The Chesterfield
The Chesterfield coat is a long, tailored overcoat. It arose along with the lounge suit as an alternative to the highly shaped coats it replaced, such as the frock overcoat with its heavy waist suppression using a waist seam. The Chesterfield has no horizontal seam or side bodies, but can still be somewhat shaped using the side seams and darts. It can be single- or double-breasted, and has been popular in a wide variety of fabrics, typically heavier weight tweeds, or charcoal and navy, and even the camel hair classic. It has often been made with a velvet collar.These variations make it extremely versatile, so it can be worn with a city suit or even semi-formal dress, as well as casual sports jackets. It was a staple of smartly dressed men's wardrobes from the 1920s to 1960s, and is still very commonly worn.
The Chesterfield, the British overcoat introduced around 1840 and subsequently named for the sixth Earl of Chesterfield.
Though it’s currently one of the most formal overcoats a guy can wear,
it actually rose to prominence as a casual alternative to the Victorian
frock coat, replacing the former’s heavily suppressed waist seam with
simple vertical darts for shape, and favoring a straighter, streamlined
silhouette.
Originally worn by the wealthy as a sympathetic nod to the beheaded,
aristocratic brethren who fell during the French Revolution—think about
where a guillotine hits your neck—it also served a far more practical
purpose: The velvet section could easily be removed and replaced after
it became soiled. Longer hair was the style at the time, and as bathing
was a once-in-a-while kind of affair, the oils that built up in a guy’s
locks tended to transfer to the collar in short order. Seems that
hygiene, like formality, is a relative thing as well.
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