questions
Why is it called a trench coat?
The coat was modified for officers in the First World War with epaulettes, straps and D-rings, and that version was dubbed the trench coat by the soldiers in the trenches. By the Second World War it was part of the kit of enlisted men and officers alike, especially in the American forces.
What fabric is a trench coat made from?
Heavy-duty cotton, drill or poplin, and classically gabardine, the tightly woven, weather-resistant cotton Thomas Burberry invented. Burberry submitted his design for an army officer's raincoat to the UK War Office in 1901. A removable lining lets the same coat serve in different weather.
What are the classic features of a trench coat?
The typical trench coat is a ten-button, double-breasted, long coat in tan, khaki, beige or black, with cuff straps on the sleeves, epaulettes on the shoulders and D-rings on the belt. Each feature began as military equipment: epaulettes for rank insignia, straps to close the cuffs against weather, rings to carry gear.