A Guards Coat or Guard's Coat (sometimes Guardsman's coat) is a men's
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 often used in winter when warmth is more important.
They are sometimes confused with or referred to as #T ...
which has a
half-belt in the back,
[ ] and is based on the coat that used to be worn by
English Officers of the Guard.
It is a double-breasted garment in either a 6x3 (more traditional) or 6x2 (more formal) configuration; in a 6x3 configuration, all three working buttons can be fastened, or just the bottom two.
The half-belt can be adjusted with buttons (more traditional) or sewn in place (more formal). The Guards Coat has either an Ulster collar (more traditional) or peaked lapels (more formal), turn-back cuffs (traditional) or button cuffs (formal), and welt or flap pockets.
[ ] It comes mostly in formal colours such as a deep navy or
midnight blue, and is more formal than the more countrified
Ulster coat.
[ ] These features mean that in its most formal configuration, it is largely similar to a
Paletot
A paletot is a type of topcoat. The name is French, but etymologically derived from the Middle English word ''paltok'', meaning a kind of jacket.
Historically, it was a semi-fitted to fitted coat, double-breasted or single-breasted, the f ...
or double-breasted
Chesterfield coat
The Chesterfield is a formal, dark, knee-length overcoat with a velvet collar introduced around the 1840s in the United Kingdom. A less formal derivation is the similar, but with a lighter fabric, slightly shorter, top coat called a covert coa ...
, being distinguished primarily by its color and the presence of the half-belt in back; in its most traditional configuration, it is similar to a military
greatcoat
A greatcoat (also watchcoat) is a large, woollen overcoat designed for warmth and protection against wind and weather, and features a collar that can be turned up and cuffs that can be turned down to protect the face and the hands, while the Cap ...
but without epaulets, or to a capeless
Ulster coat but with a half-belt, different pockets and more formal fabric.
References
Coats (clothing)
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