Coat

“ The loosely-falling flaps of the waistcoat—the deep hanging cuffs of the coat—the easy folds of the long skirt—gave a character of courtliness to uniform which, to our eye, it at present is very far from possessing. ”

“ Your winter coat must necessarily be very warm, lined with fur and very thick, with a very high fur collar, which when raised—and it must always be raised—must entirely cover the ears; a fur toque is the most practical head-dress, with one’s hair done low on the forehead, as the cold is so intense that it seems to wish to penetrate like a chisel just where the nose begins, between the eyes. ”

“ The plain black coat fitting to perfection, but light and perfectly easy, the snowy white waistcoat, the shirt, of extraordinary fineness, as pure as driven snow, the plain wristband turned back over the cuff, the beautifully-made gloves and boots, and withal that air of ease and grace which, if not a part of the dress, except metaphorically, gives value to the whole, at once distinguished that young man from all the rest, and pointed him out as one of the marked in the capital of nations. ”

“ The word coat, meaning a garment for men for covering the upper part of the body, has been in use for centuries; but of very changeable and confusing usage, for it also constantly meant petticoat. The garment itself was a puzzle, for many years; most bewildering of all the attire which was worn by the first colonists was the elusive, coatlike over-garment called in shipping-lists, tailors’ orders, household inventories, and other legal and domestic records a doublet, a jerkin, a jacket, a cassock, a paltock, a coat, a horseman’s coat, an upper-coat, and a buff-coat. ”

“ And what an exquisitely absurd pair of buttons at the back! gravely regarded, nevertheless, and thought as indispensably necessary to every well-conditioned coat, as other bits of metal or bone are to the bodies of savages whom we laugh at. There is absolutely not one iota of sense, grace, or even economy in the modern coat. ”

“ A man of fashion in 1720 wore the full flowing curled wig, which fell in ringlets half-way down his arms and back, a laced coat, straight, formal, with buttons to the very bottom, and several on the pockets and sleeves; his shoes were square at the toes, had diminutive buckles, a monstrous flap on the instep, and high heels, a belt secured the coat and supported the sword. ”

“ His back was covered with a well-worn black coat, the fashion of which belonged to a period at least twelve years preceding the time of which I write. The other parts of his outward man harmonised with his coat as far as apparent age and colour went. His head was covered with a low-crowned, broad-brimmed hat; and on his nose he wore a pair of silver-mounted spectacles. To my mind he presented the picture of a poor scholar, or of gentility in ruins. The lapels of his coat were tinged a little, but only a little, with snuff; which Flee-up, or Beggar's Brown, as some call it, is very apt to do. ”

“ The ill-assorted and injudicious attire of the individual only served to render his awkwardness more conspicuous. A sky-blue coat, with short and broad skirts and low cape, exposed a long thin neck, and longer and thinner legs, to the worst animadversions of the evil disposed. ”

“ I would set up such a universal hunger for fur coats that the tradesmen in Oxford Street and Regent Street would come and offer me a guinea a word to write advertisements for them.
And yet I shall not buy a fur-lined coat, and I will tell you why. A fur coat is not an article of clothing: it is a new way of life. ”

“ The dress coat for all other officers is a single-breasted sack coat of dark blue cloth, with a standing collar, closed in front by buttons or hooks concealed by a fly, having a vertical opening on each side at the hip six inches high, the collar, front edges, bottom edge of the coat and the vertical side openings being trimmed with lustrous black mohair braid one and one-half inches wide. ”

“ But I must point to another reason why a coat can be fitted to the same person with either a square or a sloping shoulder. A coat cut too high up at the back and at the side of the neck will have the appearance of a lower shoulder, because the coat starts higher up. At the present time the style for the shoulders is toward a square shoulder, and I think that will be the style for some time to come. Looking back to continental styles and pictures, we find all coats high up at the back and at the side of the neck, and consequently all are represented as low shoulders. ”

“ The business coat should be of cloth, never completely of fur unless one's position is high enough to warrant it—and even then it should be only of one fur, instead of a combination of two or three, and made with a regard for simplicity and inconspicuousness. However, the most appropriate business coat is made of a heavy cloth, plain or fur-trimmed for winter, and light-weight, dark-colored material for the warmer days. The hat, of course, follows the general note of simplicity and is usually small and dark. ”

“ The hat, the boots, the waistcoat are far less ephemeral than the body they protect, and indicate almost as much of the wearer's character as his hands and face. So I am not ashamed of my silk pajamas or of the geranium powder I throw in my bath. They are part of me.
But is this "me" limited to my body and my clothes? I drink a cup of coffee or a cocktail: after they are consumed they are part of me; are they not part of me as I hold the cup or the glass in my hand? Is my coat more characteristic of me than my house—my sleeve-links than my wife or my collie dog? ”

“ He could not move without a portmanteau or a carpet-bag full of strange clothes, instead of being contented with one good coat on his back. I never could understand why any body should want more [Pg 67] than one coat. Mine was always new, always comfortable, suited to all seasons, and fitting beautifully, having adapted itself to my growth at all stages of my life, without any attention from me. I never had any trouble with tailors, snipping and measuring, trying on and altering. My coat would dry on me too, whereas my poor master could not even jump into the river without taking his off ”

“ His gaze ran from her to the woman who stood speaking the words that he translated, half under his breath———
“There is a tradition—” he repeated softly, “that the coat is immortal—”
They turned to it where it lay beside the coffin. It seemed to shimmer and gather light.
“—a tradition that the coat is immortal,” went on the singing voice of the interpreter.... “And one day there shall come from the East—a woman—a woman out of the East.... And her sons shall cherish the coat!”
Eleanor More stirred a little. ”

“ A coat of some striking colour, white, perhaps, covered with lace, red plush vest and breeches, white stockings, shoes and buckles, a laced round hat with a high cockade, a powdered head and a gold-headed cane constitute the glories of the footman. ”

“ Although it is generally imagined that the coat is the principal article of dress, we attach far greater importance to the trousers, the cut of which should, in the first place, be regulated by nature’s cut of the leg. A gentleman who labours under either a convex or a concave leg, cannot be too particular in the arrangement of the strap-draught. ”

“ Let firm well-hammer'd soles protect thy feet
Through freezing snows, and rains, and soaking sleet.
Should the big last extend the shoe too wide,35
Each stone will wrench th' unwary step aside;
The sudden turn may stretch the swelling vein,
Thy cracking joint unhinge, or ancle sprain:
And when too short the modish shoes are worn,
You'll judge the seasons by your shooting corn.40
Nor should it prove thy less important care,
To choose a proper coat for winter's wear. ”

“ In Africa, however, where the other fellow does most of the work, a coat is often very handy. Do not make the mistake of getting an unlined light-weight garment. When you want it at all, you want it warm and substantial. ”

“ There are pins in her mouth and white threads in the coat, suggesting that this is not her first struggle with it, and one of the difficulties with which she has to contend is that it has already evidently been the coat of a larger man. ”

“ The coat worn by the men and boys, and by the girls until they arrive at womanhood, has the form of a loose shirt, seldom reaching more than 2 or 3 inches below the hips, and often barely covering the hips. The neck hole is large enough to admit the head into the hood, which may be thrown back or worn over the head in place of a cap. ”

“ A good-looking, stylish coat that’s good for summer or winter—that keeps out wind, rain or snow, a coat that everybody should have, made of fine materials for men, women and children, and sells for less than the price of an ordinary coat. ”

“ Since we have worn coats all our lives, we include a coat in our list of personal [24] apparel just as unquestionably—even as unthinkingly—as we should include in our calculations air to breathe and water to drink. ”

“ A frock coat has a chance to go backward or forward by an open front and open back skirt, without showing wrinkles, but pants are sewed up all around, and the least misconstruction will show. But there is another reason. The waist and skirt of a coat is all outside of the body, while the pants may be said to have a partition in the shape of a crotch seam, and which crotch seam is affected by every step. ”

“ The red coat, for instance, is only worn by regular members of a hunt, and boys who ride over the hounds and like to display their ‘pinks.’ In any case you are better with an ordinary riding-coat of dark color, though undoubtedly the red is prettier in the field. ”

“ For Winter Uniform.
Coat.—A double-breasted, square-corner sack coat, with lapels, and made of bluish-gray worsted or serge, terminating two-thirds of the distance from the top of the hipbone to the knee, with a pocket at each side and one on the left breast, all outside, with flaps 2-3/4 to 3 inches wide, with length to suit height of wearer, say, 6-1/2 to 7 inches; coat to be piped with the best grade mohair braid, 1/16 inch projecting, to be inserted between edges ”

“ A straight front is usually a longer coat than a cutaway. A longer coat is required to have a fuller skirt toward the bottom, so that, in walking, the legs can have play enough and yet not strike the coat with every step ”

“ We think the cut of a coat fine, because it is worn by a man with ten thousand a-year, with a fine house, and a fine carriage: as we cannot get the ten thousand a-year, the house, or the carriage, we get what we can—the cut of the fine gentleman’s coat, and thus are in the fashion. ”

“ The proper place for the coat, except in very cold weather or on difficult work, is over the shoulders or in the sack, the sleeves being tucked through the shoulder straps. Even when starting very early do not pile on clothes. ”

“ The waist proportion on a frock coat cannot be made according to the close measure taken over the vest, but must be made according to the measure over a well-fitting coat when buttoned up, and to be taken as large and as loose, yet as snug, as the coat really requires it to be. ”

“ A superfine scarlet lapelled coat, with gilt dollar-sized buttons; a profuse lace frill frothing over the top of his white satin, jasmin-sprigged waistcoat; small-clothes of the glossiest black satin, with Bristol diamond buckles; silk stockings, tinged with Scott's liquid-dye blue, and decorated with Devonshire clocks; long ruffles, falling over hands once so worn with rude labour ”

“ The two Spanish hats with long feathers, the velvet coat and waistcoat with innumerable buttons, a quaint old crimson waistcoat, with elaborate silver work. Mr. Irving clings to an old coat so long as it will cling to him. He makes his clothes old—wears them during the day. ”

“ On other occasions he is attired in a dark-brown coat, with a velvet collar, a white neckerchief, in which a thin gold watch-chain is entwined, a waistcoat with a collar of cramoisie and gold stars, an under-waistcoat of white satin, embroidered with gold flowers, full black pantaloons, spun silk stockings, and short square shoes. ”

“ Take a normal waisted form with a coat which fits well in the back and place a sack of flour, or any other weight of fifty pounds, in front of this waist, supported by the arms, and the whole upper body will throw itself backward in order to keep its balance, and the back of this coat will become too long across the hollow of the waist behind, because the front of the coat cannot stretch like the body itself. ”

“ A cloth coat is unnecessary; a few holland and white drill loose coats will answer much better, and, as starched collars are somewhat at a discount, soft white muslin scarves, worn like a hunting-stock, look neat and are comfortable. I think it is a considerable advantage to have your habit very short indeed, as, while touring, it is a great pleasure and variety to walk the first few miles of the march, a [295] pleasure which is completely spoilt if you have to hold up a heavy habit skirt. ”

“ A line of nine ruffianly-looking scarecrows, under review by Old Colonial, head-master of the ceremonies. Our shirts are clean, though elaborately embroidered in many colours. Our trousers ditto. Our boots, whether high ankle-jacks, or lace-ups and leggings, are black, if not polished. Each man wears a coat. Rather ragged, rather ancient are these coats, originally of very varied kinds. But the etiquette of the bush does not demand much in coats. So long as your shirt is clean and whole, your coat may be a little off colour, so to put it. People are not so particular about the coat. ”

“ The coat itself, a long one of some fuzzy material, with huge side pockets into which the man's hands were plunged, reached to the cavernous tops of jackboots where the nether ends of his trousers were stowed away. ”

“ In a very thorny country, a leather coat is almost essential. A blouse, cut short so as to clear the saddle, is neat, cool, and easy, whether as a riding or walking costume. Generally speaking, the traveller will chiefly spend his life in his shirt-sleeves, and will only use his coat when he wants extra warmth.
To carry a Coat.--There are two ways. The first is to fold it small and strap it to the belt. If the coat be a light one it can be carried very neatly and comfortably in this way, lying in the small of the back. ”