A trench coat or trenchcoat is a raincoat made of waterproof heavy-duty cotton gabardine drill or poplin, or leather. It generally has a removable insulated lining, raglan sleeves, and the classic versions come in various lengths ranging from mid-calf to above the knee. It was originally a military item of clothing and shows this influence in its styling.
This garment is traditionally double-breasted with 10 front buttons, has wide lapels, a storm flap and pockets that button-close. The coat is belted at the waist with a self-belt, as well as having straps around the wrists that also buckle up. The coat also often has shoulder straps that button-close; those were a functional feature in a military context. The classic color of a trench coat is khaki.
Famous quotes containing the words trench and/or coat:
“Grammar is the logic of speech, even as logic is the grammar of reason.”
—Richard Chenevix Trench (1807–1886)
“We want some coat woven of elastic steel, stout as the first, and limber as the second. We want a ship in these billows we inhabit. An angular, dogmatic house would be rent to chips and splinters, in this storm of many elements. No, it must be tight, and fit to the form of man, to live at all; as a shell is the architecture of a house founded on the sea.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)