U.S. COAST GUARD OVERCOAT

The U.S. COAST GUARD OVERCOAT was an outerwear piece adopted by the Coast Guard in the 1940s, independently of the Navy, though it drew on much of the same equipment and supply conventions. Following Coast Guard Headquarters' November 1941 order applying U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations to Coast Guard personnel, it became common practice for officers to purchase their own uniforms and outerwear from commercial outfitters using a cash uniform allowance, rather than receiving them as government issue. The garment carried no government contract label, and in its place, most surviving examples bear the label of a Boston-based rainwear maker, whose markings varied by garment but commonly included water-resistance claims such as "SHOWER PROOF" or "WEATHER SEALED." A commercial maker's label in place of a military designation is consistent with this period practice of officers privately purchasing regulation-pattern outerwear, and the coat is thought to have served as an officer's raincoat. No definitive Coast Guard documentation confirms this specific use, and this attribution rests on archival photographs and purchasing practice as opposed to official record. The Real McCoy's U.S. COAST GUARD OVERCOAT reconstructs the coat's shell in a dobby twill cloth, lined in a reverse twill, and finished with urea buttons and cotton sewing thread throughout. The shell fabric is a comfortable but substantial weight, achieved through a loosely woven coarse-count yarn construction, a technique considered among the most demanding to reproduce on modern looms. 100% Cotton Dobby Twill Cloth Shell Reverse Spun Twill Lining Urea Buttons Cotton Sewing Thread Construction Made in Japan