Product Detail

I was the only Indonesian invited to the re-see, representing Indonesian media, and I spent the morning before it changing outfits three times. What I finally walked out in was the plainest of the three. A camel coat, a cream skirt, black boots. It turned out to be the right call, because a re-see is a room full of people looking at the clothes on the rails, and the best thing you can wear to look at clothes is something that does not compete with them.

The Coat

The coat is double-faced wool in a soft camel. There is no separate lining, because in a double-faced cloth the two layers are bonded and the seams are turned by hand, so the inside is a finished surface on its own. Ours carries a tonal flower motif on that inside layer, a shade or two lighter than the outside, so it only shows when the front falls open or the hood is up. Every edge is bound in a thin strip of tan leather.

What you get with it:

• A hood that is generous enough to go over hair and sunglasses without flattening either.
• A quilted self-fabric belt with a leather tab at each end, threaded through loops at the waist.
• Dropped shoulders, wide sleeves, and a length that ends just below the calf on me.
• One small leather patch on the left sleeve, and that is the only branding on it.

A customer asked if it was a blanket coat, and she was not wrong. The hooded wrap coat comes from the capote, which fur traders in Canada were cutting out of wool point blankets by the 1700s. Same hood, same wrapped front, same tied waist. This is a very old shape, and it has survived because it works.

I wore it belted outside the church in the sunlight and unbelted in the archive corridor, and it looked like two different coats. That is the part I would pay for.

The Skirt

The skirt is cream, pleated, and long. The pleats are narrow and pressed all the way down, so it moves like a curtain rather than a bell. The waist is elasticated at the back only, with a flat panel at the front, so it sits clean under the coat belt and does not add bulk where the tie pulls in.

• Cotton and viscose blend, with a slight sheen in the pleats.
• Lined to the knee, sheer below, which reads as light rather than thin.
• Length hits mid-shin on me at 5’6″.

The black knit under it is a plain crew neck that I have had for years. The boots are black leather with two buckles at the ankle and a pointed toe, and they are mine, not part of the set. So is the bag. I get asked about the bag more than anything else, and I covered the reasoning behind a small structured bag in How to Choose an Evening Bag.

How I Wear It

• Coat belted, hood up, sunglasses on, for outside and for photographs.
• Coat open and the belt tied loosely at the back, for indoors and for sitting down.
• The skirt with a black knit and black boots, so the only two colours are camel and cream.
• Jewellery kept thin. A fine chain at the neck, one ring, nothing on the wrist to catch the wool.

What’s In The Capsule

• Hooded wrap coat. Double-faced wool, tonal flower-motif inner face, leather-bound edges, quilted tie belt, dropped shoulder, two hip pockets in the side seams
• Pleated midi skirt. Narrow knife pleats, flat front waistband with back elastic, half lined, cotton and viscose blend
• Imported

Care

• Coat: dry clean only. Never steam a double-faced wool at home. The two layers take up moisture at different rates, and the edge binding can ripple.
• Brush the coat with a clothes brush after wearing it. Camel shows every speck of lint, and a brush lifts it out before it works into the nap.
• Store the coat on a wide wooden hanger with the belt undone and hung over the bar. Leaving it tied creases the waist.
• Skirt: cold hand wash or a gentle machine cycle inside a mesh bag. Hang to dry from the waistband so the pleats fall straight, and do not tumble it, because heat sets any crease that is not a pleat.

Size & Fit

The coat is oversized by design, so buy your normal size. It is built to wrap and belt. If you size down for a closer fit, the front panels will not overlap enough to close properly when it is cold.

If you carry width through the shoulder or bust, stay with your normal size. The dropped shoulder has plenty of room, and the belt will still pull the waist in.

The skirt runs true to size at the waist. The back elastic gives about two inches, so if you are between sizes, take the smaller one, or the front panel will sit too low.

I am 5’6″ and wear a size S in the coat and an S in the skirt. On the S, the coat body length is 47″ from the high shoulder point, the sleeve is 31″, and the skirt length is 33″ from the waistband.

Shipping & Returns

Delivery estimates are for in-stock items only. Two Day and Next Day estimates are for orders placed by 10 AM EST.

Size Chart

Body measurements in inches.

How To Measure

• Bust. Around the fullest part of the chest, with the tape level under the arms.
• Waist. Around the narrowest part of the torso, usually just above the navel. This is where the coat belt sits and where the skirt waistband sits.
• Hip. Feet together, around the fullest part, roughly 8 inches below the waist.
• Sleeve. With the arm slightly bent, from the centre back of the neck, across the shoulder, and down to the wrist bone. On a dropped-shoulder coat the sleeve seam sits below the shoulder, so this full measurement is the one to trust.
• Shoulder. Straight across the back, from seam to seam.

Wool has a little give, but a double-faced cloth has less than a single layer. If a reading is snug, take the larger size.

We offer easy online returns and exchanges within 30 days of the shipment date, excluding clearance items marked as Final Sale. Exchanges for like items (same style and colour in a different size) are free. For returns, a $6.95 return postage charge will be deducted from your refund.