Why is camelhair so unique?   The hair has specific properties that insulate and protect the camel in the cold high mountain blizzards but also keep them cool in the hot desert heat.  Native desert travelers take advantage of camelhair fabrics for these specific characteristics.  John the Baptist’s robe was made from camelhair. 

Usually thought of as an “older gentlman’s” coat, camel (the colour and the fabric) has been a men’s staple in a man’s waredrobe for perhaps thousands of years.  That being said, for the first time, in a long time, camelhair fabric began hitting the runways…but  in women’s.   And these were not your father’s fabric.  Beautiful, lightweight and flowy – and women bought it and began wearing them on the streets – from Paris to Omaha. 

The men’s designers caught on and began updating the fabric, and using them in other colours like grey, black and navy.  Italian-based Agnona, world-renown for their luxury fabrics, began showing designers “camel-hair” looking outerwear fabrics.  The mens designers caught on, and it started showing up in stores in small amounts last year and sold fairly well.  

Outerwear has gone along with the “tighter-is-better” trend seen in men’s suits, the Mad Men-esque  type clothing.   Coat length went shorter – you couldn’t find a mid-shin length coat in the majority of the designer collections.

In 2009-2010, the pendulum moved a little bit to the other side, the trend is clean, thin lines, but not necessarily tight to the body.  The reason?  Men may be mad for 1950’s type clothing, but the average American man does not have the body his counterpart had in the 1950’s. 

The average sample chest (suit) size in 1950 was a 38R, in 1980 it was 40R, today it is 44R.   The difference between the chest and waist is called the “drop”.  The average suit is between 6 and 7 inches.  This means, if the average chest is 44, the average waist is a 38 waist.  

So when American designers went too thin in the years past, it alienated a large group of men; it just didn’t fit them.  Now, it’s about clean lines that give the appearance of thin, but not cut thin.   The lengths have gotten a little bit accommodating as well, more knee-length and mid-shin coats will be in stores this fall.   

The Chesterfield Coat updated.

Camel colour coats are being shown in unconventional, more fashionable styles.  What usually comes to mind when one thinks about camel, it’s a traditional, cape-like, mid-shin “Polo Coat”.  This season, it’s being shown in more fashion-forward tailored silhouettes.  The most common is a car coat (pea coats or ¾ length), the mainstay of any guy’s waredrobe.  The length comes right at the hip and very versatile.  With a suit or sport jacket, the knee-length “Chesterfield” which has been around for over a century, has been updated into a slimmer model.  Brooks Brothers is stocking up on camel coloured coats, in a more traditional manner, but slimmer and elegant at mid-shin.  The lines are cleaner and leaner than the cape-type coats shown in the past.  Finally, a couple of inches longer than a car coat, the military-inspired coat may make its way into some trendier stores like H&M.

Some questions: 

• What are some of the lengths being shown?

Cleaner lines, more tailored look and less fabric.  Pendulum swinging from uber tight-fitting to the other side just a bit to accommodate the body of the American man.  Not too tight, not too baggy….just right.  In military-style jackets you find applets, belt at the waist, less pockets, even collarless, Nehru-type.  Seeing more and more little hidden pockets for an iPhone or Blackberry.

• Design details?

Men should complete the look with a cashmere scarf in a shade of brown, black or grey and a pair of cashmere-lined brown leather or suede gloves.  A pair of ski gloves with a beautiful cashmere/wool coat does not make for an elegant look.  With a pea or military style a skull cap will add a twist of attitude to the look

• Coordinating accessories?

Men’s trends fall behind women’s and camel coats for women were all the rage last year.  Expect to find something different than your father’s camel coat in stores.  Camel fabric is being used in more fashion-forward silhouettes, particularly in pea coats.   However, the best selling outerwear for men, in tailored clothing, will always be black, dark blue and shades of grey.  Camel is more popular in cities where the winters are not as brutal, since it is a high-maintenance fabric.   San Francisco, Seattle, Paris, London are some cities where you see camel being more popular. 

•  Where can you find?

Expect camel fabric outerwear in stores of every price range from Armani to H&M.

• What's the difference between a $100 coat and a $1,000 coat?

A HUGE difference.  From the quality of the fabric to whether you’ll have it in your closet in a couple of years.  Fabric is everything and it starts with the yarn.  Yarn is sheared and separated according to quality.  Lesser quality yarn is shorter and harder while the best quality is longer and softer, hence more durable, then there’s grades between the two.  After the fabric, where the coat was cut and sewn makes a huge difference.   The less expensive the coat, the lower the overall quality you can expect from the buttons, linings, and even the thread.