Trench Coats (for non-devious purposes)
 

First of all: Who wears them that isn't either 1) Going to shoot some people up at school, 2) You're gothic (or punk or whatever, although if you aren't a poser you won't admit to it), or 3) You're going to a party for Halloween and you want to look like Neo.

Second of all: I want on really bad because they're really cool and, well, that's the only reason. The point remains that I want a really long duster and I have no money (so it has to be cheap) and If you've ever seen the new version of Jesus Christ Superstar, you know exactly what I mean.

Third, and finally: When was the first time you ever saw one and what was your reaction to it?

I myself saw a guy walk past and for about 5 seconds I still saw a black blur. It was really cool so I wanted one. That was 3 years ago and I still want one.


Anyway, whaddya say?
wanna help me.?

well I have one, originally bought for my silent bob costume in 2001, then became my "goth" kid accessory, and is now for cold/rainy days. I love when it's windy and I'm walking down the sidewalk and it's just fluttering out to one side of me. I know I probably still look like a mook, but in my head it looks cool.


first time I saw one was in a catalog :P I live in florida so it's not an everyday thing, the trench.

I bought a leather trenchcoat on my trip to Argentina in March. It's not the matrix-style ones everyone seems to wear to look cool, but more like one of the "fifties detective"-style coats with the belt and the thousands of buttons and shit. It's a fucking cool coat. I wouldn't really consider myself a goth, and I'm not psychotic yet - I just wear it because it's warm, waterproof and sexy.

Don't remember the first time I saw one... Maybe while I still lived in Germany? No idea.

No, don't buy one.

If you have no money, you will just get something that looks terrible. Good trenchcoats are quite expensive, and, what's more, wearing one won't instantly make you cool; it's much more likely that you'll come off as someone who's cosplaying Humphrey Bogart and failing badly.

For it to work, your whole style and attitude has to match it. And… you're fourteen. Sorry, there's no way you won't look like a total dork.

You left off 4), which involves Flashers. The most notorious image with people in trenchies =(

If I were to buy one, it'd be a khaki colored one as an overcoat. But that'd only be if I was in a cold city. I'd wear it with a business suit. No other choice of clothing would look quite as classy with it as that would, I feel.

i <3 trenchcoats. For secret agent day at school i wore one. I WAS A SECRET SPECIAL AGENT (next year i'm going as a KGB soldier :D) It wasn't mind though, it was a friend's, and in the pocket I found a wireless card. It was her brothers and i guess...he carries around wireless cards? I made sure to keep it :D

YES, that's 100% correct. And it can be hard to pull off, believe me.

At my high school there was a group of kids (about four or five guys) that wore black trenchcoats for a few weeks. These were the odd kids - played D&D, relatively antisocial, tended to harass various teachers and students - so it weirded a lot of people out. This was after the whole Columbine thing so I was surprised that they didn't get reprimanded or anything, though I knew most of this crew personally, and knew they wouldn't go on a shooting rampage. I actually thought it was pretty silly, and that they were just trying to prove some point.

Anyhow, If I had the money, I'd definetely get one. As already stated, in some places they can be pretty classy without looking over-the-top.

I have an old fasioned style trench with the standard epaulettes, straps, and d-rings. Its pretty good at keeping the rain, wind, and cold weather out and off of me when I'm wearing a suit. Its getting old, though, and I'm looking to get a new rain coat, a winter long coat, and a leather long coat.

I wore a trench coat throughout high school. Pang's, actually. I was promptly labelled trenchcoat mafia (Columbine happened when I was a junior) and had my school almost shut down thanks to people accusing me of having a hit list. I was also not the nicest or most popular chick in school at the time.

But yea. I own one now, but its a little less...er....attention-grabbing as my past trenches. I love the style of the coat, but when you're driving in the winter, its not the most purposeful of jackets.

Ahaha ;D Some guy I know on-campus did that on Halloween this last year. On Halloween, some folks dress up and still go to class in-costume. He was wearing something like a muscle shirt/wife beater and some shorts. So, just by looking at his neck and legs, you'd figure he was naked. Had a sign taped to his chest that said "Boo" D;

I dared him to flash some group of girls near a bus stop. Sorority gals. He snuck over without any of them seeing him. Walked out in front of them. Cleared his throat loudly to get attention, and "WHISH". Boy, they covered their eyes and screamed LOUD. He closed his jacket before they could see the sign and made his escape on a bus that came almost immediately after this. Ninja style =o I think he did his best to time it with the bus' arrival.

SOMEONE'S BEEN WATCHING FLYING CIRCUS.

Pretty much the exact same shit happened to me outside of the school being almost shut down. Nothing more than a menacing coat to convince people you aren't to be fucked with. Surprising how many people just stopped giving me shit. It wasn't even on purpose either, I just thought they were cool.

Yea, I experienced that too. What little social life I had in high school kind of got limited to the geeks who thought I actually DID have a hitlist and wanted to hang out with me.

People started to get scared - over nothing. Those of you who have met me know I am pretty nice. When you don't piss me off.

A trenchcoat really doesn't equate to bad-ass-ed-ness. Maybe the kids in high school (myself included, once) just make shit up to delineate themselves from the rest.

I am not quite sure how it happened - perhaps it was a combination of Kevin Smith and the Matrix - but the idea that owning a trench coat will make you cool is so false.

It's not that they're uncool themselves. Quite the opposite; trench coats have a certain air of confidence about them that seems to envelop the wearer simply by proximity. But in order to wear a trench coat, you really need to possess the proper attitude.

"I am such a misunderstood badass" is not the proper attitude. The purpose of a trench coat is to serve as protection from the weather. There is absolutely no other reason to wear one. Schucks who tool around high school hallways and smoke-filled coffee houses while wearing a trench coat are simply trying to be pretentious.

I believe that the proper statement made by a trench coat is the following: "I am a sensible person who enjoys the practicality of a versatile outergarment that is also surprisingly comfortable."

The implied "Yes, I'm wearing a black trench coat even though it's 85 degrees outside. You got a problem? Trust me, I'm way too cool to care about heat stroke. If you keep staring at me, I will come over there, snuff out my Marb Red in your eye, and proceed to fucking curbstomp your insignificant ass into pasty oblivion with the three-inch soles of my overpriced shitkicker boots. Just because my attire screams that I'm desperate for attention doesn't mean that you're allowed to look." from emo kids and Goths is such a pathetic joke.


And when was my first exposure to a trench coat? When I was eight, and I read mother-fucking Dick Tracy in the newspaper comics. That's how you make a trench coat awesome.

TBH, trenchcoats on teens are a little creepy. It's like, Batman's costume looks cool, but if you came to school dressed in a batman costume my guess is initial reactions would not be "THAT GUY IS COOL."

It's kinda the context that makes it cool. Like Humphrey Bogart wearing a trenchcoat under the rain, or Neo wearing a trenchcoat while pwning agents. Out of context it looks silly.

I'm a fan of trench coats, but nothing that high schoolers wear to scream for attention (along with sunglasses, weight lifting gloves, black boots, etc). I own a green trench that goes down a little above my knees. Don't know if that is considered a trench coat... more like a rain coat. It has a belt at the collar, around the wrists, and at the waist. It also has those flaps with buttons at the shoulders that military men use for keeping things on (obviously doesn't serve that purpose here) and then two rows of buttons. I think it looks cute. =x

I think after high school if you really want one then just get one. Otherwise if you get it and wear it to public school it just screams goth or attention whore.

I recall trenchcoats from old movies (gangster movies) and movies with that noir approach, ,say Bladerunner. In that respec,t they are very cool in entertainment.

However, I see trenchoats used in two ways in the real world:
Businesspeopl tend to wear them in adverse weather. Im not sure if its a social statement as a money-making individual, or just a good method of keeping rain off your work clothes. I see these as OK.

The other way is college and high school students who wear them for personal fashion. In almost every sighting, it was one of two people: really tiny, greasy kid with a permanent scowl, or big fat computer geek who is impressing himself with his trenchcoat on an august afternoon. Both counts: not cool.

My ruling: not cool by reason of association.

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I like my trench coat, but obviously I only wear it during the winter. It was part of a collection of millitary fatigues I got from my old job (the E-bay job, not the theater).

...Yeah... It's pretty ugly... but it's warm as hell in the winter.

It seems that everyone thinks that everyone that wears a trench coat that is in HS is trying too hard........


Not to brag or anything, but I find it strange that that is an exact description of me.
Without the Antisocial or the D&D.
So pretty much it's almost nothing like me.
Still, the point remains.

This, I agree with.

This, I do not.
You know, fourteen year olds have been completely wrong in that people think that they have no clue whatsoever.
Everyone thinks they are immature (how immature of me to mention :biggrin: )

Me not looking right in one is definately true. That doesn't mean I won't get one once I'm 18 (perhaps I won't be quite as dorky then??:eyebrow: Doubt it.) I might consider again.

Style: Hmmmm..... don't really have one. (then again, according to the TRUE goths, they didn't have one either.)
Attitude: As a whole, I'd say manic depressive. Other than that, I'd say I'm pretty much depressed at least 1/4 of the time.

And.......
our good friend Fatt doesn't have far to go before the same fate befalls him.
No offence.
Really.
:biggrin:
:)

One question remains to be answered: WHERE CAN I BUY ONE (just in case I decide to get one against my better judgement.)

Alright. As far as pricing goes, it varies depending on what you want to do. If you want to really look good, you need to buy a suit that goes appropriate with the coat. My friend Benjamin had to go in for a job interview for an IT specialist. For the interview, he bought himself a $1200 suit, and an $800 trench coat that worked well with the suit. Luckily for him, he did not require any custom tailoring. Even better, his interviewer wore the exact same thing, which looks real good for a job interview.

...Now for the cheaper side of life...

My [former] boss said "We are throwing [military fatigues] away as it has a negative merchandise value." Of course, being a dumpster diver, I said "It keeps me warm, and I can get that smell of rot and blood out of it."

If you really insist on getting a trench coat, hit up thrift stores, consignment shops, e-bay, and rummage sales. E-bay is always pretty random, but at the other places listed I've seen them on sale for about $2 to $50 depending on their condition. If you want my coat, I'll honor all serious offers, which means none.

I'll also vouch for army/navy coats being cooler than modern trenchcoats. Old army stuff(bags, coats) is actually really well made, and it gives you that grunge look.:P

It's ok.
I want a black one anyway.

I happened to stumble across a decent trench coat at the local GoodWill store that my friend dragged me into one day....

I can't complain, but due to the principle of it, I haven't gone back in there since.

It's a really nice coat. I has a removable liner inside, but it's not black. It's this sort of khaki brown color. If you've ever played Perfect dark for N64, it looks almost exactly like the ones the guys in Chicago wear. Ironically, when I wear it I look like the stereotypical chicago business employee.

It's a nice coat though. Like FadedReality, I live in florida, and so it doesn't serve much purpose other than image.