coat length

[Sarongman]

Driza Bone coats are a traditional Australian bushman's raincoat, and have been worn the same way and style by at least four generations. The split coattails are for convenience in the saddle. How the dickens did they become a city fashion item ???

[Milfmog]

How the dickens did they become a city fashion item ???

They became fashion because fashion has an inherent need for change and Barbour coats had been the accepted face of waxed cotton since the beginning of time... well, almost

The upside is that sometimes fashion is actually functional. I bought mine some years ago for walking the dog in the season that climatologists here in the UK call "summer". So far it is reasonably waterproof, though if I'm out in really heavy rain it tends to get through the front opening (press studs unlike the Barbour, which has a zip). I also miss the hand warming pockets and "secret" zipped pocket between the zip and the storm flap of the Barbour; perfect for keys.

Have fun,


Ian.

[DavidsSkirts]

I have an oilskin raincoat of the type that Sarongman describes above...

The only place I would wear it these days would be on horseback, or maybe a motorbike or tractor - and not as a fashion statement..

Too heavy for normal day wear, especially with the lightweight and breathable jackets available these days.

Companies like Drizabone, Thomas Cook, and R.M. Williams push their country look as city fashion these days - they have their shops in the high streets these days (George street in Sydney, plus several major shopping centres - and probably sell those same coats OS for two or three times what we might pay for them??).

[ChristopherJ]

In that case it would be worth checking out the Driza-Bone range

I do quite like the look of them. But I am amazed to see that their size charts go up to a 56 inch chest size. Who on earth has a 56 inch chest? I know this is for Australians, but nevertheless . . . .



My puny 38 inch chest only rates as XS - which I presume is Extra-Small.

Weird.

[DavidsSkirts]

In that case it would be worth checking out the Driza-Bone range

I do quite like the look of them. But I am amazed to see that their size charts go up to a 56 inch chest size. Who on earth has a 56 inch chest? I know this is for Australians, but nevertheless . . . .



My puny 38 inch chest only rates as XS - which I presume is Extra-Small.

Weird.

Drizabone clothing is sized with a pretty close and snug fit - it could be worth trying their gear on, as you may find you take a size larger than you might initially suspect...

The Oilskin coat I have is not Drizabone brand, but looks the same and is in the same material; and would cost about 2/3 of what the more famous 'Drizabone' and 'Thomas Cook' brands would..

[ For anybody who is dubious about the "oilskin" coats being discussed on here, it should be noted that the modern material is actually a dry-wax finish impregnated into a lightweight cotton/polyester canvas material - the name 'oilskin' has simply carried over from when the coats were actually treated (and retreated every few years) with an oil, up to around a few decades ago..].

Companies like Drizabone, Thomas Cook and R.M. Williams nowadays have fashion lines in lighter weight cloth, in various lengths (from hip' to ankle', with two or three points in between..), and with colour trims (and sometimes several colour choices for the coat itself).

[Pythos]

I have a long black trench coat, very matrix like just not shiny, that I wear usually when skirted, or in a dressy leggings style, or catsuit. I like how it
looks with a mini, and black hose especially. I usually wear a short leather coat, or regular jacket when in a long skirt, or leggings.

There was a time I loved to wear this long black cowled cloak. I usually wore it to special event with my friends, normally fancy dress events or Goth club outings. This thing looked really nice with the shiny catsuit, or shiny black mini, contrasting against the dull black of the inside of the cloak. Surprisingly the cloak was warmer to wear than the trench coat that replaced it.

I have tried this medium length dark straw colored corduroy jacket with my skirts. The bottom hem sometimes comes to just above or right on some of my minis. The look is nice to say the least. I have gotten compliments on the style in the past.

A style I didn't like particularly was when I rushed out and grabbed the wrong jacket to wear with an outfit consisting of a grey shirt, shiny black mini, nude hose. The jacket was my thick black leather "bomber jacket". I did not like how "puffed up" my upper body appeared above the waistline of my skirt. I really do not usually wear this jacket because of its bulky outline. I usually like sleek looks, not bulky.

My favorite coat to wear though has got to be the trench. It works with nearly every style I choose to wear. One time I had on my shiny catsuit, black belt with silver rings, big thick boots, and sunglasses. One of the ladies in our group stated that I could be a crew of the Nebuchadnezzar (the ship from the matrix), this was before I had seen the film.

[Sarongman]

Thank you Pythos, you have given me an idea. A quarter if a century ago, when I was a Theological student, I had a Cappa Nigra (long black hooded cloak) made for those chilly winter mornings when we had to go to daybreak chapel Eucharist. I had long forgotten it but will now hunt it down. It is made of a heavy black wool clith and lined with black satin. In style somewhere between Count Dracula and Father Ted!