Trench Coats For Men
Trench Coat For Men.
When we think of trench coats for men we most often picture Peter Falk as Columbo in his disheveled trench coat. The trench coat became a symbol of Hollywood’s heroic detectives and spies. However, the trench coats for men did not originate in the Hollywood films.
The trench coat actually originated during World War 1 in the United Kingdom when officers of the British army wore them as an optional dress uniform. The first company to be commissioned by the British army to make trench coats for the officers was Burberry.
Only officers and warrant officers Class I were allowed to wear the trench coat which had shoulder straps and D rings for carrying equipment. Stories circulated that the D ring was for hanging grenades but they were actually intended for hanging map cases.
The coats were called trench coats because they were worn in the trenches. The men complained that the coats were being ruined with the trench mud so a company called Aquascutum was commissioned to produce double breasted trench coats for men with a removable lining. The front line soldiers dubbed the coat “trench coat” and it is known as such to this day.
The first company to make trench coats in the United States was London Fog company, and London Fog trench coats are still extremely popular today.
British soldiers continued to wear the trench coat during World War II. The trend was followed closely by soldiers in the armies of the United States, Soviet Union, and other European countries.
To consider practicality the trench coats for men were made shorter, to allow for easy and unencumbered movement. It was not too long before the trench coat was recommended as a coat for the women of the British Armed Forces
After World War II we saw the trench coat as a fashion item worn by the more fashionable people as well as fictional characters such as Dick Tracy. When the modern young people began wearing the trench coat it passed into the realm of counterculture. The leather trench coat was worn by heavy metal rock stars and fans alike together with the Gothic crowd. They adopted the trench coat and the oilcloth duster as a sort of uniform.
After the Columbine massacre, where the killer wore a trench coat to hide his cache of firearms, schools prohibited the wearing of trench coats. They believed the killer to be a member of the Trench Coat Mafia which was made up of Columbine school dropouts.
Through the years these full length coats went from a necessary piece of apparel for the officers of the British army, to becoming a fashion statement for the fashionable people as well as rockers and the Gothic crowds.
Over many decades the trench coats for men have had slight changes in style from long skirts to short skirts and then long again.
The length is dependent on what is fashionable at the time, and while the short trench coat is popular the long trench coat will always be around.
The details of trench coats for men may change in accordance to what fashion dictates, but we’ll never stop wearing them.
