A shorter Gloverall – the SS17 Car Coat

It’s a new season and there are new jackets to look at! Gloverall has been renowned for duffle-coats since 1951, yet duffle-coats are mainly a coat for the colder parts of the year. Plus they tend to last almost forever. Hence why the creative folks at Gloverall HQ also do a Spring Summer collection each year. Last year they gave us the Summer Duffle, which I bought in the, not at all subtle light blue variant. I was surprised by how much attention this jacket got, and it’s good to see the style is back again this year, though not in either light blue or yellow.

Today though, we’ve got another style to take a look at. Firstly though, let’s see what the box contains. Ready?

So there you have it. The SS17 Car Coat in Stone. By nature, I would normally have gone for the navy colour, but sometimes it’s good to take a moment to consider how many jackets you already have in a certain colour. I have the Racing Monty from the rather epic 1951-collection in black, hence the lighter colour this time around.

The term “car coat” is quite interesting, as it’s considered a fashion staple since the 1950s and often referred to. The thing is though that the term really distils down to being a coat that is a bit shorter than regular coats. Is it more suitable for use around or in a motorcar? Hard to say really, but the fact that it is a little shorter does work well for those of us that are a little below average height.

Gloverall have made this one in their bonded cotton. This means it’s a cotton outer with a rubberised backing. The label says “Shower proof”, but while the cotton outer gets a bit wet, in reality you won’t see any water coming through. Old school materials such as bonded cotton do a great job of creating a non-permeable surface (think “though shall not pass!”), but this works both ways. The rubber sees to that, so efficiently that they have added air vents under the arms to aid the ventilation a little. It’s a nice fabric though, with a certain heft to it. And it can be washed at 30 degrees. Oddly, the care label says “Do not tumble dry” in English and “Nicht chemisch reinigen” in German, so the label fails quality control 🙂 (How picky am I?)

We’re talking the usual high-quality Gloverall production though. Arrow straight seams, no loose threads. Chunky buttons and great detailing. Only the top button of the four is visible, the rest is hidden behind the placket. The two outside pockets are mainly for sticking your hands into when posing, possibly to hold a newspaper. One the inside is a pocket suitable for your phone or wallet, though I would love it see it a little deeper with a press button or otherwise to keep the contents safe. A gentleman needs that sense of confidence, right?

 

Available from Gloverall now at 195 pounds.