Once upon a time, British heritage brands only felt comfortable playing in their own historically grounded sandbox: trench coats, wellies, big-bore hunting rifles – you know the drill. Thankfully, it’s 2022, and with the fragmentation of taste amongst menswear consumers at an all-time high, a couple of cleverer operators are embracing a more cosmopolitan outlook.
‘Sport-orial’ designers (ergo Michael Hill of Drake’s) have turned the process of blending the street, country and athletic pursuits into a fine art; and this hybrid theory appears to be catching on – even with clothiers who’ve previously built their business around a select few hero pieces, steeped in the romance of English craft.
That’s very much the case for Private White V.C.: a specialist in outerwear operating out of Manchester, revered among classic clothing junkies for dramatic silhouettes (frequently inspired by archival military clothing) and its ‘Twin Track’, a certified alternative to the Belstaff Trialmaster – for a long time, the gold standard in that particular outerwear space.
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The brand’s ‘Belted Duster’ (great name, FYI) is altogether something different. Made with as much British labour and material as Private White V.C. can muster, it’s nevertheless a significant departure from the company’s wheelhouse – and the results aren’t too shabby.
Made with a raglan shoulder (i.e. one that eschews the traditional seam in the sleeve) the Duster has a slouchy quality that makes it a joy to wear informally. The checked cavalry twill – a riot of oranges, mosses and greys – would smack a little too much of Goodwood Revival if cut into a sportcoat, but here, has a lovely geezer-y quality – one that Private White’s designers have leaned into with the cinched waist and self-fabric belting.
In this particular hard-wearing twill (woven exclusively for Private White in the UK) you could almost make the case that this is outerwear befitting Jeff Bridges’s protagonist in The Big Lebowski. Warm, comfortable, and capable of standing up to quite a bit of roughhousing, it’s got a dose of laissez-faire cool that’s just not as prevalent throughout the rest of the brand’s lineup.
That isn’t to say the Duster wouldn’t absolutely kill alongside something dressier than your favourite pair of worn-in 550s. Needless to say: I think The Dude would approve.
