Help me find my boyfriend's coat!

December 12, 2007 4:05 AM

My boyfriend has a coat he found at Salvation Army he just loves. However, it's dying from overuse. Help me find a new one for Christmas.

This is what the coat looks like. It's a pretty long coat, 41' from collar to bottom. It goes down to almost his knees, but it's not oversize for him, because the sleeve length is what it's suppose to be.

It's got 'Chiavari Originals,' and on a separate line, 'Chas Grotsky, Bayonne.' The interior lining is pretty shredded, and that's all the info I can find on the inside. I tried googling it, can't find a thing.

At the least, can anyone tell me what kind of coat it is? If I know what kind, I can look for the same type, even if it won't be the same brand. If no one can find anything, I'm down to asking a tailor to copy it, and that will probably be expensive and take a while.

posted by stoneegg21 to clothing, beauty, & fashion (14 comments total)

This (PDF) is an 21 April 1918 NY Times birth announcement that reads:

GROTSKY - Mr. and Mrs. Charles Grotsky (nee Dorothy Prelakel,) of 31 West 31st St., Bayonne, N.J. announce the arrival of a son on April 19, 1918.

I would guess that text indicates the owner of the jacket, not the manufacturer.

Chiavari is a town in Italy that includes a men's clothing industry, so the "Chiavari Originals" label could simply indicate the place of manufacture. Alternatively, there is a brand of clothing called Chiavari that is owned by R.S. Lords, Inc in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I can't find a website for their store, but their address and phone number are:

5251 Powerline Rd
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
954 - 772 - 6285

You might want to try giving them a call and seeing if they can help you out.

Hope this helps.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 5:11 AM on December 12, 2007

Coats like that are called dusters. I can't tell from the pictures if it's leather or dark cloth, but you should be able to find either kind pretty easily. (Just slightly expensive... I'm guessing that part of what drew him to the original was that it was cheap, which may be difficult to recreate.)
posted by anaelith at 5:20 AM on December 12, 2007

I think Grotsky's was problem a store in Bayonne, given that they used to sponsor
Little League Teams.
posted by grouse at 5:31 AM on December 12, 2007

problem probably
posted by grouse at 5:31 AM on December 12, 2007

I'd be more likely to call that a topcoat, rather than a duster. I found this one by googling "men black twill topcoat".
posted by cabingirl at 5:43 AM on December 12, 2007

Hmm, perhaps you could save it by having it relined and cleaned? It seems a good deal easier than copying the entire jacket, and might help retain the sentimental attachment that I'm sure your boyfriend feels for his jacket.

And you can pick a great fabric for the lining that will add a lot of style to the jacket--maybe he can pick something out.

I say this because my father, a great connoisseur of fine clothing, folds his jackets with the lining out before putting them down on a table or chair of dubious cleanliness, as the lining can be replaced without the entire jacket going to waste.

I would of course ask him before kidnapping his outerwear and returning it with an entirely new inside.
posted by sondrialiac at 7:02 AM on December 12, 2007 [1 favorite]

Vintagetrends.com has a good supply of men's overcoats. Or just look for "vintage overcoats".
I agree with sondrialiac, relining and a good cleaning can work wonders... just tricky to seperate him from his coat.
posted by readery at 7:10 AM on December 12, 2007

I'd call that a topcoat or overcoat as well. As for the tags, good quality mid-20th-century clothing often has labels like the one you describe, which list a designer/manufacturer name and a store name. That would fit with the coat having come from a now long-defunct store in Bayonne.
posted by jocelmeow at 8:08 AM on December 12, 2007

That's an overcoat. And since it was made in the era of good tailoring, you should be able to find a good tailor who'd be happy to breathe new life into it. The emphasis is on good here: you don't want the express hemming-and-hawing service, but someone who's comfortable with vintage stuff.

There's no reason to try and remake it: though there aren't closeups, so I can't see if there's any moth damage or similar, the fabric looks sound enough. Most coats from that era were made to last, and so they accommodate trips to the tailor for repairs more easily than modern ones.
posted by holgate at 8:56 AM on December 12, 2007

Men's Overcoat

Is it wool or is it more of a raincoat? Either way, it's a classic style, and ebay, vintage clothing stores or a traditional men's clothing retailer will have something similar.
posted by theora55 at 9:35 AM on December 12, 2007

Relining would be the best choice, if the outside is in good condition.

If it's not, well, it's a topcoat. At first glance I thought a Wahmaker frock coat might be a match for it — they're not terribly tailored — but it's not really the same thing. It's hard to make out the details in the photos, but do you know what your boyfriend likes so much about the coat? Is it the cut, the pockets, the fabric, the lapel-width? Finding a replacement that makes him happy could be tricky if you're replacing something ineffable.
posted by mumkin at 11:29 AM on December 12, 2007

This is great!

I think what he likes best is the style, the way it's made. The outside is starting to get shiny in places where he touches it the most, so I'll probably first look for something new, rather than just repairing the outside.

He knows what his Christmas present is going to be, he found the pictures on the camera, unfortunately.

Thanks everyone!
posted by stoneegg21 at 12:38 PM on December 12, 2007

terms that might help your search, or just your own eye for the details: Long Overcoat (or Topcoat) / Single Breasted / 3 (or "three") Button Front / Peaked Lapel / vertical waist pockets / Center Vent (probably, can't tell from photo)
posted by taz at 12:52 PM on December 12, 2007

I think what he likes best is the style, the way it's made.

That's might be tricky to replicate unless you can find something of a similar vintage, or enlist a good tailor who knows his cuts. Long coats aren't as susceptible to fashion as suit jackets, but the vintage overcoats I've owned have been tangibly different from my modern off-the-rack one in terms of their fit, and show all the signs that they were made to be tweaked. They're more tailored, if you will. And like mumkin said, you may be dealing with ineffables.

At very least, if you have a chat with a tailor, you're likely to get a sense of what's closest in look and feel today, in terms of the fabric, cut and fit.

I wore a Salvation Army overcoat to near-death back in the day, and passed it back to a charity shop.
posted by holgate at 3:21 PM on December 12, 2007