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The Chesterfield is a formal, dark, knee-length
overcoat An overcoat is a type of long coat intended to be worn as the outermost garment, which usually extends below the knee. Overcoats are most commonly used in winter when warmth is more important. They are sometimes confused with or referred to as ...
with a
velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...
collar introduced around the 1840s in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
, with prominence attributed to its namesake
George Stanhope, 6th Earl of Chesterfield George Stanhope, 6th Earl of Chesterfield, PC (23 May 1805 ā€“ 1 June 1866), styled Lord Stanhope until 1815, was a British Tory politician, courtier and race horse owner. He served as Master of the Buckhounds under Lord Melbourne from 1834 to 18 ...
, then a leader of British fashion. The Chesterfield coat, with its heavy waist suppression using a waist seam, gradually replaced the over-frock coat during the second half of the 19th century as a choice for a formal overcoat, and survived as a coat of choice over the progression from
frock coat A frock coat is a formal men's coat characterised by a knee-length skirt cut all around the base just above the knee, popular during the Victorian and Edwardian periods (1830sā€“1910s). It is a fitted, long-sleeved coat with a centre vent at th ...
everyday wear to the introduction of the
lounge suit A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of tr ...
, but remained principally associated with formal
morning dress Morning dress, also known as formal day dress, is the formal Western dress code for day attire, consisting chiefly of, for men, a morning coat, waistcoat, and formal trousers, and an appropriate gown for women. Men may also wear a popular va ...
and
white tie White tie, also called full evening dress or a dress suit, is the most formal in traditional evening western dress codes. For men, it consists of a black tail coat (alternatively referred to as a dress coat, usually by tailors) worn over a wh ...
. A less formal derivation is the similar, but with alighter fabric, slightly shorter, top coat called
covert coat A covert coat or Crombie coat is a gentleman's overcoat typically with notched lapels which originated in the late 19th century as a "short topcoat" to be worn for hunting and horse riding. Since the 20th century, after the introduction of the ...
.


Characteristics

The dark Chesterfield, which comes with a defining velvet
collar Collar may refer to: Human neckwear *Clerical collar (informally ''dog collar''), a distinctive collar used by the clergy of some Christian religious denominations *Collar (clothing), the part of a garment that fastens around or frames the neck ...
has no horizontal seam or sidebodies, 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
tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...
s, or charcoal and navy, and even the
camel hair Camel hair specifically refers to the fur from the body of a camel, but more generally refers to the fibre (and cloth) that may be made from either pure camel hair or a blend of camel hair and another fibre. Camel hair has two components: ''guard ...
classic, although such fabrics may be more associated with a more casual
polo coat A polo coat, also known as a camel coat, is a men's overcoat associated with polo players in England. Camelhair was the fabric at first, but later camelhair and wool blends became standard due to its higher durability. The terms polo coat and ...
. These variations make it extremely versatile, so it can be worn with a city suit or even semiformal dress, as well as casual
sports jacket A sport coat, also called a sport jacket (or sports coat or sports jacket in American English), is a men's smart casual lounge jacket designed to be worn on its own without matching trousers, traditionally for sporting purposes. Styles, fabrics ...
s. It was a staple of smartly dressed men's wardrobes from the 1920s to 1960s, and has become a classic style for both men and even women.


Popular Culture

* ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...
'' features Chesterfield coats being worn by the Doctor during their eighth, eleventh, twelfth, and
thirteenth In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octa ...
incarnations.


See also

*
Frock coat A frock coat is a formal men's coat characterised by a knee-length skirt cut all around the base just above the knee, popular during the Victorian and Edwardian periods (1830sā€“1910s). It is a fitted, long-sleeved coat with a centre vent at th ...


References


External links

* Coats (clothing) Formal wear History of clothing (Western fashion) {{clothing-stub