Last winter, just before my trip to Pitti in January, I rolled the dice on a navy Polo-style coat from Polo Ralph Lauren. It is excellent, and proved ideal for my trip, particularly the first day when it was quite cold out. I got it at the end of the season on sale, so I got a pretty good deal on it, but that also meant it was mostly sold out by the time I first posted about it.
Well, it’s back this season once more. Hilariously mislabeled a “car coat”, just like it was last year, they’re also offering it in charcoal (blah). It looks exactly the same as mine, and in fact it appears they reused the same model shots as they did last year for the navy version. My suggestion if you intend to wear it over tailoring is to size up one size, and have it altered in the waist for shape.
It’s not perfect of course, so that MSRP isn’t worth it in my view. For one, it’s a wool-polyamide blend. The cloth is quite soft, very warm and it looks great, but if I were paying $1,000 I’d want a nicer make-up. For another, the shoulder expression isn’t up to my standards in the way it lays. It reminds me of how most American jacket shoulders are done, which I think has to do with how the armholes are made. It almost makes a pointed end at the top of the sleevehead, giving it a squared-off shoulder appearance. Perhaps the shoulders are just cut squared off, instead of more sloped. I have no idea. In practice, the coat looks fantastic, is warm, and I love it, and these are just the nitpickings of a slightly too obsessive menswear dude.
I took my normal size and it works fine over tailoring but it’s a tad snug in the sleeves. It’s lined with a cotton that doesn’t slide on super well, compounding the issue. I tried one size up later and found it would’ve fit well and had more comfortable sleeves; perhaps just a waist nip would’ve given it the shape I like. So, my suggestion if you intend to wear it over tailoring is to size up one size, and have it altered in the waist for shape.
Anyway, here’s the link. And below, some fit pics of mine.
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This is not a polo coat, it is a navy coat by Ralph Lauren under the polo label. A polo coat must be beige made from either camel hair or cashmere. It must be boxy with a halve belt back with 2 buttons. The sleeve must have a rollback cuff with rounded split edges. It should run to just below the knee and have set in shoulder and sleeves. I grew up in a family where my father always wore one by Burberry and I had mine made by my Bespoke Tailor in Korea
You got me there! It sure as heck isn’t a car coat like they call it.
What would you call it?
Kudos to you! I so appreciate a man who knows the different types of men’s coats!! Style, cloth, attributes and tailoring particulars.
Your modeling of the coat makes it look MILES better than the RL website. It even appears to be longer in person than in their pictures, though they may be using tall models. For someone like me, at 5’7″, this length looks to be great. The pedantry on display above is astounding, it seems close enough to clearly be called a polo-style coat, as you did. I’m gonna keep an eye on this one this season and see where the price goes.
Where did you get the scarf?
From Drake’s. One of their lightweight wool scarves.
Hey Mitchell, fellow graphic designer and menswear aficionado here.
Just stumbled on your post as I slavishly, and for the umpteenth time, pored over polo coat images to relieve my lockdown boredom here in London.
A good looking coat, but would agree about the shoulders and I’d rather see a little more length.
I’m hopefully going to drop on this at the next stage of the sale; has both the length and drape I like in an overcoat.
https://bergbergstore.com/collections/new-in/products/noa-double-breasted-coat-navy
Best
Hugh