The Trench Coat
Basic Clothing Article Analysis
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the trench coat: details
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story of success: how a war coat got famous
contents
introduction
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the impact of hollywood
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conclusion
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A long way... ...that the Trench Coat has left behind. A way through war, Hollywood, the 70’s, it even survived shoulder pads in the 80’s and is still present. It is an ongoing success story of a Fashion Icon.
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an you imagine a piece of clothing whose purpose was protecting soldiers from wind and rain, made its way into fashion - even today? Is it not a really odd idea that we wear war coats today?
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journey back to 1914 and even further with stops in the First World War, the movie “Casablanca” in 1942, the idea of a perfect detective and a never changing idea of a rain coat - all of that and way more I did to find out about the past of my basic clothing article, the Trench Coat.
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lthough the coat I am showing you has its origin in the 80’s, I will concentrate on the more interesting history and present. In this booklet I will dive into details on the coat, its exciting history and especially on the question “how the Trench Coat has become the fashion icon that it still is today”. 4
Introduction
1914 - First World War Trench Coat worn in the trenches
1961- The movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” 1983 - “Inspector Gadget”
1945-Sedond World War Trench Coat worn again
1999 - The movie “Dick”
2011 - “Gossip Girl” Timeline
1917 - Demand of Trench Coats
1942 - The movie “Casablanca”
1968 - “Columbo”
1983 - “The Royal Coat” Princess Diana & Charles
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Collar (Hook and eye)
Step lining Epaulettes Shoulder pads
Raglan Sleeve Sleeve straps
Waist belt Storm pocket
Storm Flap
Double Breasted Khaki coloured
Remarkable details on a Trench Coat (except shoulder pads) / Straight cut.
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Outer material: “Poplin” / Plain Weave 35% Cotton / 65% Polyester Piecedyed / Waterproof
The Trench Coat
Pattern drawing
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Lining: “Paugé” / Plain Weave 100% Polyamid Piecedyed 10-01-01-01-01-00
Chemise: Quilted lining (Futter) 100% Polyamid Bleached
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f course, the Trench Coat with its material like it is produced nowadays was not the first idea of a rain coat. Charles Mackintosh (nowadays still producing Trench Coats - called “Mac’s”) produced a coat in 1823 made out of rubber that, indeed, protected the people from rain but smelled also really bad. Other trials followed, even an important shop with coats opened in 1851 by Aquascutum, which still produces Trench Coats today. ut the most important step in the history of this icon did Charles Burberry. In 1879 he got his new fabric called “garbedine” patented and it was ready for a success story. A new way, without bad smell, but protecting from wind & rain with a tight woven, water repellent fabric weave. This is the fundamental start of the most known coat in the world. Before garbedine, coats were made out of heavy wool which were not water resistent at all. n the First World War, Aquascutum and Burberry coats where worn in the army, but it was Charles Burberry in 1914 who was asked to produce a coat for the British War Office. He modified the worn coats which already were made out of garbedine, with some new details especially for the field use: epaulettes, to display the rank insignia and D-Rings for carrying map cases and swords (not for hand grenades as a myth say). The fights in the “trench fare” were obviously the reason for the name “Trench Coat”. After the First World War ended, officers brought home their coats and made private use out of it. This is how it actually got adopted into civilian lives. They knew about its very good function and used it from now on. In 1917, The New York Times reported a “demand of Trench Coats”. This was the first time people wore it separated from the war, although it had a war-comeback in the Second World War. All the functions like the light weight to move better out in the field, the raglan sleeve to have warm clothes under and fit in fast, the epaulettes and even the D-Rings that are details just made for the field are now worn in everyday life with less used functionality.
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Story of success
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ut what happened to the coat that it is still known so well in 2012 - nearly a hundred years later? o I couldn’t help, but wonder: “How did the Trench Coat become famous and still is today?” From the eye of a brander, this is the most interesting story in the whole history of the Trench Coat. Of course, its functionality and utility-skills were approved by soldiers in the war and then in civilian life. But it was the broad media, especially Hollywood, that made the coat what it is today. Movies, that are the answer to my question, which I will analyse in depth in my next spread, were responsable for the ‘image’ that the Trench Coat has today. They made an icon out of a coat with the help of actors and movies. An important example: Humphrey Bogart: n his role as Sam Spade in the movie “The Maltese Falcon” he was playing a detective, wearing an Auqascutum Trench Coat, smoking cigarettes and just gave the viewer a bit of a mysterious feeling - which the Trench Coat adopted by that in a way. o every man out there was a kind of influenced by the idea of ‘being a mysterious guy’. You could be a Humphrey Burgart or some sort of a detective with wearing the Trench Coat - or at least try. Later by 1970, the Trench Coat got a fashion make-over and reached even a broader public. ith the help of a survey that I did in Amsterdam I found out that still today, in 2012, people associate the Trench Coat with the idea of a detective or any kind of movie where Trench Coats were worn. The reason why 20 people out of 35 bought a Trench Coat was mostly the same: the perfect coat for mid-seasons like spring and fall. But also, they are still aware of the iconic image that this coat comes with. Women see Audrey Hepburn in a trench and men remember Columbo in it and everybody has the same, classic idea. Sometimes they associate it with a modern interpretation like the hit-series “Gossip Girl”. All 35 people of course knew what a Trench Coat is, however just four people knew something about its history.
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ow did the
Trench Coat become so famous and still is today?
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o answer this question I used the angle of ‘Hollywood’ which is the most important answer to my question. As mentioned, it has been several years of different movies, that made the Trench Coat the icon that it is today. To understand that, we have to take a look at the movies, the character that stared and the figures that were shown in Trench Coats.
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ot very important for today’s image of the Trench Coat, but very important for the Hollywood history: “The Mad Parade”, 1931. This movie stared the Trench Coat on eight women during the First World War. The war connection was still there. he first movie that is still one of the most important one in the history of the Trench Coat is “Casablanca” - starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergmann in 1942 - “a depiction of life among Europeans in North Africa, shadowed by the brooding menace of the war” (Folster 2007: 220), fulfilled with a lovestory. Perfect for the Trench Coat. Humphrey Bogart and the Trench Coat by Aquascutum became one - he was basically wearing it in all his important movies such as “The Maltese Falcon”, as previously mentioned, starring a detective or in the 1954 released film ““The Caine Mutiny” - a Second World War related movie. Another remarkle movie where we see the Trench Coat is “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” in 1961 - a non-war, romance movie where the coat appears on the actor Audrey Hepburn as the New Yoker partygirl Holly Golightly and her excessive life full of emotions.
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well known detective character that has been shown in a Trench Coat all the time is Inspector Clouseau in “The Pink Panther Strikes Again”, played by Peter Sellers in 1976 which was re-produced a lot. The Aquascutum trench and the magnifying glass was his typical equipment. In 1983 the detective in the Trench Coat even takes over the mind of the children when the comic series “Inspector Gadget” appeared.
The impact of Hollywood
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esides the movies that are named, the relation between Trench Coat and ‘detective’ is even more present today. In the survey that I have been done I found out that most of the people associate the classic Trench Coat with a private detective. In 1968 the series “Columbo”, in which Peter Falk was starring “Detective Columbo”, was first shown on TV.
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ot only men were starred as detectives, also women have been shown in a Trench Coat with a mission to find out any truth. For example the movie “Dick” from 1999 starring Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams about two young women who accidently get into a scandal.
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till today, movies and series are showing the Trench Coat that covers up the character which is either a detective or a woman who got sexed up - that is the image the Trench Coat received, based on the impact of Hollywood. This makes it still famous nowadays.
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onclusion
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o sum up all my research and the survey I did I can say that the Trench Coat, which has its origin in the First World War, had definitely become a fashion icon. After it left the war-time and became a movie-star its attention was huge. An image of a private detective or a very sexy woman, which it has got today, is made by Hollywood. Basically a branding strategy, because if we think of a Trench Coat we can relate it to a certain group/emotional relation. With the success in the movies in the 1940’s and 1950’s, the Trench Coat caught the attention of the broad public and also of the fashion industry. Between the 1960’s and 1970’s it has got a fashion makeover. New materials, new cuts, same idea: a classic rain coat. This is still the main reason why people do buy the Trench Coat today - it is the perfect coat for mid-seasons. Good quality, protecting from rain and wind with a chic and classic look. Sadly, nearly nobody remebers the history and just 11% of the owners are actually aware of the fact, that they wear a war coat.
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hat we can say for sure is that the Trench Coat will stay in fashion in the coming future and except from new shapes and different materials it won’t change its iconic look. The association to detectives and femme fatales will stay as well as Hollywood keeps on displaying the Trench Coat. The broad public will never forget the icons which were stared in a Trench Coat.
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Artofmanliness.com Articlesbase.com “Breakfast at Tiffany’s - Movie “Casablanca” - Movie “Columbo” - Series Collegefashion.com “Dick” - Movie Europa-Lehrmittel, “Clothing Technology” Facehunter.blogspot.com Folster, Nick - “The Trench Book” Glamour.de “Gossip Girl” - Series “Inspector Gadget” - Series Lookbook.nu Milanstyle.co.uk Modavera.it Oldmagazinearticles.com Own phtography Patparade.blogspot.com Pazhayathu.blogspot.com Style.com Stylelist.com Survey in Amsterdam, own work “The Maltese Falcon” - Movie “The Mad Parade” - Movie “The Pink Panther Strikes Again” - Movie Thomes & Hudson, “The Fashion Box - The Imortal Icons of Style”
Conclusion / Sources
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pecial thanks to:
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