Marc Chevalier
Gone Home
- Messages
- 18,192
- Location
- Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
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I'm from America, but it wasn't until I travelled abroad that I discovered the world's most popular overcoat. Oddly enough, it's almost never seen in the United States. Leave our shores, however, and you'll run into this coat again and again, from Iceland to Argentina; not to mention parts of South Africa, Italy, and practically any other place where cold weather strikes.
I'm speaking of the LODEN OVERCOAT.
Of Tyrolean origin, the Loden overcoat is one of many types of jackets made of loden cloth, a material first handwoven by peasants living in Loderers, Austria, in the 16th century. The cloth comes from the coarse, oily wool of mountain sheep and is thick, soft, and waterproof.
Loden cloth is dyed in several colors, but green -- either dark olive or forest -- is the most common. Loden overcoats (like the one below) have been worn by the Austria's military for decades; they were widely adopted by civilians only after World War II, when tens of thousands of the garments were made available as surplus. (Loden overcoats are to Austrians what khaki pants are to us.) Today, many stylistic variations of the Loden overcoat exist, but the classic cut can still be seen on men and women all over the world. Note the shoulder details, the fly front, the plaid wool lining, and the distinctive pleated back:
And here is the traditional color (bad photo, alas):
In Chile, used clothing stores import vintage 1940s and '50s Loden overcoats -- both military and civilian -- from Austria and Germany. I picked one up for about $8.00 and couldn't be happier with it.
Do you have a Loden overcoat like the ones above? What do you think of it? Have you seen people wearing such a coat?
.
I'm from America, but it wasn't until I travelled abroad that I discovered the world's most popular overcoat. Oddly enough, it's almost never seen in the United States. Leave our shores, however, and you'll run into this coat again and again, from Iceland to Argentina; not to mention parts of South Africa, Italy, and practically any other place where cold weather strikes.
I'm speaking of the LODEN OVERCOAT.
Of Tyrolean origin, the Loden overcoat is one of many types of jackets made of loden cloth, a material first handwoven by peasants living in Loderers, Austria, in the 16th century. The cloth comes from the coarse, oily wool of mountain sheep and is thick, soft, and waterproof.
Loden cloth is dyed in several colors, but green -- either dark olive or forest -- is the most common. Loden overcoats (like the one below) have been worn by the Austria's military for decades; they were widely adopted by civilians only after World War II, when tens of thousands of the garments were made available as surplus. (Loden overcoats are to Austrians what khaki pants are to us.) Today, many stylistic variations of the Loden overcoat exist, but the classic cut can still be seen on men and women all over the world. Note the shoulder details, the fly front, the plaid wool lining, and the distinctive pleated back:
And here is the traditional color (bad photo, alas):
In Chile, used clothing stores import vintage 1940s and '50s Loden overcoats -- both military and civilian -- from Austria and Germany. I picked one up for about $8.00 and couldn't be happier with it.
Do you have a Loden overcoat like the ones above? What do you think of it? Have you seen people wearing such a coat?
.
