[scottfranklin]

Hi all,

Some questions about this Bugatti top-coat. 90% of the time I'll be wearing it without a jacket or tie, from wool pants down to "dressier" blue jeans. Is it too formal for that range? Since I occasionally do wear a jacket or suit, I do need a coat that can dress up. My last coat was more on the informal side and so looked odd w/a suit. No worries with this one, but will it be too formal for jeans & a dress shirt?

Separately, this would be my first non Navy or Black coat (shocking!). I'm assuming the shade of taupe isn't too out-there, but will it go with a variety of standard colors?

The sale price is compelling, even if there are no returns.

Scott

 

[Flanderian]

Hi all,

Some questions about this Bugatti top-coat. 90% of the time I'll be wearing it without a jacket or tie, from wool pants down to "dressier" blue jeans. Is it too formal for that range? Since I occasionally do wear a jacket or suit, I do need a coat that can dress up. My last coat was more on the informal side and so looked odd w/a suit. No worries with this one, but will it be too formal for jeans & a dress shirt?

Separately, this would be my first non Navy or Black coat (shocking!). I'm assuming the shade of taupe isn't too out-there, but will it go with a variety of standard colors?

The sale price is compelling, even if there are no returns.

Scott
View attachment 33908

Neither fish nor fowl. But, frankly, I'm more distressed by the weird collar than anything else. Note they don't let you get to see what this coat looks like with the collar worn normally.

Modern fit? Does this mean it's too short and too tight? It doesn't look too tight. But the length is more in keeping with a walking coat, which is a dressier tailored casual coat, which this creature resembles more to my eye, than it does a top coat.

Yes, in a pinch, coats like this (Excepting the weird collar.) can be worn over a not too formal suit. And they can also be worn with smarter casual clothing. The rub is that a coat which will fit properly over a tailored jacket, has to fit a bit too loosely without one. Or, the other way round.

Taupe outer coats are very versatile. They tend to pair well with most colors.

Edit: Just noticed this coat doesn't have a vent in back. As long as it is, it'd wear and look better if it did.

 

[Peak and Pine]

...will it be too formal for jeans & a dress shirt?

Since that's what Saks has dressed the model in, jeans and a dress shirt, I would say no, no it isn't too formal for jeans and a dress shirt. You didn't notice that, the jeans and a dress shirt, in the unbuttoned shot on the product page?

Dwell on the collar though, make sure you want that. There is no notch (gorge). When a collar has no notch, which is rare, it's usually referred to as a shawl collar, but shawl collars are round, this one isn't. Saks calls it a spread collar, something usually associated with shirts.

You're interested in versatility, can you wear it with a suit. Probably, and the hesitancy is only because the coat may not be ample enough to contain one, but since you'd do a suit only 10% of the time, take a deep breath and dive in; formality's fine.

The sum of this to me is yes, go for it. Were I young and thin, rather than thin and old, I'd crawl into that in a New York minute.

 

[ItalianStyle]

In my experience it is easier to get a way with a formal overcoat over informal pants/shirt than an informal overcoat over, say, a suit.
You only have to have seen someone in a suit and a down jacket once to know what I mean...

 

[richard warren]

If the collar doesn’t bother you, the color sure shouldn’t.

 

[scottfranklin]

Thank you all, this is very helpful. I'm not sure what to make of the collar. As pictured it doesn't bother me; I kind of like it, but agree that it would also be nice to see it worn down.

I found it elsewhere online (typefave?) cheaper and with a return policy, so (assuming it's not a scam) it's probably worth at least looking at.

Thanks again for all the input!

 

[Dhaller]

The classic topcoat isn't going anywhere, so I see no reason to jump on this strangely-collared thing.

To the question, you can dress a topcoat down, but not all the way down - I think jeans would look somewhere between "lacking awareness" and "trying too hard".

And don't get a "modern fit" coat; the way coats work is by creating a layer of warm air between you and the coat, so that requires some AIR. It's not a body stocking.

Just hold out for a proper, classic, correctly-fitting topcoat. They're out there.

DH

 

[Flanderian]

For the sake of comparison: topcoats -

 

[scottfranklin]

Thanks, @Flanderian both of those are really beautiful. I guess it's looking like no one coat will span jeans to suit. I don't want to look clueless and go too formal w/jeans (@Dhaller ) and definitely don't want to wear the puffy-coat (or equivalent) with a suit (@ItalianStyle )!

So what are option? The conventional top coats would seem to work with everything from suit to dress pants & shirt. What's a good look for jeans/khakis & dress shirt? Duffel coats seem too young. I'd like something distinctive, even a bit unusual. Options? Or even where to browse to get ideas?

 

[Flanderian]

Thanks, @Flanderian both of those are really beautiful. I guess it's looking like no one coat will span jeans to suit. I don't want to look clueless and go too formal w/jeans (@Dhaller ) and definitely don't want to wear the puffy-coat (or equivalent) with a suit (@ItalianStyle )!

So what are option? The conventional top coats would seem to work with everything from suit to dress pants & shirt. What's a good look for jeans/khakis & dress shirt? Duffel coats seem too young. I'd like something distinctive, even a bit unusual. Options? Or even where to browse to get ideas?

Lots of choices that I think would meet all, or at least most of your criteria.

First, duffels are hardly too young! I wear one, and I'm afraid I'm anything but young. I'm not going to furnish a photo, because we both know what they are, and there are a variety of sources.

Another item for which I'm not going to furnish a photo is a trench coat. Contrary to contemporary ad copy (Brooks being a chief offender.) a trench coat is a longer DB raincoat with a belt, and preferably epaulets. Other details vary. And it truly is a coat that can span from jeans to suits, if you can carry it off.

Forget the fashion, knee length rubbish and get a real one, or get something else, should you wish to go this route. And ignore the ad copy calling virtually every coat that isn't waist length (And even some that are!) trench coats. They may, or may not, be very nice coats, but they are most certainly not trench coats.

Now to the photos. IMHO, one of the most useful coats a man can possess is a car coat. Simple, classic, a bit tailored but full cut with a bit of dressiness. Very comfortable, and actually is more comfortable in a car than longer coats. Many colors, many cloths, wool is a warm and stylish option.

And then there's always the pea coat -

I've grabbed a lot of these photos from Brooks because they have a nice variety. But their product descriptions are largely nonsensical. However, they call the coat below a walking coat, and by d*mn, it is one!

And just in case you're beginning to wonder if Uncle Flanderian can only post navy coats, this is a stylish quilted coat, that would also serve most of your needs.

This is an example of one of coats that Brooks calls a trench coat. It isn't but is reasonably good looking, dressy enough for your purposes, will keep you warm, and chase away showers.

And if you didn't like the olive quilted coat, they've got a similar one in russet. Might seem like a weird color choice, but can actually be quite versatile. Don't remember what they call this, but oh well, it's Brooks, so it really doesn't matter anyway.

 

[scottfranklin]

1st week of classes really slammed me; just getting back to reading threads!

@Flanderian, these coats are nice but I have a hard time seeing most of them over a suit. The pea coat is really nice; I should look more closely at those, but the BB one is a bit beyond my price range. Maybe if it's on sale.

Although I do also like this one (of course it's the shortest of the top coats).

 

[Flanderian]

1st week of classes really slammed me; just getting back to reading threads!

@Flanderian, these coats are nice but I have a hard time seeing most of them over a suit. The pea coat is really nice; I should look more closely at those, but the BB one is a bit beyond my price range. Maybe if it's on sale.

Although I do also like this one (of course it's the shortest of the top coats).

From top to bottom, 1, 3, & 5 would do in a pinch over a suit, but these are just examples, and since you specified you'd not be wearing a tie or jacket 90% of the time, they would serve admirably for the majority of your need. Of course price is a separate issue; I used Brooks only because of the abundance of genres, rather than as recommendations for a specific coat.

Note if you consider a pea coat; while many are handsome and tailored, most fit pretty closely, and are ill suited for wear over a suit.