The Cordings Covert Coat
Given its well-documented history and enduring popularity since its conception by Cordings in the 1900’s, the iconic covert coat has a lot to live up to. But live up to it, it certainly does. This is one of those classic British style pieces that reaches across the generations and speaks both of fine quality and perfect practicality. Designed originally as a riding coat, the covert cloth is both durable and smart, hence its modern day incarnation as a trustworthy, comfortable, everyday overcoat.
The Cordings covert coat is part of the heritage of British gentleman’s clothing, so much so that the V&A museum have one of our very own covert coats in its permanent collection. Its versatility, immaculate tailoring, neat lines and functional style means that it has become a modern classic, much coveted the world over.
Not that this is the origin of its name – covert is a hunting term, from the French couvert meaning a thicket, which in English came to mean a hiding place for game birds. The tightly woven twill fabric and rail road stitching makes it very durable, thus designed to resist when charging through the brambles on horseback. Nowadays, however, it is just as likely to be seen on the man about town, appropriate for almost every occasion and an indispensable part of every man’s wardrobe.
The covert cloth is still woven exclusively for Cordings, to its original specification, by Fox Brothers in Somerset, a mill with an even longer heritage than Cordings, having been founded in 1772.
The coat boast functional details, retained from its origin such as a poachers pocket, designed for game, but more usually used these days for newspapers, a deep centre back vent, which made the coat practical for horse riding, and still makes the coat more versatile today.
There are very few garments that embody that quintessential British style quite as succinctly as the Cordings covert coat.