Overcoat/top coat/mac coat/car coat recommendations
Hi everyone. I'm currently looking for the best value coat fitting the styles described in the title for a budget of 300$ USD while accessible for delivery to Canada.
42 Replies
At that price point, I'd strongly recommend you try buying used clothes. Look at vintage shops or online.
$300 will go a lot furthur in the used market than retail will.
Is adding 100$ helping?
It doesn't need a huge wool % either, it'll be a transition coat until I can buy a proper one
If you're cool with more polyester than wool j crew factory has the thompson car coat in grey for 166 after all discounts. Though i'm not sure if that applies to canada
I'll be waiting for the BF deals to arrive so we could expect around 40-50% discounts on the options suggested
I highly doubt they'd do an extra discount tbh, they'll probably put it back up to full price then do 50% off for BF, $166 is already like 60% off from the 398 list price
I meant for all the options here, though you're most likely right
What size are you? If you’re a 44 I have a grey herringbone harris tweed one I’m looking to sell.
If this size system is actually waist chest size, around 40
Chest size
Sorry, I thought of the wrong word ending with -st
Check eBay - there are tons out there for cheap.
You can do much better than JCrew or BR with that budget
The tier above J. Crew/BR/A&F is somewhat uncharted territories for me which is why I need proper guidance if I'll splurge some cash
It's a learning curve for sure
I'd set up an eBay filter and post your finds in questions for more feedback
I have a filter I can send you but it's not very good haha
Beats having nothing at all
I've always preferred buying new, but this channel seems to take eBay seriously
For instance, the selection of navy chore coats was quite interesting
Yeah if value is important to you, you should pretty much always buy secondhand. a good chunk of people here only buy secondhand
another factor is a lot of new offerings from the likes of j.crew and BR aren't in a "classic" cut (ie they don't reach just below the knees for example) while there are more plentiful vintage options in a "classic" cut. a lot of stuff from j.crew and BR is still stuck in the early 2010s tailoring styling which most people here consider dated
j.crew claims this is a classic fit for example but it doesn't even reach the knees: https://www.jcrew.com/p/mens/categories/clothing/coats-and-jackets/topcoat/ludlow-topcoat-in-heavyweight-wool-twill/BS472
J.Crew: Ludlow Topcoat In Heavyweight Wool Twill For Men
Shop for the Ludlow topcoat in heavyweight wool twill for men. Find the best selection of men mens-categories-clothing-coats-and-jackets-topcoat available in-stores and on line.
J.Crew: Ludlow Topcoat In Wool Blend For Men
Shop for the Ludlow topcoat in wool blend for men. Find the best selection of men mens-categories-clothing-coats-and-jackets-topcoat available in-stores and on line.
they claim this one is a little longer but there's no model pics so you'd have to try it on
if you were to buy something non vintage, i'd get something cooler than j.crew or BR. For a balmaccan, SEH Kelly seems like the most affordable option for something really nice. For a mac, i really like this one from Margaret Howell: https://www.margarethowell.co.uk/men/shop/coats-jackets/mhl-railway-mac-dry-cotton-canvas-kelp
MHL. RAILWAY MAC
MHL. RAILWAY MAC
todd snyder has some beautiful overcoats and balmacaans currently imo but those are pricier. mackintosh is a classic maker of macs from what i've read but also pricier
for an overcoat, i'm going to checkout this menswear shop in nyc that has a whole bunch of canadian made ones starting at $225 (may just go vintage tho but i'm curious)
j.crew's trench actually seems like a classic cut but you didn't ask about that. uniqlo also has an interesting trench out in their jw anderson collaboration for even less
My 100% wool overcoat was $60 and my 100% cashmere overcoat was $120, including shipping, secondhand in perfect condition. Cannot be beat IMO, so many for sale secondhand are in effectively perfect condition
Interesting. How do you know what you're checking on the secondhand website is legit though
Like on ebay?
Well, most importantly, I know roughly what measurements to look for and what they mean in terms of fit
I know details to look for, like tags and such
takes practice, I've been doing it for years and still post stuff here I'm not sure about
I'm not really worried about fakes because nobody fakes tags for a defunct company from 30 or 50 years ago
So then what's left to worry about is scams and misleading photos and so on
Strategy there is
1. There are a few consigners whom I bid on / buy from fairly regularly who are always great
2. Always assume 98% of sellers are decent people and not trying to fuck you
3. Be willing to use ebay to resolve any issues that cannot be resolved in the normal fashion, even if it's onerous like being forced to file a fraud report through official channels
4. Failing that, be prepared to either eat a $xx loss or do a chargeback which will likely cause the account to go away
For items that don't work out, you pass em on. Friends, resell, consign, donate. Or repurpose / upcycle depending on the situation.
Inevitably it's cheaper to occasionally get a purchase wrong and have to get rid of it, than to buy new. A brand new 100% wool overcoat of good quality cannot be had new for less than several hundred dollars. A similar quality coat can be had on ebay for probably somewhere around 10% of the price at most. If you have a 50% miss rate you still pay only 20% new msrp ...
There are obviously some things I will not touch second-hand. But in general, the further away cloth is from the human body, the less issue buying secondhand
It's not the lack of trust that worries me, moreso the quality and "uniqueness" of the brands out there. My experience on eBay has been pretty positive because I knew what I was looking for, but this is a different ball game
most vintage is pretty good quality at least for overcoats right?
(A number of my purchases cost significantly less than just the cost of raw materials. It can be significantly cheaper to buy, eg, a vintage and very out of style camel jacket and disassemble it to re-make into a blanket, than to buy a new camel blanket, for example.)
There is a survival bias. The stuff that looks great after 50 years was probably good quality. Not everything vintage is or was good quality for sure
thank you! what would be some ways to assess quality? another option secondhand would be to go to thrifts/vintage shops/resellers in person OP
So yeah it can be hard to know how good something is when the company that made it went defunct before the world wide web was codified. However, you sort of learn signs to look for I guess? And back to survivorship bias, if it's old but looks great then it was either almost unused or it is good quality
I look at a lot of little things... let me think
Materials are first and foremost. 100% xxx versus 98% xxx and 2% elastane for one example. Using bemberg/curpo lining vs polyester for example. A tag on the inside naming the mill the shell fabric is from, is big for sure. Buttons being horn or mop vs just plastic. Stitch quality and density. I think about pocket placement and orientation to decide if I like it to put my hands into for an overcoat. Interior pockets are nice too.
There are also ye olde menswear blogs that have signs of quality. These days they're a lot less reliable because people focus way too much on little heuristics. But you can still note them. Working buttonholes are too annoying to do to be warranted for cheap shit. A barchetta pocket is not worth it for cheap shit. Horn buttons aren't worth it for cheap shit. Using loro piana fabric for example is not worth it for cheap shit. Companies rarely go to that much effort to put lipstick on pigs
Especially vintage, milanese buttholes were much rarer than they are today, again, more likely to be found on quality garments than cheap shit. These days you have pretty easy access to buttonhole machines that can do non-flat shapes ...
Shape isn't really quality but I look at it. Sack / straight and untapered waist versus a tapered / darted waist for example -- I prefer one over the other
But the main thing for quality is always the material composition, if the mill is named, if it's managed to survive decades.
I guess the real tldr for an overcoat is this. If it's 100% animal fiber, thick, shaped the way I like, and doesn't have obvious deficiencies, it will do okay. If it's all of those things and also pretty old, or from a reputable brand, or made of well known fabric, it's probably pretty good. Overcoats don't see much wear. Most damage comes from being rubber or snagged on things, moths, poor storage conditions, or misuse. If it's old I assume it withstood the test of time and if it uses known high quality fabric or made by a reputable company I assume it'll be fine.
Hmm that's not very tldr
very helpful tho, thank you!
Impeccable exhaustive guide, gimp. Thank you very much!
I picked up last week from Uniqlo. Seems to be well made but I am really new to fashion. Wool Cashmere Chesterfield Coat | UNIQLO US
https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/products/E459631-000/00
UNIQLO
Wool Cashmere Chesterfield Coat | UNIQLO US
Wool blended with cashmere for a soft, elegant texture. Updated classic design.
Yah it looks nicely made especially for uniqlo (does have a poly lining tho) and a decent value but you could find something nicer secondhand for less (if you want to return it)
Ahh. Yes, I see the poly lining. Haven’t thought about that. What would be a better lining? I haven’t had any experience with buying vintage online. What should I look for?
US exclusive product as we're stuck with Balmacaans
Read above haha
Poly lining isn't that bad, it's more that bemberg/cupro is better. Doesn't matter much, just heuristics for quality
Do you mind sharing the name of that menswear shop? I'm also on the hunt for a new coat
LS Men's Clothes
I've been meaning to stop by there and check it out