Big Coat R&D
Rest in peace Need. Jack’s piece on Need’s closing is a perfect encapsulation of what the store meant to me. Every time we went, we would look through the entire store to view and talk about nearly every garm. Out of everything I saw in these visits, nothing caught my eye the same way that the Nanushka houndstooth trench coat did. It is an unbelievable coat. It’s huge and luxurious in a way that such coats haven’t gotten to yet. I say yet because I think this trend of huge coats will be one that we see a lot more of in the coming fall/winter seasons. Thinking about this huge coat trend, I don’t mean the return of the brunch fit— that ASOS camel overcoat is going the way of the skinny jean it’s been paired with. What I’m talking about are the oversized, double-breasted trenches with a belt that will make a return over top of wide pants, chunky knits, and lug-soled boots for the coldest months; or, alternatively, over sweatsuits with nylon-heavy Asics, NB 993s, and, of course, Salomons for those seeking to capture those unbeatable Aimé Leon Dore lookbook vibes.
I couldn’t really tell you why I see huge coats on the rise, aside from the buying habits of some friends and JTTB staffers (editors note: JTTB purchases are the only true forecaster of any good trend). Most F/W collections from brands I follow closely haven’t dropped yet, so this is more a feeling than anything else. Maybe I’m just searching for a way to justify purchasing this huge coat in the middle of August, but I think it’s more than that— as men’s fashion is starting to really get going again, designers are having more and more creative room to play with. A trench coat presents the largest amount of space in pure square footage to experiment with the shape of a garment. Such surface area allows for more opportunity to play with details of the buttons, the collar, the silhouette, and the way it drapes across the body than any other garment outside of a suit.
Speaking of a suit, the greatest advantage of a big coat is the same as that of a suit: just by picking that piece, you’ve more or less picked your whole outfit. The big coat can stand alone in defining your outfit. It can completely cover up the other choices you made with your clothing. Though I initially saw this as a disadvantage, I now recognize how freeing it can be to wear a large coat and relegate the rest of your outfit to mere details complimenting the coat, itself. And if you bought a really cool coat, you’re gonna have a really cool fit. Hard to to mess that up— the fact that you can wear sweatpants underneath and still look good as hell is a testament to this. Whether you work a huge coat into your outfit or make the coat the entire outfit, you’re going to look great and be comfy as hell.
