The trench coat is an elegant coat, worn by people of different styles for their ease of harmonization. But the piece has a remarkable and curious history, which many are unaware of. Check out 5 things you did not know about the trench coat.
1- The trench coat derived from waterproof coats
Many people believe that the trench coat was created during World War I. However, the truth is that the coat is a descendant of the rubber-coated waterproof jackets created by Charles Macintosh and Thomas Hancock (the father of the British rubber industry) in the early 1820s.
2- In the World War I the trench coat was a mark of social distinction
Different from what we thought, ordinary soldiers did not wear a trench coat during World War I, only the Officers bought their coat to build their uniform. In this way, the piece was a mark of distinction and social class, even in the army.
3- Two companies were responsible for creating the coat for the world: Aquascutum and Burberry
A tailor named John Emary created, from the waterproof coat, an improved raincoat. A few years later, Thomas Burberry followed suit and created a cotton and wool coat. The two companies were responsible for the creation of the coat so worn in World War I.
4- In World War I a lot of merchants made cheaper versions of the coat
Made by Aquascutum and Burberry, the price of the coats was high, and accessible only to rich people. Since that, merchants had offered cheaper versions, and of course, seduced by the patriotic dimension, foreign soldiers and civilians began to adopt it during the war.
5- Hollywood helped push the trench coat into a timeless fashion
By the 1940s, the coat had lost its military utilitarianism. Meanwhile, Hollywood made a point of bringing the piece closer to other professions as a journalist, primitive gangster, mysterious detective, smooth spy, femme fatales. Like Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, Audrey Hepburn in Luxury Bonequinha and Meryl Streep in Kramer Vs. Kramer.