A car coat is a single-breasted coat cut to hip or mid-thigh length, with a straight collar, a flat front and an A-line shape that gives room to move. It was designed in the early 1900s to protect drivers and passengers in open-top cars, and the name survived long after the roofs arrived. This guide covers what defines the style, where it came from, and how it fits into a modern coat wardrobe.
What makes a car coat a car coat
- Straight collar and a clean, flat front placket
- Single breasted
- Diagonal front welt pockets
- Hip to mid-thigh length, clear of the legs when seated
- One-piece back and an A-line fit for ease of movement
French racer Guy Bouriat, at the Nurburgring, 1925
The history of the car coat
Car coats became popular in the early 1900s, when most cars were open top and motoring meant dressing for the weather. The earliest versions were long and heavy, in tweed or fur; summer brought lighter cottons and linens to keep road dust off good clothes.
Although functional, the car coat was also a status symbol: it showed you owned, or knew someone who owned, an automobile, and plenty of people wore theirs nowhere near a car. As cars gained roofs and heating, the coat followed suit, becoming shorter and lighter. The style we recognise today, mid-thigh, A-line, flat-fronted, is shaped by the driving seat: the length keeps fabric clear of the pedals, and the flat front stops the coat bunching when you sit down.
Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in Charade, 1963 // Stanley Donen
Why is it called a car coat?
The name traces straight to the coat's original job: protecting drivers and passengers when automobiles were open to the sky. The function disappeared; the name, with its connotations of unhurried style, stuck.
The car coat at Gloverall today
The car coat sits between a jacket and an overcoat in the Gloverall range: longer and cleaner than the men's jackets, shorter and easier than the wool overcoats. The current expression of the style is the Gloverall x Les Basics Le Car Coat, a lightweight collaboration cut with two contrasting colour panels and deep concealed side pockets. For the same clean-front, easy-fit idea at winter weight, the single-breasted Chesterfield Overcoat is the natural step up.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a car coat and an overcoat?
Length and weight. A car coat stops at hip to mid-thigh and is cut light for movement and sitting; an overcoat runs to the knee or below in heavier cloth. The car coat is the everyday layer, the overcoat the winter one.
Is a car coat smart or casual?
Both, which is its trick. The clean straight collar and flat front read smart over tailoring, while the easy A-line fit keeps it relaxed over knitwear and denim.
What length should a car coat be?
Hip to mid-thigh. Any longer and it behaves like an overcoat; the shorter length is what keeps it clear of your legs when seated, which is the point of the design.
