Motor coat

“ As most men like their clothes to be so fashioned that there may be nothing remarkable about them if they call on a friend, I find that men frequently have their motor suits cut in the ordinary way, Norfolk jacket or short coat with trousers or breeches and stockings; but the coats have one unnoticeable but very important provision, viz. they are so made as to button tightly round the wrist. Unless this precaution is taken it will be found that the cold air will blow up the sleeves, with the result that the hands, arms, and even body generally, will be made very cold. ”

“ If I bought a fur-lined coat I know that I should want to buy a motor-car to keep it company. It is possible, of course, to wear a fur coat in a motor-bus, but if you do you will assuredly have a sense that you are a little over-dressed, a trifle conspicuous, that the fellow-passengers are mentally remarking that such a coat ought to have a carriage of its own. ”

“ This motor has been in use in our house for two years in all of the above ways, and has never once failed to give perfect satisfaction. It is obvious that, had the wheel and paddles been made of brass, it would be more durable, but as it would have cost several times as much, it is a question whether it would be more economical in the end. If sheet-iron is used, a coat of heavy paint would prevent rust and therefore prolong the life of the motor. The motor will soon pay for itself in the saving of laundry bills. ”

“ It was no easy matter to crawl through the interstices of barbed wire, and Billie, in her haste, tore a great gaping hole in her automobile coat.
But she pulled off the wrap with the recklessness of a young person who has something far more interesting on hand than pongee coats, and 18 flung it in the road where it was rescued by Miss Campbell.
In the middle of the field lay the flying machine, looking very much like an enormous kite at close range. But where was the human being who so lately had been mounting high into the air? ”

“ Moreover, it is held that the fur being interposed between the ordinary coat and the great-coat, permits of a certain amount of healthy ventilation.
In the summer, when the weather is very hot, provided that a thick suit of clothes be worn, a great-coat is sometimes unnecessary, except as a protection from dust. A light dustcoat, made of a dust-coloured material and fitted with a high collar, will then be found useful, as after a dusty drive it may be taken off, and the ordinary clothes are left unsoiled. ”

“ A light silk handkerchief tucked in over the collar is necessary to prevent the dust from working in around the linen collar and marking it.
Capes should be avoided, as more than one bad accident has arisen from a cape blowing up in a driver's face and thus temporarily blinding him, with the result that he has driven his car into the ditch. At the same time it is recognised that the best garment for protection from rain is that which most closely approximates to a bell tent. A coat is apt to let in water at points where the fabric is stretched ”

“ Owing to the continued over-crowding of trains, tubes and motor-buses, elbows will be more prominent and aggressive than ever, and tailors are building a type of coat calculated to relieve the strain on this useful joint by a system of progressive padding, soft inside but resembling a nutmeg-grater at the point of contact with the enemy. ”

“ Yet each traveler needs a heavy coat, a thin coat or sweater, a duster and a rug or two, and there is a huge bundle already. Then possibly a dressing-case for each, and surely a big valise of some sort, either suit-case or motor trunk. Added to this are innumerable necessities—Blue Books, a camera, food paraphernalia, an extra hat—most women want an extra hat, and men, too, for that matter—and though goggles and veils are worn most of the time, they have to be put somewhere. ”

“ It is difficult to imagine anything more grotesque than the appearance of some whose enthusiasm makes them forgetful of their appearance. However, in order to drive with safety to the health in an open automobile, special garments are necessary. Clothes which may be quite suitable for a drive in a dog-cart are altogether unsuitable for use in an open motor.
When driving at twenty miles an hour the wind will actually pass through tweed overcoats and cloth garments; the air will be felt whistling round the ribs, and coats become distended behind like balloons. ”

“ Scarcely your idea of appropriate motoring footwear, but if your seat is the front one over the engine, you will find velvet the coolest material there is—cooler than buckskin, or suède, or kid or canvas—much! And if you want to walk, your luggage, after all, is with you.
Every woman knows the kind of hat she likes to wear. But does every woman realize, which Celia and I did not, that a hat to be worn nine or eleven hours across a wind-swept prairie must offer no more resistance than the helmet of a race driver? ”

“ The sleeves should be plain and finished at the cuffs like a man’s, or the cuffs may be turned back from two to three inches, according to the length of arm, but should never be of velvet or any material other than that of the coat itself.
Waistcoats are very smart, but not absolutely necessary. For use in the hunting field and in cold weather they are advisable, and should then be made of a rather heavy material, and, in particular, the back should be of flannel so as to protect the rider against a chill. ”

“ Each sleeve can be unscrewed and used in an emergency as a Lewis gun. This is indispensable—"
"Of course," I interrupted. "But I require something quite simple and straightforward. Just a trench-coat, you understand."
"We have here," he said immediately, "the Gadget coat. It possesses three hundred button-holes and three hundred buttons. Every single portion of the coat can be buttoned on to every other part at a moment's notice. The pockets are detachable and can be used as coffee cups or finger bowls. ”

“ Indispensable to the motoriste who is going{28} to drive her own car is the overall. This should be made of butcher-blue or brown linen, to fasten at the back—the same shape as an artist’s overall. It should have long sleeves. You can always slip off your coat and put on the overall in a moment—and it is necessary if you have anything to do in the car. ”

“ 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. ”

“ People are not yet quite accustomed to the grime of automobiling; they tolerate the dust of the golf links, the dirt of base-ball and cricket, the mud of foot-ball, and would ridicule the man who failed to dress appropriately for those games, but the mechanic's blouse or leather coat of automobiling, the gloves saturated with oil—these are comparatively unfamiliar sights; hence men are seen starting off for a hard run in ducks and serges, sacks, cutaways, even frocks, and hats of all styles; give a farmer a silk hat and patent leather boots to wear while threshing, and he would match them. ”

“ The upper curve is especially intended for overcoats, because the overcoat armhole is cut deeper than the under coat armhole. The upward curve forms a gusset, or a wedge, which allows the arm to be raised on the same principle that the lap of the shoulder and sleeve on top allows the arm to be moved downward. When the arm is down, and in its natural position, the gusset on top is taken up and the one below the arm is hidden, and will not show at all. But if the arm is to be moved upward, it is there for supply, and the body of the coat is not required to go along. ”

“ Wool, being a non-conductor, is the best material for this mode of locomotion, and should always be adopted for the plains. The coat should be short and stout, the shirt of red or blue flannel, such as can be found in almost all the shops on the frontier: this, in warm weather, answers for an outside garment. The pants should be of thick and soft woolen material, and it is well to have them re-enforced on the inside, where they come in contact with the saddle, with soft buckskin, which makes them more durable and comfortable. ”

“ There is always a class of men found who complain that they seldom have a coat large enough in the armholes, unless the coat is too large all over. Such persons are usually well filled up at the side of waist and hips, and require their coats large there, and if this is not done, the sewed up back cannot give, and consequently the coat must give in front, and the whole of it is drawn backward, taking the armhole with it, and striking the front of the arm, while the back of the armhole shows too much cloth. ”

“ These buttons and button-holes left their marks in the coats of a century later in the form of gold lacing on either side of the slit of the tails.
In about the year 1700, it began to be the fashion to gather in the vest or coat at the waist, and it seems that this was first done by two buttons near the hips being buttoned to loops rather nearer to the edge of the coat, and situated at about the level of the waist. Our soldiers much in the same manner now make a waist in their loose overcoats, by buttoning a short strap to two buttons, placed a considerable distance apart on the back. ”

“ It is impossible to ride with ease and grace in tight stays, a fact which we should remember when trying on a habit coat, for the fitter will follow the shape, or mis-shape, of the corsets, and the coat will be built on those lines. The back of the garment should be quite flat, and padding may be needed in the case of hollow backs, as there should be no high water line across the back defining where corset ends and back commences. ”

“ Or the driving wheels may be mounted on a live rear axle, the motor driving on to the compensating gear, either by a chain, by spur gearing, or by means of worm gearing, which gives a nice silent drive, and is used in the Oppermann cars. In any case the use of a single motor involves, in addition to the motor, a differential gear. What is to be avoided is a live rear axle with the motor so mounted that any large proportion of its weight comes on this live axle. ”

“ The riding-coat is the connecting link between the DRESS and the rest of the great family of coats, as one button, and one only of this garment, may be allowed to be applied to his apparent use.
It is so cut, that the waistcoat pockets may be easy of access. Any gentleman who has attended races or other sporting meetings must have found the convenience of this arrangement ”

“ The transmission of the power from the motor shaft to the right rear wheel is accomplished by means of a leather motorcycle belt, made by fitting leather washers close together over a bicycle chain, oiling the washers with neat’s-foot oil. ”

“ Endless leather belting was used to transmit the power from the motor to the counter-shaft, and from the latter to the driving-wheels, which were the front pair. A vertical idler-pulley was mounted in a frame over the belt from motor to counter-shaft, terminating in a vertical screw and hand-wheel for tightening the belt to increase speed, or the reverse to lower speed. ”

“ The overcoat is a dark blue ulster-coat, reaching about midway from the knee to the foot, double-breasted, buttoning to the neck with seven large flat black buttons on each side, with a wide rolling collar, with a pocket having a vertical opening on each side above the waist, and fitted with waist straps at the back. Shoulder marks of the same design as those for the white service coat are worn with the overcoat and the rank of the wearer is indicated by stripes of black mohair braid on the lower part of the sleeve. ”

“ The quickest way to make a coat stretcher is to take two coats, turn the sleeves of one or of both inside, lay the coats inside up, or sleeves up, with the tails touching at the edges. Thrust a pole through each line of sleeves, and button each coat over the poles. ”

“ Here is another coat, which ensures you a soft and dry seat wherever you may sit down (Fig. 10) —a peculiarly appropriate coat for a third-class smoking carriage: "In the back part of the coat there is placed, between the lining and the cloth, a bag or cushion, which, when inflated, forms a seat. A small tube of india rubber extends from the bag to the side pocket." Fancy travelling by train, not knowing such a thing as this coat existed, and seeing your fellow passengers gradually rising higher and higher in the world on the seat opposite to you—how uncanny it would be! ”

“ The first horseless machine was encumbered with levers, pedals, handles and wheels necessary for its guidance, and with taps and grease-valves to turn, which were indispensable for the functioning [90] of the engine. Now, each generation of motor-cars has dispensed with these more and more completely. One by one, almost all those handles have disappeared which require the incessant intervention of man. ”

“ The head must be warmly covered and the hat small, for anything large or wide offers too much resistance to the wind, and gets quickly blown off. After many experiments I am satisfied that the picture given above shows the best head-dress for the motor-car. ”