Coat (clothing) Totally Explained

Everything about Coat Clothing totally explained

A coat (a term frequently interchangeable with jacket) is an outer garment worn by both men and women, for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and open down the front, closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a belt, or a combination of these.
The term jacket is reserved for a hip-length or shorter garment, while coat can be used for a garment of any length.

History of the coat

The Persians, based in what is now Iran, introduced two garments to the history of clothing: trousers and seamed fitted coats. Coat is one of the earliest clothing category words in English, attested as far back as the early Middle Ages. (See also Clothing terminology.)
   An early use of coat in English is coat of mail, a tunic-like garment of metal rings, usually knee- or mid-calf length.
   The medieval and renaissance coat (generally spelled cote by costume historians) is a midlength, sleeved men's outer garment, fitted to the waist and buttoned up the front, with a full skirt - in its essentials, not unlike the modern coat.
   By the eighteenth century, coats had begun to supplant capes and cloaks as outer wear, and by the twentieth century the term jacket became interchangeable with coat for short garments.

Types of coats

Coats of the 18th and 19th centuries

Some of these styles are still worn.

Basque, a tightly fitted, kneelength women's jacket of the 1870s
Duster, a long coat of light-colored material worn by cattlemen and early automobile travelers to protect clothing from dust and dirt
Frock coat, a kneelength men's coat of the nineteenth century
Garibaldi jacket, a short, red women's jacket with military trim of the 1860s
Greatcoat, a voluminous overcoat with multiple shoulder capes, prominently featured by European militaries, most notably the former Soviet Union
Justacorps, a knee-length coat fitted to the waist with flared skirts
Morning coat or cutaway, a dress coat still worn as formal wear

Norfolk jacket, a sturdy wool jacket with a belt and box pleats front and back for hunting, fishing, and other outdoor sports

Redingote (via French from English riding coat), a long fitted coat for men or women

Smoking jacket, a men's informal jacket of luxurious fabric

Spencer, a waistlength, frequently doublebreasted, men's jacket of the 1790s, adopted as a women's fashion from the early nineteenth century

Tailcoat, a late eighteenth century men's coat preserved in today's white tie and tails

Modern coats and jackets

Anorak (in the United Kingdom) or parka (in the United States), a hooded jacket for very cold climates

Blazer, a nautically-inspired jacket for men or women

Bolero, a very short jacket for women, originally worn by matadors

Car coat, a hooded hip-length casual jacket inspired by the parka, popular in the 1960s

Chesterfield, a long, tailored overcoat of herringbone tweed, with a velvet collar, worn over a suit or dress

Dinner jacket or Tuxedo jacket, a men's coat for formal social occasions, usually of plain black fabric with grosgrain lapels

Down coat, a warm coat insulated with goose down

Duffle coat or duffel coat, a warm coat made of thick wool; usually having a hood and fastening with toggles

Eisenhower jacket, a waist-length, fitted, military-inspired jacket with a waistband based on the World War II British Army's Battle Dress jacket introduced by General Dwight Eisenhower

Field Jacket, a jacket that's worn by soldiers on the battlefield or doing duties in cold weather. The field jacket came about during World War 2 with the US Army introducing the M-1941 and the M-1943 field jacket and issued the jacket to their troops. The most well-known and the most popular type of military field jacket that's on the market today is the M-1965 or M-65 field jacket which came into US military service in 1965.

Jeans jacket or denim jacket, a jacket falling slightly below the waist, usually of denim, with buttoned band cuffs like a shirt and a waistband that can be adjusted by means of buttons. Also called Levi's jacket (see Levi's)

Lab coat, a knee-length simple coat, almost always white, worn by scientists, students and researchers in laboratories

Medical coat, similar to lab coat, worn by physicians (also termed white coat)

Mess jacket, a nearly waist-length fitted formal coat worn as full-dress military uniform evening wear, especially in the British Army. Often brightly coloured and trimmed.

Motorcycle jacket, a leather jacket, usually black, worn by motorcycle riders; originally to mid-thigh, now usually to a fitted waist.

Opera coat, an ankle- or floor-length women's coat of luxurious fabric (often velvet), to be worn over an evening gown

Overcoat, a long, tailored coat worn over a suit or dress

Pea coat or P coat, a heavy wool double-breasted hip-length jacket worn by sailors, or a coat styled like this

Raincoat, a water-resistant or water proof coat, often belted

Sportcoat (US) or Sports jacket (UK), a tailored jacket, similar in cut to a suit coat but more utilitarian, originally casual wear for hunting, riding, and other outdoor sports; specific types include a shooting jacket and hacking jacket

Suit coat the jacket portion of a men's tailored business suit or lounge suit

Topcoat, a medium-length tailored coat, shorter than an overcoat, worn over a suit or dress

Trench coat, a belted military raincoat developed by Burberry, or any coat styled like this

Walking coat, a women's tailored coat of about knee-length, generally to be worn over trousers

7/8 coat, a women's dress coat several inches shorter than the currently fashionable skirt lengthFurther Information

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