Duffel coat

One of the features of duffel coats is that the front fastenings - leather strips and horn (or fake horn) toggles - usually start to wear out well before the rest of the coat, and it irks to throw away all that expensive cloth for want of a few fastenings.

At one time, I used to replace the leather strips holding the toggles in place when they broke, usually where the heavy machine sewing had cut into their surface. Reference 1 notices an excursion to try and get the necessary thread, known to me as pack thread.

Some years later, I decided that ornamental rope might be a better bet then leather, resulting in the excursion to a fancy haberdasher's in Marylebone noticed at reference 2.

And two years after that, about three years ago now, I got around to replacing some of the leather strips on the then current duffel coat, with first results noticed at reference 3.

So now it is duffel coat season again, and BH is making even louder noises than last year about it being time to buy a new one, this despite the bulk of the coat being in perfectly serviceable condition. With the threat of shopping hanging over me, I was prompted into action, this afternoon sitting down to replace the five leather strips that were still to be done, it taking the first strip to get back into the swing of it again and it taking around three hours to do the whole lot, with the result illustrated above.

Good for years and years to come.

Reference 1: https://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.com/search?q=wenzel+wilcox.

Reference 2: http://psmv2.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-leather-thongs-which-hold-toggles.html. Inter alia, an example of a post for which the address cannot be guessed from the title.

Reference 3: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2016/12/duffel-coat.html.