Duffle Coat
Encyclopedia
Duffel
Duffel is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp.The municipality comprises only the town of Duffel proper. On January 1, 2006 Duffel had a total population of 16,019...
, a town in the province of Antwerp in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
where the material originates. Duffle bag
Duffel bag
A duffel bag is a large cylindrical bag made of cloth with a drawstring closure at the top....
s were originally made from the same material.
There are many varying styles to the duffle coat, although the most common British style would be composed of the following features:
- Made of genuine Duffel, lined with a woolly tartanTartanTartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...
pattern. - A hood and buttonable neckNeckThe neck is the part of the body, on many terrestrial or secondarily aquatic vertebrates, that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The adjective signifying "of the neck" is cervical .-Boner anatomy: The cervical spine:The cervical portion of the human spine comprises seven boney...
strap - Four front wooden or horn toggle-fastenings (known as "walrus teeth") with four ropeRopeA rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
or leatherLeatherLeather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
loops to attach them to. - Two large outside pockets with covering flaps.
- It should be three-quarter length.
The wooden toggle-fastenings were made to be easily fastened and unfastened while wearing gloves in cold weather at sea. Current designs have toggles made of buffalo horn
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
, wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
or plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
. The oversized hood offered enough room to wear over a Naval cap.
After rain, a duffle coat has a characteristic smoky
Smoky
Smoky may refer to:People:*Smoky Burgess , American Major League Baseball catcher*Smoky Dawson , Australian country music performer*Smoky Joe Wood , American Major League Baseball pitcher...
smell.
History
The duffle coat owes its popularity to the British Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, who issued a camel-coloured variant of it as an item of warm clothing during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The design of the coat was modified slightly and widely issued during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In the Navy, it was referred to as a "convoy coat". Field Marshal Montgomery was a famous wearer of the coat, as a means of identifying himself with his troops, leading to another nickname, "Monty coat". Large stocks of post-war military surplus coats available at reasonable prices to the general public meant that these coats became a ubiquitous and popular item of clothing in the 1950s and 1960s. The British firm Gloverall purchased surplus military supply of coats after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and have continued to still make the Monty ever since and in 1954 started producing their own version of the Duffle coat and continue to do so today still being Made In England. Gloverall made in the 50's what is known as todays Duffle by using leather fastenings and Buffalo horn toggles with a double faced checkback fabric. Every Duffle coat you see today in that configuration is a copy of that original made by Gloverall. Only a handful of British companies have Iconic status with a garment Gloverall being for the Duffle, Burberry for the Trench coat and Barbour for the Wax Jacket. Another Navy design coat that gained popularity among the general public is the Pea coat
Pea coat
A pea coat is an outer coat, generally of a navy-colored heavy wool, originally worn by sailors of American and European navies. Pea coats are characterized by broad lapels, double-breasted fronts, often large wooden or metal buttons, and vertical or slash pockets...
or British Naval Reefer.
They were seen in the popular press as a form of uniform for stereotyped supporters of the left wing, as characterised by Labour leader Michael Foot
Michael Foot
Michael Mackintosh Foot, FRSL, PC was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author, who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1955 and from 1960 until 1992...
. Other famous duffle coat wearers include members of Scottish band Belle and Sebastian, Tim Sadler, actor Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
, television character Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
,children's book and television character Paddington Bear
Paddington Bear
Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He appeared on 13 October 1958 and was subsequently featured in several books, most recently in 2008, written by Michael Bond and first illustrated by Peggy Fortnum....
and Ed Helms as Andy Bernard
Andy Bernard
Andrew "Andy" Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the U.S. television series The Office. The character is highly insecure, yet egotistical, constantly mentioning his education at Cornell University...
in the popular American comedy The Office. Alex Kapranos pictured is wearing a vintage Gloverall.