The Story Of The Coat

One of the oldest words in the English language used to describe a clothing item is the word coat. It goes back to the middle ages but before that the coat was being used in Persia what is modern day Iran and it was a seamed fitted design. Until the arrival of coats in Europe capes and cloaks were being used.

In the early part of the 19th century there was a distinction between over coats and under coats. Although the term under coat has become old fashioned. And nowadays the term coat is understood to mean the over coat. And in both British and American English the word jacket has also come into existence in both countries. The sport jacket is one such example.

There are 2 types of coats available nowadays that are very similar, over coat and top coat, the difference being that over coats are slightly longer. The advantage of over coats is that it can be worn with other type coats like, dress coat and morning coat.

But even before the 19th century there was type of coat that had become popular in both Europe and America and that was the Spencer's coat. The gentleman who started that trend was a man by the name of George Spencer and what he did was, he cut of the tail of the woolen coats that were in fashion those days and that style eventually caught on in a big way.

The naval forces of some European countries at this time started to use a coat that is the direct ancestor of today's men's woolen pea coat. Although in those days it was written as p-coat and it was made out of a textile called p-fabric, hence the name p-coat or pea coat. Today this type is very popular and there are many different designs and colors to choose from.

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