Coats & Outerwear
Outerwear
The most underspent line in most men’s wardrobes.
A good overcoat does two things at once. It keeps the suit underneath looking like a suit, and it tells anyone watching who’s wearing it that the man inside it cares about the work he’s doing.
Plenty of our clients are not afraid to spend on their clothes, and they do: suits, sport coats, dress shirts, trousers. Then it turns cold, and the $2,000 suit goes out the door under a North Face jacket.
The overcoat is the piece men overlook, usually because they do not see the value in it. It does not have to be an expensive cloth. It has to fit properly, sit cleanly over what you wear underneath, and be cut to the length you like. That is more comfortable for you, and it looks far better.
What we build
The Overcoat
The full-length overcoat. Worn over a suit, in the worst of the winter months. Reaches the knee or a few inches below it, depending on your height and preference.
We cut overcoats in three classical silhouettes: single-breasted notch lapel (the most versatile, looks correct over a suit, over a sport coat, and on its own); double-breasted peak lapel (the traditional overcoat, six-button in the formal cut, eight-button in the more casual cut); and the polo coat (double-breasted, six-button, with patch pockets and a half-belt at the back, camelhair, the American classic).
Standard fabric is a heavy melton or a wool-cashmere blend. For the warmest cuts, we work in cashmere; for the most durable, in pure wool.
The Topcoat
Lighter than an overcoat. Worn over a suit in spring and fall, or on cooler summer evenings. Reaches knee-length or slightly above. Cut from worsted wool, cashmere, or wool-mohair blends.
The topcoat is the piece most clients underestimate. For Northern Virginia weather, you’ll wear a topcoat three times as often as a full overcoat.
The Car Coat
A coat a lot of clients ask about. Shorter than an overcoat and a step less formal, with a turn-down collar in place of a lapel and a straight single breasted front.
It goes over a sport coat or a sweater as easily as a suit. The buttons can show, or sit hidden behind a fly front.
The Peacoat
Double-breasted, six- or eight-button, with a wide notch or peak lapel and slash pockets. Heavy melton wool, traditionally in navy.
The peacoat is the casual outerwear answer. Worn over a sweater and jeans, over a sport coat for an unstructured look, or over a suit when the weather doesn’t require the formality of a proper overcoat.
The Trench
The classical raincoat. Double-breasted, ten-button, with epaulets, storm flap, and a belt. Cut from a tightly-woven gabardine or weatherproofed wool blend. Standard color is khaki or stone. We’ve also cut trenches in navy, charcoal, and olive on request.
The trench earns its keep in spring and fall, DC’s transitional seasons, when neither a topcoat nor a peacoat is quite right and a casual jacket isn’t formal enough.
These drawings are only a starting point. Pocket style, pocket position and nearly everything else you see here can be changed to suit you.
The Details
Every coat is drawn up from scratch. These are the decisions that shape it.
- FrontSingle breasted with two, three or five buttons, a fly front that hides them, or double breasted with four, six, eight or ten.
- Collar and lapelNotch, peak, curved peak or shawl, with the lapel set anywhere from 3 1/2 to 5 inches wide. Pea coat, car coat and stand collars for the more casual coats.
- ShoulderA traditional set-in shoulder, a raglan sleeve, or a soft unconstructed shoulder.
- BackCenter vent, side vents or a long inverted pleat, with a half belt, a full self belt, or a clean back.
- CuffsOne to five buttons, working or closed, a turnback gauntlet cuff, or a buttoned cuff tab.
- InsideFully lined, quilted for warmth, unlined, or a quilted lining that zips out when the weather turns. An inside phone pocket if you want one.
Pockets, pick stitching, undercollar and monogram are settled at your appointment.
Cloth and Mills
The cloth we recommend to most clients, and the most popular, is a blend of 90% wool and 10% cashmere. Camel hair is a great choice as well.
The mill relationships from our suit line carry over into outerwear: Holland & Sherry for heavyweight melton, wool-mohair blends, and traditional British outerwear cloths; Loro Piana for cashmere and wool-cashmere blends; Dormeuil for weatherproofed wools and technical blends; Drago for lighter topcoat weights.
The cloth choice matters more on outerwear than on almost any other piece. An overcoat takes more weather than anything else you own, so the cloth has to stand up to it.
Construction
Outerwear is built on the same pattern logic as our suits. Construction grades available: half canvas (baseline); full canvas (recommended for heavier cloths, which benefit from the additional structure); fully handmade (for the client commissioning a piece he intends to wear for twenty years).
Hand-finished details available on request: Bemberg or silk lining, hand-stitched name inside the body, throat latch for the peacoat, leather-lined collar for the overcoat, working buttonholes on the cuff.
How Outerwear Lives in Your Closet
A complete outerwear rotation for a Washington professional looks something like this: one overcoat or polo coat (for the worst of the winter); one topcoat (for transitional weather); one peacoat (for casual contexts and travel); one trench (for rain and shoulder seasons).
Most clients build this rotation over five to seven years. The first piece is usually the overcoat or topcoat; the others fill in as the closet matures.
A well-built overcoat will last twenty years if cared for. The cost amortizes faster than almost any other piece in your closet. Worn sixty days a winter for twenty winters, a $2,000 custom overcoat works out to under two dollars a wear.
Pricing
Custom outerwear pricing varies meaningfully by cloth choice and construction. A baseline topcoat in the Iniziare collection starts at approximately $1,295 in half canvas. A full melton overcoat in a Holland & Sherry cloth runs $2,000 and up.
For a specific quote, come in with the cloth tier and silhouette you have in mind. A short conversation in the showroom is the fastest way to a real number.