Military Dress and Men's Outdoor Leisurewear: Burberry's Trench Coat in First World War Britain

Abstract

This article explores the emergence of the trench coat through a range of First World War British press advertisements. The rush to khaki in 1914 drove many firms to employ the language of wartime economy in their promotions. Burberry was a case in point; the firm’s images promoted protective clothing for harsh weather conditions but were novel enough to suggest that they could create active healthy bodies for the war effort. This article explores how new tailoring thrived in wartime Britain, owing to the official demand to clothe new army officers, who were recruited from a wide range of social classes. Rather than idealize men’s bodies through the traditional symbols of class, Burberry updated the military body by combining established ideas of leisure with new concepts of war work. Their waterproof coats became synonymous with the war because the designs incorporated War Office requirements with traditional aspects of leisurewear. Nonetheless, its military features did not confine the trench coat to army use, and it became a popular garment during and after the war. Burberry resolved the contradictions of the wartime trade by offering practical, mass-produced clothing, which bore the marks of sporting leisure. The firm’s modernizing approach was represented by the image of a man in a trench coat, a figure that embodied the militarizing of the home front during wartime.