Arm yourself against winter's chill with the power of the overcoat

Our culture has grown increasingly informal in recent years. It feels like there are fewer and fewer occasions to dress up because no one really dresses up any more. With this move toward informal clothing, we’ve lost so many wonderful things.

Once you wear an overcoat, the noise of the sporty winter coat starts to stand out, and it’s not enjoyable.

Women wear heels less often. Men almost never wear ties. Sneakers are everywhere. Leather penny loafers are practically an obscure artifact in the world of 2024. And while all these things — and many others — are missed, there is one piece that is particularly missed: the long overcoat.

A versatile classic

Yes, of course, you can still find long overcoats today. They aren’t like the lost city of Atlantis. They still exist, and there are men — like me — who still wear them. But they aren’t nearly as common as they once were.

There was once a time when it felt like every man in America had a heavy overcoat hanging in the front closet. A strong overcoat was just a part of a man’s wardrobe.

Men who worked in offices wore their overcoats every workday in the winter. Men who worked with their hands wore them to church every snowy Sunday. They were practical. The heavy overcoat is a coat that protects you from the elements while also suiting more formal occasions.

It served a particular purpose. But that purpose no longer exists for a large number of the public today. If there are no formal occasions, there is no need for a formal winter coat.

Invasion of the puffer jackets

The tragedy of the decline of the overcoat is that it is such an incredibly powerful piece of clothing. It’s unparalleled in our wardrobe. There is no piece to claim the post the overcoat tragically abandoned. When the overcoat vanished, so did the power the overcoat conveys.

There is no modern jacket that reaches from our shoulders all the way down past our knees. The thick and heavy tweed was never accounted for. Where there was once an overcoat, there is now a puffer jacket that emits its sad synthetic whisper as you hurry down the sidewalk.

The power that vanished with the overcoat is often undetectable until you feel it yourself. Every guy who has worn a real overcoat knows the feeling. It’s heavier than any other piece in your closet. When you throw it over your shoulders, you feel that weight come down on your body.

A modern suit of armor

It sounds strange, but the overcoat almost feel like a kind of modern suit of armor. When you button it up and head out into the biting cold, you can’t help but recall old photos of frozen streets. Stoic men standing still, dark silhouettes amid the white blast of winter. Immovable in the bitter wind, adorned in long, heavy overcoats. There is a power in this scene that is inconceivable without the overcoat.

The overcoat changes our pace. You don’t hurry in an overcoat. Well, you can if you really want. Of course, it’s technically possible to scurry along the road in an overcoat. But you aren’t going to do it.

It’s just not something you do in a long, heavy overcoat. You walk with a sense of purpose, you stroll along your path, you skulk around the grounds in the late afternoon as the sun is hanging low. Walking along your way with your overcoat open, the sides swaying in the wind, your hands in your pockets. This is a powerful act. It’s a powerful feeling and a powerful aesthetic. If you know you know.

A strange and unexpected virtue of the overcoat is the sound. When you walk, the overcoat is silent. This isn’t the case with modern winter jackets that are almost always, invariably, sport-influenced. With these sporty coats, you hear a constant swishing and swashing. Getting into the car. Walking down the hallway. Putting on your shoes. Shifting ever so slightly in your chair.

Always this swishing. You don’t realize this if these are the only jackets you ever wear. Once you wear an overcoat, the noise of the sporty winter coat starts to stand out, and it’s not enjoyable. The overcoat is a respite of strong silence.

While of course the overcoat traditionally suits a more formal setting, it’s flexible and can be worn in a variety of ways today. You can wear an overcoat on top of a jacket and tie, and you can also throw an overcoat on over an Oxford cloth button-down and a Shetland sweater. Heading off to work in the morning or running down to the store for a bottle of wine late at night. The strong and more formal nature of a heavy overcoat is easily incorporated into outfits of varying formality and purpose.

A powerful find

While the overcoat is far less common than it once was, you can still find them if you know where to look. Drake’s, J. Crew, and O’Connell’s are a few great places that sell overcoats at varying price points. Also, of course, eBay and thrift stores are great options to consider as well. An old, long overcoat is a powerful find and will often be heavier than anything you find OTR today.

You might be on the fence about the overcoat. You might think that its impact and power are being blown out of proportion. “How can a coat really convey that much strength? How can it really be that important?”

Well, try one on. It doesn’t need to be fancy; it doesn’t need to be expensive. Just try it on and see how it feels. Walk around a little. Feel the weight on your shoulders. Put your hands in the pockets. Look in the mirror. You will see. The long overcoat is a coat of power. It’s the coat that’s missing from your wardrobe.