Autumn's most useful dress coat may be the covert, a topcoat that's named for a cloth that's named for a thicket where game birds may shelter (as we shall see the brush played a role in the coat's design). I like it because it's city wear that, unlike its relative the chesterfield, is also appropriate in the country.
Covert cloth is a fawn-colored, medium weight (18 ounce) twill-weave fabric that's sturdy and warm. It's principal use is in the eponymous coat, which is supposed to be single-breasted, fly-fronted, and knee length. It is characterized by four rows of stitches on each sleeve cuff and on the bottom hem that were intended as reinforcements to minimize wear that might occur while the wearer was riding through those thickets.
The classic covert coat has two side pockets and an interior game pocket that's just right for the day's newspaper. A brown or green velvet collar is an option for a dressier look and particularly appropriate for men who, like the dandies of old, wear their hair long enough to leave marks on their collars over time. After all, it's easier to replace a bit of velvet than the entire coat when you can't find new collar fabric.
Reasonably authentic ready to wear versions of the covert may be found at London's Cordings for £425.00 including VAT (about $680 ex VAT) or New & Lingwood for £450.00 including VAT (about $720 ex VAT). It's a bit more difficult to locate in the United States - the "covert" shown at New York's Alan Flusser Custom Shop, for example, is undoubtedly a very nice coat but it's definitely not a covert.
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2 comments:
The Covert coat should be a very useful garment. I do particularly like the stitching detail at the bottom and sleeve hems. And that is somewhat hard to find on a coat in the US. However, it does cause a large problem in getting the sleeves altered to the correct length if any shortening is required. Taking the sleeves off to alter at the shoulder is a pretty big job and a bit "iffy" as to the finished result. Possibly all of the seaming could be taken out at the sleeve end, have it cut, then re stitch it all. That would also seem to be a bit dangerous as the impression of the old stitching would likely remain. Quite a nice illustration, BTW. I guess it is from the Esquire series?
It's less of a problem than you might think.
Remove the bottom row of stitching, shorten the coat to that point, and add a new row on top.
Fellows worked for both Apparel Arts and Esquire. I'm not certain which one the coat appeared in originally.
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