The explanation can come later.

 

However you look at it, it's a peacoat.

Well, there's no getting around that.

It has a double-breasted front, thick wool, and enough volume to wrap around the body.
I doubt anyone looking at this would think it's not a peacoat.

If that's the case, there was no need to make it look like something strangely different.

First, we had to make it work properly as a peacoat.
This is where we started with this garment.

Good evening. This is Matsushima from cantáte.

<cantáte>

" Shear Naval Coat  "

COL : NOIR

¥275,000 TAX IN

 

I think the peacoat is a highly perfected garment.

Everyone knows it, and most people have probably worn one at least once.
Even without knowing that it was a naval garment or any of that background, you can look at it and tell it's a peacoat.

Clothes like this are actually more difficult.

You can change it as much as you like if you want to.
Make the collar larger, lengthen it, change the buttons.

But this time, I didn't really want to do anything that obvious.

It simply looks like a peacoat.

But when you wear it, it somehow feels different.
When you touch it, it's a little different.
When you take it off and look inside, you finally understand why.

That's the size I had in mind when making it.

 

The most immediately noticeable aspect of the construction is the front facing.

we've made it quite substantial.

To someone who doesn't make clothes,
“So what if the facing is large?”
I think that's what we're talking about.

Exactly, and you can barely see it from the outside.

But this is actually quite important.

Peacoats have thick fabric.
And because it's double-breasted, the fabric overlaps at the front.

Naturally, this gives the front a certain amount of weight.

We could also have reinforced it firmly with interfacing, but I didn't really want to do that this time.

Rather than holding it in place with interfacing, we support it with the surface area of the facing itself.

The idea is to support the weight and tension of the front panels evenly from the inside.

That makes a huge difference in how stable it feels when you fasten the buttons.

the front doesn't pull awkwardly, and the hem is less likely to flap around.

Probably the moment you put it on,
“It's easy to wear because the front facing is large.”
I don't think anyone would say that.

But that's fine.

With details like this, it's just right if they're barely noticed.

We use corduroy for the pocket bags of the handwarmer pockets.

This isn't some particularly grand reason, either.

It's because it doesn't feel cold when you put your hands in.

In winter, your hands get cold the moment you step outside, don't they?

When you put your hands in the pockets, if the lining is made of a smooth fabric, it feels a little cold at first.

You don't get that with corduroy.

That's all there is to it.

But if you're going to wear it every day, I think things like this matter more.

It doesn't show up in photos, and you would never notice it even hanging on a rack.

But you can tell once you use it.

I think clothing is really built up from an accumulation of details like that.

For the elbow panels, we use Entrefino sheepskin.

Here, too, it wasn't that I wanted to use leather; it was the result of looking for the right texture for this spot.

Adding leather to the elbows can instantly give a garment a stronger character.

It starts to feel country-like, or workwear-like.

That would look cool in its own way, but I didn't want to do that with this peacoat.

That is why we use leather that is exceptionally soft and does not interfere with the texture of the wool.

Up close, it is leather.
But from a little distance, it does not make much of a statement.

More important than the fact that we used leather was that the garment as a whole look natural.

The fabric is 100% merino wool melton.

Melton for a peacoat.

Honestly, there is nothing unusual about it.

Quite ordinary, in fact.

But with ordinary materials like this, the finishing makes all the difference.

It is finished over time through repeated brushing and fulling.

When fulled, the fabric becomes denser and less permeable to wind.
Naturally, it also becomes warmer.

But if you pack it too densely, it becomes stiff and heavy.

What I wanted this time was not rigid melton, but something that retained a proper sense of volume.

It has substantial body.
But the moment you pick it up, it does not feel unbearably heavy.

When you put it on, a little air remains around your body.

The warmth of wool is not just about its thickness; the air within it is quite important.

So this time,

Volume, rather than stiffness.
A sense of being wrapped up, rather than weight.

For a winter coat, I think that is better.

 

You do not need to overthink the styling.

Denim works, as do slacks.
A knit or a shirt would work underneath.

I would wear it with wide trousers and leather shoes.

The peacoat itself has enough presence, so everything else does not need to lean military as well.

If anything, I feel this coat looks better paired with ordinary clothes.

There is a little extra volume in the silhouette.

But the point is not to make it look oversized.

You can wear a thick knit underneath.
You can wear it over a jacket.

This has enough room to function properly as a winter coat.

Many old peacoats are much closer to the body.

If it is a uniform, that is fine.

But we are not wearing it aboard a ship.

You can ride the train in it, or drive a car.
You can wear it into a shop.
You can take it traveling.

If so, it is better to give them proportions suited to life today.

I like looking at old clothes, but I do not particularly want to reproduce them as they are.

I consider why old garments were made that way, then ask what I would do now.

That is more interesting to me.

I think the peacoat is already a thoroughly complete garment.

So there is no need to add anything just to make it look new.

It is warm without being unnecessarily heavy.

It is sturdy without being stiff.

We use leather without showing too much of it.

We create the structure without revealing too much of it on the outside.

It is all about what is on the inside.

When I think about it, most of what we did this time consists of things that no one but the wearer would know.

The generously sized facing, the corduroy inside the pockets, and the soft sheepskin.

It is perfectly fine if no one notices.

If anything, it is better when you can wear it so naturally that these details do not draw attention.

From the outside, it is unmistakably a peacoat.

Wear it for a few years, put your hands in the pockets countless times, and fasten and unfasten the buttons.

As you wear them, you gradually begin to understand why.

I think clothes can be approached in that order.

Let it look good first; the explanation can come later.

So with this peacoat too, start by wearing it normally.

You will probably want to look at it again after taking it off.

cantáte Matsushima Shin