Crombie: The World’s Finest Overcoats

Last month we were approached by legendary British brand, Crombie, to style and blog about their coats. Naturally, I put my hand up for this one because Crombie comes with quite the reputation and I’ve always admired the brand, admittedly from afar, until now.

The Crombie story is really quite special. For starters, few brands can boast that they’ve been making garments for over 200 years and it all started in 1805 when John Crombie set off on horseback with his prized fabrics and began trading.

Since then, a lot has happened but the coat has been worn by the likes of King George VI, Sir Winston Churchill, The Beatles, JFK and His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, to name but a few.

I was next in line and started my Crombie experience at the store in Conduit Street, London. The store is peaceful, charming and classic and I was expertly served by one of the resident tailors, who enlightened me on the various styles, fabrics and stories attached to different designs.

I know from chatting to lots of people about tailoring, chaps tend to feel a sense of intimidation about shopping in-store at premium brands, when looking in from the outside, much like the stigma that comes with the Savile Row stores. Yet, there’s in fact no need to worry because having little or no understanding about styles, fabrics or even the best way to button your coat doesn’t matter. When you’re in store you’ll be educated without having to feel like you’re out of place. I actually got the impression that my tailor thrived on the opportunity to educate me on certain points, which I enjoyed.

They have an amazing array of coats and this made it rather difficult to choose mine. One in particular that caught my eye was the Tommy Nutter collection, which if you’ll allow me to digress, I’ll briefly tell you about. Since the death of legendary British tailor Tommy Nutter in 1992, Crombie respectfully continue to release products derived from his original designs. It also allows the brand to be a little more playful with designs to support their classic collection.

Anyway, some time later, I was standing in my chosen Pure Wool Herringbone King Coat. It appears I am to follow in the steps of royalty with the coat having been worn by the Duke of York who was later crowned King George VI in 1932. This was the ultimate confirmation that fashions fade but style is timeless, a mantra we live by at The Dapper Chapper

I was informed by Morshed, my tailor, that Crombie sources only the finest raw materials to make its coats, which was clearly apparent when I started to interact with them through touch. The majority of fabrics used in the coats are actually milled in England and Scotland (otherwise in Italy), which in this day and age, is impressive.

On my coat, the Navy Herringbone double-breasted closure supports the high peaked wrapper lapels, which absolutely steal the show. I was immediately drawn to the lapels which are huge and somehow manage to stay perfectly in proportion.

Bespoke elements can be added to any of the coats but other than tailoring of the fit it really wasn’t necessary with my selection.

My selection costs £995.

Here are some of my other favourites:

With care and love, this coat will be with me for decades. I’ve written about a lot of things in men’s fashion but I’m sure of this; Crombie make the world’s finest overcoats.