Red Raincoat

I wore a red raincoat when I went to The Edgewater Hotel for brunch with hubby on our fifth anniversary. I didn’t really mention it in my anniversary post and it appeared in only one of the photos. Today I thought I’d show the topper in a little more detail.

Coat: Kenneth Cole via thrifted
Scarf: Thrifted
Jeans: 7 for all Mankind
Shoes: Hot Kiss
Clutch: Crystalyn Kae

I like the material of this coat. It’s a matte, water-resistant fabric with a pretty navy lining. It’s single-breasted, so not really a trench. It’s beltless and perhaps less shapely as a result, but I can add a belt for a different effect if I ever want to. I have a wide, black stretchy belt that I’ve tried before and it works. The best part about it is the rich, deep red color.

As a sidenote, redcoat is the term used for the British Army (despite the fact that other armies have also worn red: Danish, French and Russian among others) because from the late 17th to early 20th centuries most British regiments wore red. I always thought that red was not a good color to camouflage oneself in, but it turns out that they weren’t as conspicuous as you might think. On the battlefield, the black gun smoke from muskets made it pretty much impossible to see anything anyway. Plus, the vegetable dyes used to make the garments red faded quickly and were probably more of a ruddy brown on the field.