Ok, look. Full disclosure here: when I first started caring about my style I didn’t think men wore overcoats. Like, at all.
In trendy Old Navy-esque fashion that I sported early on in my journey, I thought they were exclusively for British gentlemen trying to look fancy in films. Growing up in Cleveland most winter coats came from Sears, and that was sufficient for me. Until about six years into this whole journey of trying to look “put together” while working on a teachers salary, I realised an amazing thing: A quality overcoat may be one of the best investments you can make in your wardrobe.
Let me repeat that. An OVERCOAT may be one of the best investments you can make in your wardrobe.
Again, may be.
Im yet to find the magical label that will make my wallet weep, but I know now that it exists. It all started a few years ago. I’m walking into work one day wearing my Old Navy peacoat.
Oh wait…my “peacoat”. This was one of those coats where you wear it once and realise it’s more old navy than peacoat. As I’m walking into the building the principle passes me by wearing….the mother of all navy overcoats.
It was perfect. It told people this guy was a professional. He knew what a401k was.
He had opinions about mortgage rates. I looked like I was about to tailgate at a Buckeyes game. That night I got home and Googled everything overcoat.
Mistake number one. These coats can get expensive quickly. We’re talking $2,000. $3,000 easy.
Coats. The thing you wear over your other clothes to keep you warm in the winter. As someone who spent most of my wraping journey hovering around that magical $50 price point for shirts and trousers, the thought of spending that much on something I wasn’t sure I’d wear all the time was insane.
But then I remembered my dad always told me about buying tools. Buy cheap tools when you first start using them, and if you wear them out enough to where you need a new one, then you know they were worth buying an expensive one. Makes total sense to me.
Same logic applies to coats. So I bought a wool-blend overcoat from Target’s Goodfellow collection. Around $120.
Yup, Target. Looked pretty decent straight out of the store though. Solid dark grey colour.
Clean cut. Felt like it was well made. Biggest coat I owned at the time.
Made it through one winter. ONE WINTER. By the springtime, it looked like I had given birth to that coat in a bunny suit.
Started pilling after a few months of wear. The lining inside ripped right under the arm. Even developed this weird wrinkled texture that nothing I owned would stay smooth when under it.
Kind of kicked myself when it finally died that winter. Should’ve known when you spend that little you get that little back. What I will say is, wearing that coat for a season really taught me what I wanted and expected from an overcoat.
It needed to be longer to cover my sport coats when I wore them for school functions. It had to look good worn over jeans and tees but also my handful of dress shirts. It had to actually work in Midwest winter weather, not just those perfect 60 degree November days.
I started saving. Cutting $30-40 dollars a month from my already-too-small clothing budget. Eating PB&J’s for lunch more.
Sacrificing the occasional pumpkin spice latte to make up the difference. About a year and a half later, I finally had $600 set aside. Which still seemed like a ludicrous amount to spend on ONE piece of clothing.
Girlfriend thought I had fallen off lol. A wool overcoat from a brand I had never heard of called Private White V.C. caught my eye. Sale. tags still on.
Originially $750, marked down to $580. Navy. Single-breasted.
Right at the knee. Everything about the fabric felt different than anything I had ever owned. Heavyweight without being bulky.
Soft, but not slippery. Even the buttons looked like they cost more. Been wearing that baby for 3 winters now and it still looks brand spankin new.
Fabric has not pillied. Lining is intact. It’s actually got more comfortable too as it’s broken in.
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Fact is, when I do my cost per wear analysis (yup, I am that teacher that does that) I’m currently sitting at around $6 per wear. And dropping. TLDR; I will never suggest that EVERYONE needs to spend $600 on an overcoat.
It’s still a lot of money, even if you’ve been saving for it for years. What I will suggest is that this may be one of those rare pieces of clothing that spending the big bucks actually makes sense. Overcoats, in my experience and from what I’ve seen others wear, are one of those timeless pieces.
What looks good now, looked just as good 50 years ago. Coat styles don’t change much. Try and show me pictures of popular mens clothing from the early 2000’s to prove me wrong.
Any solid navy or charcoal overcoat you choose will look just as sharp in 10 years as it does today. Another thing I’ve learned since paying attention to these kinds of things. There is an acceptable price range for overcoats.
Under $150 and you’re gonna struggle to find many that will last you more than one season of wear-and-tear. Once you get cheap, coats start using crazy fabric blends that don’t wear well. Linings aren’t backed.
It just feels like the manufacturers are cutting corners to save a buck. That $300-600 price range is where the good stuff lives. Mid-tier coats that have high wool content, better construction, lining that will last.
Brands like Everlane come to mind. COS has some good ones when they’re on sale. Sometimes you can find Banana Republic fighting Father in a higher price bracket.
Nothing that needs to be investment level quite yet, but definitely in the sweet spot. And this is where it gets tricky. Once you start creeping past the $800 mark with overcoats you start to see diminishing returns.
I have a brother- in-law who has a designer overcoat he paid nearly $1400 for. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice coat. But I placed mine right next to his once and side by side they looked almost identical. fancier lining?
Sure. Buttons might be a touch better. But was it twice as good?
No. Now I’m not saying you should ONLY shop the sale rack or bargain bin when it comes to coats. There are good and bad everywhere.
Uniqlo has actually decent wool blend coats that you can get for around $130 that will last you 2-3 seasons if you care for them. Target’s Goodfellow line has stepped their game up since my novice fail, but I would still consider those starter coats. The point is, if you’re gonna shop that price range, don’t have insane expectations.
They will.not.last forever. But they also dont need to. If you get 2-3 seasons out of a coat before it starts falling apart you did good.
Style-wise, if you’re only gonna get one overcoat I’d stick to navy or charcoal. I know it sounds basic, but camel and other trends don’t really go with everything. You can wear navy with jeans, dress trousers, over a jumper, over a blazer.
Doesn’t matter. Dress shirt and tie, button up shirt and jeans. Netflix and chill.
Boat drinks. Navy works for everything. If winter weather is actually cold where you live, another thing to keep in mind is weight.
A lot of the cheaper coats utilise lightweight fabrics in order to keep costs down. Might be fine for those cooler autumn months, but will be useless when it’s below freezing. You want something that feels heavy.
Heavy enough you don’t feel the need to wear 3 jumpers underneath. So where does this leave us with the whole high-end versus high street debate? If you wear a coat often (think multiple times a week throughout the autumn/winter) and you’ve had the chance to save up for that more pricey coat, I say go for it.
The numbers work out when you do the cost per wear thing, and trust me you will notice a difference in quality as you wear it more. However, if you live somewhere that doesn’t require a coat often. Or you’re still working on your style and not sure if you’ll even wear it that much.
Or spending $600 would put you into debt….then start with a good middle of the road option. You can always upgrade later once you know what you want/need. Better to have a $150 coat that fits you well and you wear all the time than a $600 “investment” sitting in your closet because you’re afraid to wear it.
This has been one of those learning experiences where guys either drop $20 on the cheapest coat possible and are disappointed when it doesn’t last, or they go straight for the swollen looking $2000 camel coat because they heard “investments” are the way to go.
Neither will help you build a wardrobe. Like I said earlier.
Know your needs. How often will you wear it? What will you be wearing under it?
How much can you spend without having to sell a kidney? Learn those things first, then go from there. Don’t let buying the perfect coat become this all consuming money pit.
Coats are great, yes. But they’re only one piece of your wardrobe. Focus on building the basics you need first, then get an coat when it makes sense for you.
Now please excuse me while I go Instagram pictures of my coat with Captions about how GREAT winter is.
