Greatcoat

"Shinel" redirects here. For the short story by Nikolai Gogol, see The Overcoat.

A greatcoat (also watchcoat) is a large, woollen overcoat designed for warmth and protection against wind and weather, and features a collar that can be turned up and cuffs that can be turned down to protect the face and the hands, while the short rain-cape at the shoulders protects from the wind and repels rain. In the 19th century, such a coat was part of a soldier's military uniform, to be worn while on watch (guard duty), hence the term watchcoat.^[1]

1st Grenadiers of the Old Guard wearing their great coats

The greatcoat: Rear and front perspectives of the uniform greatcoat for an officer of the Light Infantry of the Grande Armée commanded by Napoléon.

The drape of the greatcoat reached to below the knee of the wearer, the short cape drapes to the elbow, and the capacious external pockets allow the wearer to carry dry food and other items; an example is the Petersham coat, named after Viscount Petersham.^[2] In the fashion of the Regency era (1795–1837) a greatcoat might feature several short capes, usually designed, cut, and tailored to the specifications of fit and aesthetic taste of a dandy.^[3]

Popular Culture

• Doctor Who featured many greatcoats. Patrick Troughton wore one when playing the Second Doctor in the episode The War Games. Matt Smith wore an army green greatcoat when playing the Eleventh Doctor in the episodes Let's Kill Hitler, The Girl Who Waited, Closing Time, and The Wedding of River Song. Jack Harkness wore a navy blue greatcoat in the series and Torchwood.

Gallery

• 
  The greatcoat for a French dragoon soldier. (1812)
• 
  Models of Bundeswehr greatcoats from the 1960s.
• 
  The Border Guard Service of Russia in greatcoat uniform.
• 
  Royal Air Force officers in uniform greatcoat, inspecting a French aeroplane.
• 
  Winston Churchill in a British Warm coat; Stalin in a greatcoat, Yalta, 1945.
• 
  A sentry of the Coldstream Guards dressed in his watchcoat. (2011)
• 
  A British soldier in his Army-issue greatcoat; First World War (1914–1918).

See also

• Trench coat
• Livery