This coat has been drawing my eye quite a bit since the weather turned cold.

It’s not your traditional greatcoat – the single-breasted button line is a bit of an optical illusion. It makes the wearer look much taller and thinner.
 
The buttons themselves are quite nice-looking brown (similar to the ones you’d get on your Cartwright Parka, for anyone who picked that up). But the main point here is the high collar and epaulets which mark this coat out as a bit edgier than your usual high street fair.
 
We’ve also managed to get away with not having a massive PG logo anywhere (except right at the very foot of the coat by the looks of it).

Crossing over from the theme of function over fashion (parkas of course being traditionally "functional" rather than "fashionable" for the original Mods), every Mod looking for a coat to suit his stature ought to own a Crombie.
 
Three-quarter length, with a towering, shape-hugging silhouette and a shimmering red silk lining, the Crombie was the coat of choice for the Skinheads, but don’t let that put you off.
 
The Crombie’s history sits above even that of the Skins. If you were to take a trip back through time to the Scottish glens in the nineteenth century and you would find, at the heart and head of the industrial revolution, a small factory, churning out these dashing v-necked coats for the Great and the Good, triumphing in the Great Exhibition in 1851. Crombies were shipped across the Atlantic for the Confederates during the Civil War and a few US Presidents (including of course JFK) have taken a shine to them. Even Doctor Who wears one now.

For Mods, I think the story of the Crombie is about the reclaiming of a cultural icon. It’s been around the world and back again, but it’s one of the few things in the Mod wardrobe that can be truly referred to as British through and through.
 
The very best Crombie looks are topped off with a silk pocket square and a paisley scarf. That'll set you apart from the Doctor Who fans.

Less of a cult classic than the Crombie or the Parka or even the old sixties Mac, the Peacoat is the underrated one of the Mod coat family, but it does fill an important niche in the wardrobe.

This might also be because it’s less glamourous. U-Boat captains and the navy officers are a bit lower on the cool ladder than spies or American presidents when it comes to copying their style it would seem. The Crombie for instance has a pedigree among the Great and the Good that is semi-legendary and that's before we even get started with its Skinhead history.

But the Peacoat is still a solid choice. It has the advantage of being shorter and more everyday than the Crombie. It's usually heavier than your Harringtons, made generally of heavy wool (in either navy or dark grey) with distinctive broad lapels and a double-breasted front. The buttons traditionally have an anchor on them or a similar continuation of the naval theme. They can also accomodate your paisley scarf in the V-neck or you can button up to the top. What's not to like?

Oddly enough, despite being much older than other more "Mod" coats it has changed relatively little in its 200-year history. A few vintage versions still kick around, but if you want something a bit sharper than the Parka, but less formal than the full length overcoat, I’d invest in a Peacoat from a mainstream high street store.

Funnily enough you'll find they’re better quality, slimmer fitting and actually better looking.

A strong trenchcoat here.

Something from Atom Retro. One for the cold weather...

Winter is coming. 

But as this isn’t Game of Thrones, don’t bother with a sword, get yourself a nice rock 'n' roll coat. And you could do worse than go to Pretty Green for this stuff. It’s not cheap of course, but hopefully they might have a few discounts on for the Black Friday extravaganza this week. 

I’m counting on it.

1. A crombie

Get yourself to any decent menswear shop and see what’s on offer in terms of ovecoats. You might have to pay a bit of dosh, but opting for a crombie this winter should be an investment - not only are they comfortably heavy, robust against the cold and stylish with many different shades to choose from, they also have a v-necked collar so you can incorporate as much stuff into your look as you want. For more on this, see 2. 

2. A paisley scarf

Goes well with 1, thanks to the open collar of most crombie coats, this is also part of a classic skinhead look. As I mentioned in the last post about winter gear, seek out the autumn shades, keep it warm. Oranges, reds and yellows ought to be your aim, especially if you’re opting for a dark coloured overcoat, as they show up much more vividly in the dark mornings and evenings of the season.

3. Dr Marten boots

Oddly enough, perfect for trudging about in snow or sludgy ground during this time of year and contribute strongly to the overall skinhead / punky vibe. Also coming in a range of ridiculous colours, although I usually go for darker ones or they run the risk of looking a bit too clownlike. Also easily cleaned and tidied up, unlike, I found recently, suede desert boots.

Strong overcoat choice here.

Ben Sherman have rather bullishly gone out for the winter with a good set of jackets and coats for the season. All three I’ve picked here are obviously classic styles, but they’ve been “updated”. 

My favourite here is the MA1, which is quite unusual to see as a Ben Sherman “own brand” product, especially as they are so readily (and cheaply) available in places like Warrior Clothing. BS have slimmed down the traditional pilot’s jacket so it’s less bulky. It’s also out there in a few colours that you wouldn’t usually find an MA1 in (for instance, a kind of olive green rather than the usual army green). No doubt some will find this as blasphemous as I find BS' lack of three button suits, but I personally quite like it.

Which again opens the discussion - how far can Mod stuff be “updated”? 

And here comes the fudge answer - it depends how it’s done!

​Mod is about individualism after all, and one man’s genius is another man’s insanity...

James Dean in quite a sick-looking peacoat. Unusual double-button cuff situation too.

​We’re almost at that stage in the year where going around dressed like this is a viable option.

Such an impressive piece that I had to put it up.

Note of course that a "crombie" per se is the general term for a long winter overcoat akin to this, but it is also a brand name and, if you've got a bit (lot) of spare pocket money, you can pay their site a visit for some exquisite winter coat action.

Not going to kid anyone, these things are really expensive - but then I suppose, for what price quality?