Bespoke Outerwear

The Polo Coat.

Camel hair, double-breasted, belted — the most elegant of all overcoats.

The polo coat — typically in camel hair or a fine camel-coloured wool, double-breasted with a self-belt — is one of the most elegant overcoats in the history of menswear. Associated with American collegiate style in the 1920s and subsequently adopted by the best-dressed men of the mid-twentieth century, it is a coat that looks more assured and more distinguished than almost anything else in the outerwear wardrobe. At The Black Lapel, we make polo coats in camel hair and camel-coloured fine wool for clients who want a coat that is unmistakably excellent.

Photograph to follow

The polo coat — character and cloth

The polo coat is defined by three elements: the double-breasted front, the self-belt that ties or buckles at the waist, and the camel or camel-adjacent colour. Together, these create a coat with a relaxed but extremely distinctive character — formal enough for a theatre, relaxed enough for a weekend walk, and distinctive enough that you will be noticed in one.

Camel hair is the traditional cloth — soft, warm, and a specific tawny-gold colour that is different from dyed camel wools. True camel hair comes from the soft underbelly of the Bactrian camel, is naturally lightweight and remarkably warm, and has a hand that nothing else quite matches. A polo coat in genuine camel hair from a heritage British or Italian mill is one of the finest outerwear investments available.

Commission your coat.

Visit us at 4 Sardar Patel Road, Adyar, Chennai — Mon–Sat, 11am–9pm. First consultation free.

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