If you live in a place that gets even mild winters, I recommend you get one — I know you’ll love it. This is the same coat as in the previous example — showing how easily a dark wool coat can be dressed up. Formal Evening Overcoat

Here our friend Raphael from the Gentleman’s Gazette shows off his formal coat. What Is an Overcoat? Additionally, while a hood isn’t a classic feature, depending on how and where you’ll wear your coat environments, it can be a necessary compromise. When fitting an overcoat, the same general principles apply as proper suit fit, with a few variations. You can find overcoats in practically every menswear shop. This includes many big-box retailers such as Banana Republic and J. Crew.

It depends! I’ve worn one of my overcoats when it was -40 degrees (factoring in windchill). With layering, overcoats can keep you very warm. When it’s cold! You can wear an overcoat with practically everything in your wardrobe. How Is an Overcoat Supposed To Fit? If you have lots of solids in your wardrobe:You can either go with a solid overcoat or with a patterned overcoat. If you go for a solid, I suggest going with an interesting texture, maybe a tweed, maybe a bold weave in a solid color because that makes just all the more useful because you can combine it with different shades of colors, but also more interesting and it provides a certain amount of contrast from your otherwise solid pants. First of all, let me say I don’t think it’s a wise idea to invest in a really bold overcoat in yellow, red, or maybe green early on because it’s just a very narrow field where you can wear it, and the cost per wear will be quite high. It’s also quite a statement piece, and because of that, I think it’s only suited to someone who really knows what they’re doing and who has an advance closet where all the basics are already covered. Notch lapels should be reserved for single-breasted coats as they look out of place on double-breasted garments.

A little maturer in experience (OK 52) I’m dressing more vintage with my own twist to the jazz, swing 40s50s styles,

If you’re going custom, be very deliberate in communicating exactly what you want to the tailor or brand representative. Tips for Buying an Overcoat

As you can see, I paired it with dark brown contrasting corduroy pants, brown shoes, as well as a burnt orange and grey scarfand chamois yellow HydroPeccary gloves from Fort Belvedere. It’s just a very elegant color. Yes, it’s bold but with the tan, it works quite well, and the gloves are perfect for winter because they are lined with cashmere, and they don’t get wet because they have this treatment that is water repellent. So no matter if you have to scratch the ice of your car or shovel the snow, these gloves are great. I topped it all off with a brown fedora hat to provide somewhat of a contrast. Herringbone Overcoats An overcoat’s main function is protection. That means the sleeves should be long enough to completely cover your shirt sleeves and the body of the coat should be long enough to cover your suit coat (assuming you want to be able to wear it with a suit). In fact, you’ll want a little more room all over, but especially in the shoulder, chest, and hip areas. Ideal topcoat fit. If you intend on wearing an overcoat in very cold conditions, go for a little roomier fit than this. That being said, if you end up with a bold overcoat such as a green duffle coat, make sure to tone down the rest of your outfit. For example, my scarf has subtle brown tones. Same with my cognac gloves which are likewise not loud and bold but very classic. They work well with my dark brown pants as well as my boots. How to Create Different Looks With Your Overcoat Pay Close Attention To Your AccessoriesThe advantage of going double-breasted is that there’s an added overlapping layer of fabric which provides just a little bit more warmth in cold weather.