Or is it just me?
earlier this fall, i spent a week or so looking for a peacoat i can buy. found some solid options in banana republic and lands end, quality fabric, nice fit and all. but when i put them on and look in the mirror, something was just a little off. it bugged me for a while until one day i saw my girlfriend in her burberry wool coat, it looked classy, elegantly appropriate for cold weather. it just looks complete. all of a sudden it became all clear, her coat is longer than all the peacoats i had tried on, not physically longer than a men's coat, but reached deeper down on the thigh.
that got me thinking: i recall maybe 5 -10 years ago, most of men's coats were longer than what we see on the market today. somewhere, somehow, this trend of shorter outerwear got off the fashion t walk and into mass-market production street wear. i understand for a lighter piece of outerwear, like a motor jacket, or a casual/athletic type like a parka, one may want it a little short. but for a wool blend coat coat, which is at least semi-formal and worn for cold weather, why would anyone want it to be so short? we are seeing coats that don't even reach the bottom of your butt, which is shorter than a suit jacket by conventional wisdom. a coat is designed to be worn outside of a suit jacket, and with this coat you run the risk of showing the bottom of your jacket poking out because the outer coat ends too damn high.
coming back to the peacoat gripes. a peacoat has double breast buttons that gives the illusion of a broad torso, and a big lapel worn with the collar popped up, again imposing a muscular powerful presence. then you have the coat ending around or even above the bottom of your crotch, which is what i see on 95% of today's peacoat. it's inconsistent, looks unfinished, visually out of balance. for that reason i am now only considering wool coats that are mid thigh length, reaching a little deeper beyond the bottom of your butt. a good rule i found is that i put my arms straight down on the sides, my hands fully stretched, the coat better reach the fingertip of my middle finger, or close to that. remember the curl-your-hand rule for suit length? uncurl your hand and that's your coat length, this way your coat always safely covers your jacket, but still not sloppily long like a grandpa''s coat.
well i guess like a lot of other things in style, it all comes down to personal taste, and i am definitely not here to troll against those of you who look perfectly fine in a peacoat and whatnot, but i thought i'd vent it out and may hear your thoughts on this.
earlier this fall, i spent a week or so looking for a peacoat i can buy. found some solid options in banana republic and lands end, quality fabric, nice fit and all. but when i put them on and look in the mirror, something was just a little off. it bugged me for a while until one day i saw my girlfriend in her burberry wool coat, it looked classy, elegantly appropriate for cold weather. it just looks complete. all of a sudden it became all clear, her coat is longer than all the peacoats i had tried on, not physically longer than a men's coat, but reached deeper down on the thigh.
that got me thinking: i recall maybe 5 -10 years ago, most of men's coats were longer than what we see on the market today. somewhere, somehow, this trend of shorter outerwear got off the fashion t walk and into mass-market production street wear. i understand for a lighter piece of outerwear, like a motor jacket, or a casual/athletic type like a parka, one may want it a little short. but for a wool blend coat coat, which is at least semi-formal and worn for cold weather, why would anyone want it to be so short? we are seeing coats that don't even reach the bottom of your butt, which is shorter than a suit jacket by conventional wisdom. a coat is designed to be worn outside of a suit jacket, and with this coat you run the risk of showing the bottom of your jacket poking out because the outer coat ends too damn high.
coming back to the peacoat gripes. a peacoat has double breast buttons that gives the illusion of a broad torso, and a big lapel worn with the collar popped up, again imposing a muscular powerful presence. then you have the coat ending around or even above the bottom of your crotch, which is what i see on 95% of today's peacoat. it's inconsistent, looks unfinished, visually out of balance. for that reason i am now only considering wool coats that are mid thigh length, reaching a little deeper beyond the bottom of your butt. a good rule i found is that i put my arms straight down on the sides, my hands fully stretched, the coat better reach the fingertip of my middle finger, or close to that. remember the curl-your-hand rule for suit length? uncurl your hand and that's your coat length, this way your coat always safely covers your jacket, but still not sloppily long like a grandpa''s coat.
well i guess like a lot of other things in style, it all comes down to personal taste, and i am definitely not here to troll against those of you who look perfectly fine in a peacoat and whatnot, but i thought i'd vent it out and may hear your thoughts on this.
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