The trench coat, from the trenches to Paris
Born for the officers of the Great War, adopted by Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and generations of Parisian women: the story of the most timeless coat in the wardrobe.
A grey October sky over the banks of the Seine is all it takes for trench coats to come out of the wardrobe. Beige, belted, collar turned up, it is probably the most universal garment there is, worn by men and women alike, over a suit or with jeans. Yet it has a very precise military origin, which explains most of its details.
A fabric first
The story begins with a fabric. In late nineteenth-century England, Thomas Burberry developed gabardine, a tightly woven cotton treated to resist rain while remaining breathable. It first equipped explorers, hunters and officers. The London house Aquascutum also claims a role in inventing the British army’s waterproof coat, and the two houses still dispute the garment’s paternity.
In the trenches
It was during the First World War that the coat got its name. British officers wore it in the trenches, hence the word trench. It was lighter and more practical than the soldiers’ heavy wool greatcoats, and each of its details served a purpose.
- The epaulettes held the insignia of rank.
- The belt and its metal D-rings were used to hang equipment.
- The storm flap on the shoulder kept off rain running down the rifle.
- The collar could be turned up and fastened against the wind.
- The vent at the back made movement easier, on horseback or on foot.
These details no longer serve any practical purpose, yet it is their presence that distinguishes a real trench coat from a mere raincoat.
Hollywood takes it up
After the war, demobilised officers kept their coats, and the trench entered civilian life. Cinema did the rest. Humphrey Bogart wore one in the final scene of Casablanca in 1942, on a fog-drowned airfield, and it became the uniform of detectives, spies and the weary heroes of film noir.
In Breakfast at Tiffany’s, in 1961, Audrey Hepburn runs through the New York rain in a trench coat to find her cat. The scene made the coat a classic of the women’s wardrobe, worn over a black dress as easily as with trousers.
Paris adopts it
The Parisienne made it a second skin, worn open over a Breton top, the belt knotted at the back rather than buckled, sleeves slightly pushed up. Perhaps that is the secret of its success: it is rarely worn as it was designed, and that very nonchalance is what makes it elegant.
Choosing well
- The classic colour remains beige, which the English call honey. Navy and black are more urban.
- It should fall to the knee, or slightly above.
- The shoulders should allow room for a jacket underneath.
- Tightly woven cotton gabardine ages better than synthetic fabrics.
A good trench coat lasts twenty years. The best are handed down.
