Catapult “I didn’t mean to find anything in less than a ton” – a garment that is immortal in the face of trends flashes in the streetscape of Helsinki

Trench coat is a classic over a hundred years old, which can also be seen in the street scene of Helsinki. The model, developed before the First World War, has sworn friends.

Many are fascinated by the old-fashioned elegance, durability, or simply long flowing beads associated with trench coats.

Old a young couple in love were playing in the fallen leaves of the church park. A student of public health sciences at the Helsinki Open University Maria Peltosen, 19, as well as a jewelry and watch dealer Otto Aurolan, 21, dating days are spent at flea markets and recycling centers.

Trendy jackets and cap hats are influenced by, for example, the British series of the streaming service Netflix Peaky Blinders and in particular the author of its main part Cillian Murphy.

“It’s an absolute favorite. I like old time dressing. I take influences from the post-World War I era. The trench coat was the neatest modeled jacket and remained in everyday use after the war. The costumes were also part of everyday wear at that time, ”Aurola knows.

The stories of the clothes used fascinate Aurola and Pelto. They allow you to travel in time.

“In the recycling centers, some of the clothes are worn out, but some may have remained almost unused in the closet. Once I found a Turo costume in Konti that looked new. It fit as if it had been custom-made for me. At home, I found wedding venue cards in my breast pocket. ”

Aurola says he bought his previous light trench coat from a recycling center.

Today’s trench coat is a graduation gift from Dad.

“We were buying a little jacket for Grandpa last spring from Stockmann’s men’s department when I saw this. It was love at first sight. The brand pays, but I don’t think money is wasted on quality clothes. And this is also practical. I have to wear a suit at work, and the suit can fit under a trench coat. ”

Beneath Aurola’s trench coat is a blue suit with a vest purchased from the Iso Omena Turon store in the shopping center.

“We were actually buying pants when I noticed that a suitable vest and jacket and still a nice Italian collared shirt were found for the pants. I wooded the whole and went to show Dad: What do you say? ‘If you like that, then take it,’ Dad said. The decision was facilitated by the fact that it was a Depreciation Model in the offer. I like to wear vests. They cover a wrinkled shirt, and in the summer, a vest is a good alternative to a little jacket. ”

Burberry’s umbrella, on the other hand, is old. So old that it doesn’t always agree to open.

Maria Peltonen says he is the third owner of an ankle-length black trench coat.

“Our neighbor lived in Hungary as a model worker Fin. He was a real fashion man with enough clothes and matching shoes and bags. When the mother received this from him, the condition was that the jacket would not be shortened. When I found the jacket in my mom’s wardrobe, it immediately became my favorite. I get this jacket by throwing the most praise. I have been stopped on the street and asked where I got my jacket. ”

Peltonen has stretched the waist of the jacket into an hourglass with an ancient wide leather belt.

There is a black polo shirt and black pants under the jacket. A Prada scarf is wrapped around the carrying strap of a leather bag purchased from a flea market.

“Grandma has a lot of scarves. He promised me a scarf, and Prada was selected. I have seen online that scarves are used with bags. I think this combination looks nice. ”

Peltonen points out that the brand or price of a garment does not matter.

“If price or brand means too much, then it’s not about the clothes but something else. Let the garment speak for itself. People who put their money in expensive designer clothes aren’t even necessarily rich. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckenberg wear clothes that do not read anything because they do not want to give free advertising to clothing brands. ”

When he was young, Peltonen says that he wondered if he needed a jacket. Today, she thinks the jacket belongs in every outfit.

“The importance of a jacket as part of my outfit is the reason I have so many trench coats. I see how it fits into the whole and what kind of layers it forms. ”

Aurola nods. He also says that he always thinks about which existing clothes, for example, the jacket is suitable for. Peltonen is comfortable in a black, Aurola light coat.

“I like this traditional light trench coat color. The metal parts of the belt and the tightening parts of the wrists stand out better than the dark jacket. The hat and gloves also stand out better. ”

Seppo Toivonen the trench coat serves the ideal of long-lasting clothing.

In an old photograph taken in Geneva in 1981, above the young correspondent Seppo Toivonen is Burberry’s narrow trench coat. “That trench coat was so worn and too narrow that it no longer exists.”

The trench coat of the next photo is now above Toivonen.

“Here I am my wife Leena Karon with the early 1990s in New York. As you can see from the picture, Burberry’s classic military model has been replaced by a single-line hidden hold. It shows a shift from a traditional trench coat to a city jacket. This, I remember, was bought before we moved to Washington. ”

The trench coat is in good condition, but so is the owner of the jacket. The retired long-term foreign correspondent of the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation has remained in the dimensions of youth, and the jacket is still in use.

“This is tidy with the seamstress: the cuffs are the first to wear the cuffs – they are shortened and tuned. Töölö had a good seamstress who skillfully repaired trench coats in addition to other clothes. Too bad he has stopped working. ”

Classic the trench coat fits into Toivonen’s clothing philosophy.

“It’s well designed and done. It withstands bad weather and can be used from early September to early May. The trench coat is suitable for a mobile lifestyle, cycling and walking. Today, I wear this at the cottage, as the Italian Allegri town jacket took the victory over Burberry in the 21st century. ”

A greenish long jacket went on loan Tuomas Toivonen, but the son returned it to his father.

“She wears black long jackets or hiking clothes where you can paddle in the Lofoten Islands, so she wasn’t inspired by Burberry’s trench coat.”

The cornerstone of Toivonen’s dressing is the use of long-acquired clothes.

“For example, I still have party shoes acquired in the late 1960s with thin leather soles. At the same time, I commissioned Stockmann for my first custom-made suit with two twigs of gray tweed fabric. Back then, gift fashion was narrow. As the legs widened in the 1980s, I sacrificed the legs of some pants to widen the others. At the same time, the life of the suit was considerably extended. ”

Correspondent the profession took Hope and family along Europe and America until the last decade. He lived in Bonn for two years, in Paris for a total of eight years, and in Washington for four years.

The dress culture of each station was different.

“And everywhere the importance of the winter season in clothing diminished. In Germany, the clothes were carefully designed and were of high quality and understated. In France, one dressed more freely and personally. In Washington, the style was semi-sporty – and men’s hair, for example, was cut very short. The retail chains sold Gapia, but the Saxon department stores already became popular Italian men’s brands at that time. ”

The ideal of consuming to the end guarantees that most of Toivonen’s new clothes will last for a while and be compatible with old clothes.

“While living in Helsinki, Big Time, which has since stopped on Kapteeninkatu, was chosen as my place to shop. Today, I like Frenn’s selection of men’s clothing store on Fredrikinkatu. ”

Long a slender figure clad in a trench coat and felt hat cools like a young Sherlock on Aleksanterinkatu.

“I bought this from Zara’s men’s department. It was a special model that was only on sale for a couple of weeks ”, Niklas Pemari i.e. rap artist MC Sunshine reveals.

The checkered back creates a contrast to the light jacket. And the length – its lack, especially in the coats of thought Pemaria.

“A couple of years ago, I couldn’t find anything less than a ton of ankle-length jackets. It is especially difficult for men to find one, because men’s trench coats often reach the knee. ”

Pemari says the fashion designers in his circle of friends are wondering if there would be a demand for men’s long trench coats.

“It has a clear niche. The longest is the best. I think it looks very great to walk the jacket open when you cool like a cloak in the wind. ”

Pemari is the exact headwear. A beret or taxi cap fits with the trench coat, he says. He has at least ten overcoats.

“I have a brown trench coat from Stockmann. At Uffi I have also seen really pretty trench coats. A good tip for men is to visit the women’s section. With a little fixation, the women’s jacket can be shaped to suit a man. ”

Pemari says she enjoys classic clothes.

“In grade nine, I started wearing overcoats, and gradually the narrow jeans switched to plain legs. It’s good to have many different styles. The craze for Gucci and other brands that has prevailed in rap circles for a long time reaches insane prices. It makes no sense from my point of view. ”

From trenches to fashion platforms

The first the trench coat, born under World War II, took shape to its current patterns in the trench warfare.

The double-breasted trench coat is a water-repellent overcoat made of a cotton blend, originally designed for officers in World War I British troops.

Burberry and Aquascutum argue over who first developed the trench coat. Thomas Burberry created water – repellent gabardine cotton in 1879 and patented it so that Burberry had the exclusive right to manufacture trench fabric in England until 1917.

Aquascutumin John Emery claims that he had created a water – repellent fabric as early as 1853. The company was already making a trench – like, almost ground – wide model for the British army at that time.

The Mackintosh Mac Raincoat is older than Burberry and Aquascutumia. Launched in 1824, the rubber-reinforced cotton jacket was single-breasted and had no epolets. The Mac has apparently inspired later jacket manufacturers.

British troops and the coats created by Burberry began to appear in the street scene after the war ended, when Burberry launched the two-row, light-belted Tielocken model.

The tightly woven cotton jacket left details that were useful on the front: for example, a round Raglan sleeve, no shoulder pads, a buttonhole that prevented water from running inside the jacket and softened the shoulder from the gun supports, and a belt with a D-shaped metal rack for hand grenades.

The traditional colors of the trench coat are khaki, sand gray, beige and dark blue. Black came to the selection a little later.