Elaine | Hooded Relaxed Trench Coat

A trench coat without a hood solves half the problem.

It handles the wind and the drizzle well enough and then leaves you standing in a doorway waiting for the rain to stop. Elaine keeps the trench shape exactly as it is and puts a hood on the back of it, which is the one thing the original was ever really missing.

Hood that stays up. It is cut deep enough to hold its position rather than sliding back off your head at the first proper gust. No hand on the hood all the way to the car.

Relaxed through the body. There is room for a heavy knit or even a blazer underneath without the shoulders pulling anywhere. It works in October and then again in March.

Belted waist. The tie pulls the shape in wherever you want it, or hangs loose on the days when you would rather have a column. One coat, two different silhouettes.

Length past the knee. A trench runs well below the knee, which keeps a skirt or a dress underneath completely covered in a downpour. Far more use than a short jacket.

Your coat is the only thing anyone sees on a wet day, and most people settle for whatever happened to be closest to the door. It is a strange place to have compromised.