Coat Fabrics, Types and Terms Explained: Wool, Cashmere, Melton, Shearling and More

These are the coat fabric types, skins, fit terms and styles you meet when buying vintage, in plain English. Each entry starts with the answer and links to the full guide when we have one. Use it to decode a listing, a label or a seller’s description.

Cloths and fibres

Camel hair. Cloth spun from the soft undercoat of the Bactrian camel. Many “camel coats” are only camel in colour, so read the label. Camel hair vs camel colour

Cashmere. In the United States, a label may say cashmere only for the fine undercoat of the cashmere goat, with an average fibre diameter of no more than 19 microns and no more than 3% by weight of fibres coarser than 30 microns. That is a minimum, not a grade. Cashmere vs wool

Gabardine. A tight, hard-wearing twill, developed by Thomas Burberry in the late 1870s and patented in 1888, that sheds a shower and stops the wind. Water-resistant, not waterproof. Is a trench coat waterproof?

Loden. A dense Alpine wool cloth used for hard-wearing outdoor coats. What loden means

Melton. A dense, heavy wool cloth, the traditional cloth of the British warm, that holds its shape well. Cloth weight explained

Skins and shearling

Astrakhan, Persian lamb and Swakara. Different trade names for the pelt of the Karakul sheep, not different animals: Persian lamb is the Western trade name, astrakhan a place name that became a trade name, and Swakara the Namibian designation. Astrakhan, Persian lamb, Swakara

Mouton. Lamb or sheepskin that has been treated. It is a treatment, not a breed. The difference between the names

Shearling. Sheep or lamb skin tanned with the wool left on, so the fleece forms the lining and the skin forms the outer face. Shearling vs sheepskin

Sheepskin. The broader word for any sheep hide; shearling is the word most often used for a skin with a short, even fleece worn as a coat. Shearling vs sheepskin

Fit and construction

Dropped shoulder. A shoulder seam placed below the natural shoulder edge, often with a dropped armhole. It is the signature of an oversized cut. Oversized overcoats

Flat measurements. Measurements taken with the garment laid flat, such as shoulder to shoulder, chest across (pit to pit), sleeve and total length. They are more reliable than a label size on vintage. Will a vintage piece fit?

Half-belt. A belt that spans only the back of a coat, as on the polo coat and the Guards coat, to gather the cloth.

Set-in sleeve. A sleeve sewn into an armhole that curves around the shoulder, so a seam sits at the edge of the shoulder. It is the opposite of a raglan sleeve. How an overcoat should fit

Turnback cuff. A cuff folded back on the sleeve, as on the polo coat.

Coat styles

Balmacaan. A loose, single-breasted overcoat with raglan sleeves and a small collar, often in tweed. The name comes from an estate near Inverness. The raglan coat and the balmacaan

British warm. A double-breasted overcoat in thick melton wool with leather buttons, ending just above the knee, based on the greatcoats British Army officers wore in the First World War. Types of overcoats

Car coat. A short overcoat ending around mid-thigh, cut so you can sit and drive comfortably. The short version belongs to the years after the Second World War. Types of overcoats

Chesterfield. A tailored town overcoat, slightly waisted, usually single-breasted and often with a velvet collar. It is named after the 6th Earl of Chesterfield, a leader of fashion in the 1830s. Types of overcoats

Covert coat. A short topcoat from the late 19th century, made for riding and hunting in hard-wearing covert cloth and recognised by rows of stitching at the cuffs and hem. Types of overcoats

Crombie. A heavy, dark, knee-length wool overcoat. The word started as a maker’s name: J. & J. Crombie was founded in Aberdeen in 1805. Types of overcoats

Guards coat. A double-breasted overcoat with a half-belt at the back, cut from the overcoats of officers of the British Guards regiments. Types of overcoats

Polo coat. A double-breasted overcoat, usually in camel, with patch pockets, a half-belt and turnback cuffs. It began as a coat worn by British polo players between chukkas. Types of overcoats

Raglan coat. A coat whose sleeves run in one piece to the collar, joined to the body by diagonal seams, with no seam on top of the shoulder. It gives a soft, rounded shoulder and room for layers. The raglan coat

Trench coat. A belted raincoat with a gun flap, D-rings and cuff straps, developed from military coats of the First World War and made in gabardine. Trench coats by decade

Ulster. A long, heavy daytime overcoat, usually double-breasted and often belted, with a large collar. Early versions often carried a short cape. Types of overcoats