On Style: Frock Coats...

The occasions on which one can wear a frock, or morning coat, are lamentably few and far between. Weddings and Aintree have been the playgrounds of this Victorian gentleman’s staple for too long!

Now, the problem is that despite its undisputed elegance and the benefits it can offer your figure, the frock coat is so outlandish an item that to wear it in anything other than an extremely formal situation is a bit too much. It is important to remember the boundaries of men’s fashion, tighter as they are than the female’s counterpart, restrict how ‘out-there’ we can be without looking like we’re off to a fancy dress party as Oscar Wilde.

Throughout the course of this series of posts I have preached the advantages of clean-cut minimalism, with personal quirks restricted to subtle variations of the norm. The frock coat is a bridge too far to qualify for such a rule, and should be worn with caution. You should own one – you can pick up amazing vintage examples for around £50 if you’re lucky enough to find one in your size (I’ve even had a 42” chest example in my collection that cost a mere fiver, but I had to pass it on to someone it fit) – but you resist the temptation to wear it at every opportunity.

I’m a fan of making a statement: oftentimes I’ve turned up to the roughest pub in Glossop – which happens to be my local and preferred drinking hole – in a full suit, pocket square and silk tie shebang, and got on rather well with it. But that’s only because people know what a suit looks like and, despite the alien location, the clothes themselves are nothing bizarre. A frock coat is bizarre in any situation other than dinner parties, the races or, regrettably, weddings.

But that’s not to say you can’t go to a fancy dress party as Oscar Wilde, Doctor Watson or Prince Albert. For that reason, it’s a necessary addition to your arsenal, albeit a one limited to freak events and lounging around your house on sick days watching Homes Under the Hammer.

Just a thought…


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