Review: Berg & Berg Raglan coat
Time for a new coat. A longer coat in a raglan style, ideally belted, was a blank space in my closet for so many years. This year I decided to go for it, and it was between Suitsupply green coat and Berg & Berg navy coat. Berg & Berg won this "competition" because of its length - it is not easy to get a great RTW with length under knees - and because I see this brand around myself a lot, and I wanted to know what my experience will be. I am already familiar with Suitsupply. Although the dark green colour was hard to give up on - curiosity won.
My first impression of this coat was a bit sheepish - a coat is fairly thin, and the craftsmanship is not great. However, I calmed down about the thickness as I already have my Suitsupply cashmere coat, which is also not thick - not every coat doesn't have to be 600g/m, but perhaps I enjoy it that way more.
And the craftsmanship- I remember this post on PS, which cover Berg & Berg founder and his speech about the company. In short, he's talking about style but that they are not expensive because they are not aiming for the best craft possible.
I know that I am not buying coats for thousands, but I need to take into account what brands with a genuinely great focus on quality costs. Therefore I cannot say Berg & Berg is expensive. But I certainly cannot call it cheap. The original price of the coat was around 800 EUR, which in the UK would be half of the jacket price; still, I believe that RTW for 800 should bring more quality than that.
Before the first time I put it on, I did clip some threads and used a pilling remover on some spots on wool as it looked messy - some yarns were out of the place, just like threads I already mentioned. And the lining was also not precisely ironed - but that didn't bother me much.
That inner pockets were made using lining and hence doesn't hold the shape; that's not unusual, but what else surprised me is that outer pockets are made of lining too.
I have some coats, but none of them has outer pockets made of lining - it feels pretty dangerous. Meaning that someday, I'll put there my phone and pockets rips a bit. I am tempted to take away the lining and reinforce them a bit - but perhaps I am wrong, and the pockets will happily hold many years to come.
Not to talk only about negative stuff, let me tell you my delightful astonishment. This is a wool coat, but the label states "Shetland wool", for which I was pleasantly surprised - wool is thin but quite durable and dense, which lifted my mood.
Also, the raglan coat is known for being worn with the collar lifted up, and this one holds nicely, as you can see in some photos. This brings me to the best part - raglan's versatility and ways how you can wear it.
Let's look at this closer:
#1 - Just buttoned, raglan seems to be a bit oversized. Fit is quite loose, which is handy for fitting all your thick knitwear or tailored jackets with broad shoulders under the coat.
#2 - Buttoned, belt tied behind your back. This will create a slimmer silhouette and clean front while allowing "the skirt" to move freely. Here I tied it quite a lot to perhaps exaggerate the result to see how the body is suddenly slimmer.
#3 - Buttoned (or not) and belt tied in front of your body - perhaps most common way how to wear it. It creates a bulkier silhouette on your upper body and allows "the skirt" to show itself in its full beauty. Also, when you pull coat closer to your body like this, it's suddenly much warmer than at way #1.
#4 - Unbuttoned, just worn over anything. A decadent way to wear a raglan coat, in my opinion.
As a final result - despite my not-best experience initially, I will definitely keep it in my closet; the cut is precisely what I was looking for, It could be a bit heavier, but it can turn out there's no need. Let's wait for temperature below zero.
What is your opinion of raglan coats? Do you prefer length under or above the knee?
Yours Sincerely,
Denis
