Overfrock
Encyclopedia
Overcoat
An overcoat is a type of long coat intended to be worn as the outermost garment. Overcoats usually extend below the knee, but are sometimes mistakenly referred to as topcoats, which are short coats that end at or above the knees. Topcoats and overcoats together are known as outercoats...
designed to be worn over a frock coat as an overcoat in cold weather. A top-frock coat is also worn over a frock coat in milder weather. Shaped like the body coats popular in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods, the over-frock coat was cut in essentially the same way as the frock coat that was worn under it, although it would be larger over-all to accommodate the frock-coat worn underneath. Like the frock coat, the over-frock would be single-breasted, with step lapels
Jacket lapel
Jacket lapels are the folded flaps of cloth on the front of a jacket or coat, and are most commonly found on formal clothing and suit jackets. Usually they are formed by folding over the front edges of the jacket or coat and sewing them to the collar, an extra piece of fabric around the back of the...
for informal occasions, like business, and double-breasted, with pointed lapels for formal occasions - weddings, funerals, balls, &c. The formal variety was known as a 'Prince Albert' overcoat. A frock-overcoat, like a frock coat, almost never has pockets.
Both the top-frock and over-frock coats were woollen
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
, like most male garments of the time, and were made in varying weights, ranging from just 14oz for mild-weather topcoats, to 20 or 30oz for really cold weather. Wool was not a prerequisite, but was the most common material, and came in a range of qualities, the finest being that of a Merino sheep. Any material might be used, at a greater cost, including cashmere
Cashmere wool
Cashmere wool, usually simply known as cashmere, is a fiber obtained from Cashmere and other types of goats. The word cashmere derives from an old spelling of Kashmir. Cashmere is fine in texture, and strong, light, and soft. Garments made from it provide excellent...
(from the Kashmir goat), angora
Angora
Angora is the historic name of Ankara, Turkey Angora may also refer to:* Angora, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania** Angora , a commuter rail station* Angora Township, Minnesota* Angora, Nebraska* Angora , a musical group...
(from the Angora rabbit
Angora rabbit
The Angora rabbit is a variety of domestic rabbit bred for its long, soft wool. The Angora is one of the oldest types of domestic rabbit, originating in Ankara , Turkey, along with the Angora cat and Angora goat. The rabbits were popular pets with French royalty in the mid 18th century, and spread...
), alpaca
Alpaca
An alpaca is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in appearance.Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of southern Peru, northern Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Chile at an altitude of to above sea level, throughout the year...
, or huarizo
Huarizo
A huarizo is a cross between a male llama and a female alpaca. It is generally bred for its exceptional fleece. Huarizo are generally sterile, but recent genetic research conducted at the University of Minnesota Rochester suggests that it may be possible to preserve fertility with minimal genetic...
(from a hybrid of alpaca and llama). Evening over-frock coats, worn over Evening dress
White tie
White tie is the most formal evening dress code in Western fashion. It is worn to ceremonial occasions such as state dinners in some countries, as well as to very formal balls and evening weddings...
could be made from Mohair
Mohair
Mohair usually refers to a silk-like fabric or yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat. The word "mohair" was adopted into English before 1570 from the Arabic: mukhayyar, a type of haircloth, literally 'choice', from khayyara, 'he chose'. Mohair fiber is approximately 25-45 microns in...
(from the Angora goat
Angora goat
The Angora goat is a breed of domestic goat that originated in Ankara , Turkey and its surrounding region in central Anatolia...
), which produced an additional sheen. Evening over-frocks often have silk revers
Jacket lapel
Jacket lapels are the folded flaps of cloth on the front of a jacket or coat, and are most commonly found on formal clothing and suit jackets. Usually they are formed by folding over the front edges of the jacket or coat and sewing them to the collar, an extra piece of fabric around the back of the...
, like the dress coat worn underneath. Both could be lined on the inside with fur
Fur clothing
Fur clothing is clothing made of the fur of animals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing; thought to have been widely used as hominids first expanded outside of Africa. Some view fur as luxurious and warm; others reject it due to moral beliefs...
of animals ranging from nutria
Muskrat
The muskrat , the only species in genus Ondatra, is a medium-sized semi-aquatic rodent native to North America, and introduced in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands and is a very successful animal over a wide range of climates and habitats...
or rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
to silver fox
Silver Fox
Silver Fox is a fictional character, a human in the Marvel Comics universe.- Fictional character biography :Silver Fox is a lover of Wolverine who first appeared in Wolverine vol.2 #10, where she is killed by Sabretooth...
or Imperial sable
Sable
The sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia...
, depending on the owner's means. To order coat lined in sable
Sable
The sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia...
, beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
, seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
, or mink
Mink
There are two living species referred to as "mink": the European Mink and the American Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but was much larger. All three species are dark-colored, semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes the weasels and...
from one's tailor would be prohibitively expensive for most, and to own one would mark one as a person of immense wealth and status. The collars were very often velvet for warmth. Silk velvet was most expensive, while velvets made from cotton or other materials were more affordable.
The over-frock was the standard overcoat for much of the Victorian era and until after the First World War. Its popularity mirrored the frock coat, which replaced the tailcoat as day-wear in the 1850s. The frock coat, as a result of the fashion influence of the Regency dandy George Bryan 'Beau' Brummell
Beau Brummell
Beau Brummell, born as George Bryan Brummell , was the arbiter of men's fashion in Regency England and a friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV...
, was almost universally black, and was worn with waistcoat and trousers, which could be of any colour. Black coat, waistcoat, and trousers - 'frock suits' - were worn only for funerals (as a 'mourning suit
Mourning
Mourning is, in the simplest sense, synonymous with grief over the death of someone. The word is also used to describe a cultural complex of behaviours in which the bereaved participate or are expected to participate...
') and the most formal of occasions. The trousers could either be checked or striped, or have no pattern at all. The frock coat, and with it the over-frock, was increasingly rarely worn as casual wear towards the end of the nineteenth century, as the "sack suit", the comparatively loose modern suit was adopted for leisure wear, and the morning coat
Tailcoat
A tailcoat is a coat with the front of the skirt cut away, so as to leave only the rear section of the skirt, known as the tails. The historical reason coats were cut this way was to make it easier for the wearer to ride a horse, but over the years tailcoats of varying types have evolved into forms...
, originally for equestrian use, replaced it for some formal events. By 1926, when George V
George V
George V was king of the United Kingdom and its dominions from 1910 to 1936.George V or similar terms may also refer to:-People:* George V of Georgia * George V of Imereti * George V of Hanover...
wore a morning coat to the opening of the Chelsea flower show, the frock coat was barely ever worn, and with it the over-frock and in 1936 Edward VIII removed it from official court dress codes.
The over-frock, like other body coats, could not survive the increasing cost of the bespoke tailoring
Bespoke
Bespoke is a term employed in a variety of applications to mean an item custom-made to the buyer's specification...
required to make them fit properly around the waist to create the Classical 'hour-glass' silhouette. It was replaced by sack overcoats like the Guard's coat, the Chesterfield
Chesterfield coat
The Chesterfield coat is a long, tailored overcoat. It arose along with the lounge suit as an alternative to the highly shaped coats it replaced, such as the frock overcoat with its heavy waist suppression using a waist seam. The Chesterfield has no horizontal seam or sidebodies, but can still be...
, and the Ulster
Ulster coat
The Ulster was originally a Victorian working daytime overcoat, with a cape and sleeves. It is often seen in period productions of Victorian novels, such as those of Charles Dickens and was referred to in the Sherlock Holmes stories A Study In Scarlet, The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor and The...
, mirroring the change from frock coats to modern suit jackets. The expensive over-frock became impractical in comparison to Inverness coats
Inverness coat
The Inverness coat is a type of formal overcoat, with long open sleeves, in day or night variations. The Inverness coat was fashionable in the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The black evening version is the most formal overcoat from the era, and was worn with white tie, while the day version was...
and the new waterproof trench coats of Burberry and Aquascutum, and is now considered historical costume.