All right, sure, it conjures up thoughts of indolent prep school fops who read poetry to each other in a cave, but once you strip away the Ivy league association , you get a hefty piece of outerwear that’s just as hard-bitten as the icy spume blowing off the lake.

The name comes from the town where the thick nubby wool originated, Duffle, in the coastal region of Dufflezandhoven near Antwerp, and yes, the duffle bag was once made of the same stuff.  Although coats of this material were being made as early as the 17^th century for North Sea Mariners, it was venerable work clothes company John Partridge that introduced it to Britain when the Royal Navy needed an all weather protective jacket in 1890.

The coats protected sailors of the Grand Fleet against the cold fury of the North Sea in 1916, at the battle of Jutland, where great iron ships powered by coal and sweat belted out fire and cordite smoke from 13 inch guns.

The coats were at the Battle of Normandy in 1944, when Field Marshal Montgomery and officers of the 21^st Army Group clawed through hedgerows, machine guns, and the ever present damp of northern France.

After the wars, the British government approached Harold & Freda Morris, who sold work wear, to help ‘dispose’ of the surplus of duffle coats in 1951.  They purchased the coats and renamed their company Gloverall.  To this day they still manufacture several configurations.

The inexpensive surplus coats then found themselves in the hands of school boys and undergraduates, becoming synonymous with long hair, beards, and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.  The British politician and would be Labor Party leader Michael Foot made an impression.  He was lambasted for his casual attire when he wore one to the cenotaph at White Hall on Armistice Day to remember those who never made it back.

Here in the states the coats became exclusively the attire of the anglicized north east privileged, an iconic preppy staple that when worn hooded at night takes on the clandestine menace of a Bonesman, or  harbinger of Cthulian madness.

No other item of clothing I know of has as many conflicting associations as the duffle coat.  It is all at once geeky but pretentious, conservative but liberal, stoic but lighthearted, and when put on a stuffed bear, the epitome of eccentric cuteness.

This coat was born of the great grey wet of the North Sea, battle and time tested, making it an international classic that will never fail and a perfect sartorial and practical fit for Duluth.

On days like this, when the waves of the great Gitch pound themselves vengefully against the rocks, I stand on the Lake Walk, face to the spry and wind, embraced by my smoky wool duffle.  I close my eyes and I am on the deck of HMS Dorsetshire, crashing through the North Atlantic at high speed to make our fate appointed meeting with Bismarck.

The Details

There are many variations of duffle coats on the market, but sticking to the basics will reward you with a piece that will be handed down to your grand kids.  And you can’t get any simpler then Gloverall’s  575, aka. The Original Monty.  Based on the original world war two British issue, this three quarter length, 100% boiled wool masterpiece is unlined and fastens with jute rope and wooden toggles.  Notice the flapless patch pockets and the rectangular cuff tabs.  Without a zipper, the coat can be worn rakishly with only one toggle secured.  Also notice the attached cape, the throat latch, and the absence of a collar, the coat go’s right up into that adjustable studded bucket hood.  It comes in two traditional colors, camel and navy blue.  These are the basics and anything else is superfluous and detracting. The fit should be moderately loose, just enough to get over a sport coat.

Where to get it

Here in Duluth there is unfortunately no place that I know of that where you can get one of these.  Sure, you may be able to afford ordering one of these monsters directly from Gloverall or John Partridge, and that’s great.  There are also many American manufacturers of these coats, the most traditional offerings coming from Brooks Brothers or Ralph Lauren.  Just stick to your guns on the details and your budget, you will be rewarded.  Me?  I got mine on Ebay.

Hard Rules

This coat has a great casual range, it is appropriate on the weekends over a rugby and jeans or at the office with a sweater, tie and chinos.  Although it can be worn over a sport coat and trousers, it should not be worn with a suit or a tux.

Get your hands on this great classical, versatile piece and you will never have a moment of regret.

My grandfather polished his shoes, and he used shoe trees.  If you would have called him a metro–sexual while he was alive you might have tasted his knuckles.  I never thought him fastidious, nor was he a follower of fashion.  He was a hard bitten coke thrower from the steel works of Gary Indiana in the time of the great depression, and he polished his shoes.

I was lectured vehemently, by a middle aged business owner, that nobody polished their shoes anymore.  That polishing ones shoes was the domain of the “fashionable”, he said with contempt.  That today’s shoes where disposable, so no reason waste the time in polish and trees.  The shoes he wore were unremarkable, work shoes of a sort although he bore no association as to when or where they would be appropriate, shoes are just shoes and nothing more.  He was correct, in a way; he obviously felt no need to care for his shoes as he was well off enough to just throw them away when they broke down and buy a new pair.

My grandfather didn’t care for his shoes because he was a slave to fashion, he did it because he couldn’t afford not to.

One of the regulars, lets’ call him the Basement Dweller, muscled in uninvited, “Red Wings, that’s the only shoe you’ll ever need. Red Wings built Minnesota. Everything else is faggery.” I asked him if he would wear his Red Wings with a suit.  He answered that the only way he would ever wear a suit, was if someone paid him six figures a year. Suddenly I was very embarrassed for his daughter on her wedding day.

My grandfather had four pairs of shoes, black dress, brown dress, comfort, and work.  He didn’t wear the black or the browns every day because of his job. He had no real need of them or a suit to wear them with them.  But just the same he owned two suits; one navy blue, one medium grey flannel, both off-the-rack Kuppenheimers from the early 60’s.  He wore them on Sundays for church, he wore them at weddings, he wore them at the funerals of his friends, and later his own funeral.  He didn’t wear a suit to be something he was not.  He didn’t wear a suit because of how he felt about himself.  He wore a suit to show respect for others and the events of their lives.

No one ever gave him a six figure salary.

The point is, if you take care of your shoes, you just may have them for the rest of your life. So whats that’s that worth to you?

So don’t be that guy, polish your damn shoes, here’s how:

Now shoes come in all types of leathers, smooth, suede, nubuck, etc. Today I’m going to hit on the care of smooth leather shoes, although for any dress shoe you want to invest in some cedar shoe trees that fit the shoe.  The form keeps the shape of the shoe, and the cedar absorbs the moisture from the leather so they don’t rot. The cedar also deodorizers the shoe. I have a pair of suede gum heeled saddle shoes that are in great condition that I purchased in 1985 at the Hannover Shoe shop in the Broward mall back in Ft. Lauderdale.  Why do they still look great? Two words: Shoe trees.  Also, they provide a handle to hold on to while polishing.

Other equipment you need will be a horsehair brush, a horse hair polish applicator, an old tooth brush, some leather cleaner, shoe polish, and soft rags; ripped tee-shirts, socks etc.

Let’s talk about polish. You see those tins of Kiwi paste down at your local Walgreen, yeah, unless you’re in the military where your shoes are issued too you and you need that hard wax build up shine to pass inspection, just steer clear. And those spongy liquid quick shine applicators? Pure crap, they’ kill the leather in short time, drying it out with their strong chemicals.

No, you want serious care, you want shoe cream. It penetrates the leather with natural oils; it doesn’t sit on top of the shoe layer after layer just looking pretty. And in Duluth I recommend Gopher Shoe Repair downtown on West 1^st Avenue, they have all the kit you need including Meltonian Boot & Shoe Cream in every color you’ll ever use.

Choosing the polish color for a black shoe is a no brainer, back shoes should always remain straight out of the box black. But a brown or cordovan (Burgundy) shoe, well that’s a different type of hippopotamus altogether.  The brown and red shoes fade, they show their ware more. And they should. That’s called patina in the industry. I call it character. And you want to keep it and wear it like a badge. So you want to pick a polish color one to two shades lighter than the original color, or even use the clear polish, like I do on these roach stompers. Also if you have both brown and black shoes remember to get applicators and horsehair brushes for both colors, and save yourself the trouble, label what colors they are for.

As for cleaning smooth leathers you can’t go wrong with Meltonian Cleaner & Conditioner and it’s no wax formula. No build up, easy conditioning. Multi-use for all your smooth leathers and wont darken.

Right, find a place; put down towels, news paper, whatever, and you WILL get polish on stuff so just be prepared.  Assess the shoe, is it muddy and still wet: Let it dry completely, and remove the mud with an old tooth brush, otherwise just remove any debris or dust with a soft cloth.

Sometimes, you may need to clean the leather, to remove stains and clean out scuffs. Apply a bead of the cleaner with a damp cloth, not soaking wet, the leather will absorb the excess water and swell at edges, not good.  An old athletic sock turned inside out is ideal for this.  Wipe off any excess cleaner with the damp rag and allow the shoes to dry completely.

For winter salt stains, place a teaspoon of vinegar in a cup of hot water, dampen the rag with this mixture and rub away the stain. Do not wait a week to do this, when you see a salt stain, get on it the moment you get home to counter the salt eating through your buster browns.

Ok, the shoes are clean and completely dry, grab the polish applicator. We use a polish applicator to keep our fingers from getting stained, and the bristles get the polish in every stitch hole and every bit of Brogue on the shoe. See all those little punch patterns in the shoe, yeah that’s called Brogue, it’s a design and a type of shoe.

Dab the applicator lightly into the shoe cream polish, you don’t need a lot, you just want to thinly coat the upper, work it in a circular pattern over the details of the shoe while holding it by the tree. Good, set it down, do the other one.

Get your old tooth brush, time to do the edging.  Some guys use liquid edge dressing for this; forget about it, all you need is polish. Dab the tooth brush in the polish and scrub it back and forth over the stitching detail where the sole meets the upper, then coat the sides of the sole and the heal. Put it down, do the other one.

Let ‘em dry, it won’t take long with shoe cream, after you finish the edging of the second shoe the first should be ready for you. Time for the big buff.  Wail away with that horse hair brush, back and forth, and don’t forget the tongue and heel.  Keep going until you see the shine emerge.

So, now you’re done, for the most part.  You have water proofed, and conditioned. But some guys take it one more step.  It’s the sign of a pro. The Chamois buff.  It helps if you have some kind of brace or a stand to this.  Get yourself a nice chamois cloth at the hardware shop or auto store, hold both sides, and over and it across the vamp (sloping front) of the shoe, then bring it about and hit the back of the shoe until you are blinded by the reflection.

How often should you enact this ritual? Depends on how often you wear your shoes. Could be every week to once every six months. I keep mine ready to go, and if I know I’m not going to wear them for a while, I stick them in cheap shoe bags to keep the dust from encrusting them.

And if you need to wear dress shoes more often in the week, get another pair. Wearing the same pair of shoes every day is even too much sweat and odor for shoe trees to handle. Give’em a day’s rest.

Labor intensive, yeah, you afraid of labor?  Take care of your shoes and they will take care of you.