Christmas Gift Ideas for Him: How to Buy a Men's Overcoat as a Gift

A coat is one of the few gifts that gets used every day for years. It is also the gift most people talk themselves out of, because they are not sure of the size and they cannot ask without giving the game away.

This guide solves that. How to work out his size without asking him, which style suits which man, and what to do if you get it wrong anyway.

Why a coat makes a good gift

Most men will not buy themselves a proper overcoat. They will replace a phone, a pair of trainers or a watch strap without thinking, but a wool coat feels like an indulgence, so they keep wearing the one that has gone shiny at the elbows.

That is exactly what makes it a good gift. You are buying the thing he would not buy himself, he wears it most days from November to March, and a well made wool coat outlasts almost everything else in his wardrobe.

How to find his size without asking

You only need one number. For an overcoat, chest measurement is the guide and everything else is proportioned from it.

Three ways to get it, in order of how easy they are:

• Check a coat or jacket he already owns. Look at the label on a suit jacket or an existing overcoat. If it says 42, order a 42.
• Measure a jacket flat. Lay it face down, measure armpit to armpit in inches and double it. That gives you the garment chest, which runs a few inches larger than his body.
• Ask him for his chest measurement under cover of something else. A shirt, a suit for a wedding, anything that is not a coat.

Which style suits which man

All of these are black wool and cashmere blend, so the choice is about cut and detail rather than colour.

If he wears a suit to work

The covert overcoat with velvet collar is the safest choice in the range and our most reviewed coat. The velvet collar is the detail that makes it look considered rather than plain, and the concealed button placket keeps the front line clean over a suit. This is the Peaky Blinders cut, if that lands with him.

If he wants one coat that does everything

The classic long overcoat is the plainest coat we make, in the best sense. Notch lapels, three buttons, full length. It goes over a suit, over jeans, over a roll neck, and it never looks like it is trying.

If he likes a coat with presence

The greatcoat is the most commanding thing in the range. Wide wrap lapels, epaulettes, gauntlet cuffs, full length. It is a statement, so buy it for a man who will enjoy that rather than one who wants to blend in.

If he already owns a plain black coat

Two ways to give him something different. The polo coat has peak lapels, turn-up cuffs and a half back belt, which is a heritage cut you rarely see on the high street. Or the Bond overcoat with red lining, which is quiet on the outside and has a flash of red satin when he opens it.

If he walks to work in British weather

The traditional trench coat is cotton rather than wool, with a water resistant finish, belt, epaulettes and sleeve straps. Better than wool for rain, less warm in a hard frost.

Two things worth knowing before it arrives

The pockets are stitched closed. Every coat leaves us with the pockets lightly basting-stitched shut, which keeps the shape square in transit. Tell him, or he will think the pockets are fake. A pair of scissors and ten seconds sorts it.

Check the lining before you wrap it. Several of our coats come in black lining or red lining versions of the same cut. Red reads bolder when the coat is open. If he is the sort to keep a coat buttoned, it makes no difference at all.

If you get the size wrong

You have 30 days from delivery to exchange, and the coat only needs to be unworn with the tags on. Email us with the order number and the size he needs and we will hold it while the first one travels back. Exchanges go back out to you free of charge.

In practice this is the part people worry about most and it is the easiest bit. Christmas gifts bought in November still fall inside the window well into the new year.

Ordering in time for Christmas

Order by 23 December for UK Christmas delivery. Everything goes tracked and free within the UK, and orders are dispatched the next working day.

Leaving it later than that, or still undecided on the size, a gift card arrives by email and lets him pick his own.

Stuck between two sizes or two styles? Email info@theplatinumtailor.co.uk or call 07473 239725 and we will help you pick. We answer every email the same day.