Men's Black Wool Double-Breasted Long Coat

Two rows of them and they go a long way down the front, which means it stays shut properly rather than flapping open below the waist. Takes a few seconds longer to put on. Worth it on a cold platform when your waiting for a train.

Never owned one before, I have gone through life in parkas and puffers, and I bought this because I turned forty and decided it was time. It changes how you carry yourself, which sounds ridiculous written down but is true. I have worn it more in three months than I wore the last jacket in a year. Only regret is the twenty years I spent not owning one.

It is a heavy coat and you feel it on your shoulders after a few hours, particularly if you are walking a lot. That is the price of a full length wool overcoat and I knew that, but it is worth saying because it is not something you can tell from a photo. Warm as anything though.

Took the collar off in March expecting to put the whole thing away and instead it turned into a completely wearable spring coat. Without the trim it is much plainer and reads as an ordinary overcoat, so I got another six weeks out of it that I was not counting on. Popped it back on in October and it looked exactly as it had. Nothing has stretched or gone slack where the poppers sit.

Had a black tie thing in January and needed something that would go over a dinner jacket without crushing the shoulders or showing a line where the jacket ended. This managed both. Long enough that nothing peeked out underneath and wide enough through the chest that I could do it up over the lot. Handed it in and got it back uncrushed. It is the first coat I have owned that genuinely works for that.

The inside has taken a lot of getting in and out over a suit and there is no splitting under the arms, which is where my last one went first. Slides on cleanly every time as well, no dragging at the sleeves. Its held up better than the outside of some coats I have owned.

Nobody warns you about this. It is long enough that it does not clear the floor of a standard wardrobe on a hanger, so the bottom eight inches sit folded against the base and I have ended up hanging it on the back of a door instead. That is on me rather than a fault of the coat, and I would still buy it, but if you have limited hanging space it is worth thinking about first.

Two rows of buttons means the front overlaps twice over, so there is no single line for the wind to find. Stood on a seafront in February and nothing got through the front of it at all. My legs were the only cold part of me and that is what trousers are for.