The One Coat I Want To Add To My Wardrobe This Season

18 camel coats to get my rotation over the hump, including 8 vintage finds.

As winter approaches, my two go-to pieces of outerwear—a Stussy black puffer and vintage navy blue oversized overcoat—are ready to return to their starting roles in my line-up. I don’t expect that to change in 2024, but there remains one all-time style that for a couple months now I’ve been saying I think would nicely round out my rotation—a camel coat.

Now, while there are lots of tan coats out there, the ones I’ve locked in on are mostly true to the OG polo coats, which got their start on the sidelines of, get this, polo matches at the turn of the 20th century. In other words, I’m not super interested in 3/4 length “car coats,” which generally feel like a relic of the 2010s skinny fit trend. To be clear I don’t need 100% historical accuracy (belted back vs no belted back isn’t a huge concern of mine), but the common denominator among all of the ones I like are that they’re broad, double-breasted beauties that hang around or below the knee—the kinds of coats that can make you feel like a potentially morally dubious business tycoon in 1983.

But beyond a Gordon Gekko-like greedy streak when it comes to copping outerwear, why have I become enamored with the idea of a camel coat in general (besides the fact that the above vintage Ralph Lauren Polo Dungarees ad has lived in my head rent free for years)? Well, I think as far as versatile hues for outerwear go, tan is pretty high up there—maybe not quite as “literally looks good with everything” as blue or black, but it’s probably on the level of gray and a little more than dark brown. But ultimately, what this really boils down to is the simple fact that I love wearing a big coat. They look as great dressed up as they do with sweats and are, to put it simply, warm as hell. It’s no wonder that my navy blue version has been the coat I’ve worn the most since getting it almost two years ago. Logic would have it then that if I can dial in another coat in similarly wearable, timeless form, I would get some serious mileage out of it too—and not just right now, but for years to come. And since they’re not going out of style any time soon (or, ever), now’s as good a moment as any to pick one up, right?

Anyways, that brings me to the below list of options. I’ll note that quality camel coats that meet my criteria in terms of fit and form usually don’t come cheap, so I admit a few of the choices below are a little pie in the sky dream shit. But I genuinely think all of them are splurge-worthy—or at least worth knowing about— if you, like me, see the value in owning one this season and well beyond. That in mind, I’ve also included a handful (8 actually) of sub $1,000 vintage options any one of us can scoop up right now on eBay because as is often the case when it comes to big ticket menswear grails, the best deals can be found not on the racks of a prestigious retailer, but on the pre-loved market. Let’s get to it, and enjoy!!!

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Todd Snyder Italian Peak Lapel Wool Topcoat In Camel, $1,498

Todd Snyder’s array of classic, stylish menswear is vast and seemingly ever-expanding, so it’s no surprise that this season he’s got a great camel coat in the line-up. Actually, it’s really not a surprise for me, because if you’ll let me flex for a moment, know that I actually got to see this bad boy all the way back in January before it hit the Florence runway, where it instantly became one of my favorite pieces in the label’s FW24 offering.

Anyway, it’s got a lot of standard polo coat details like a peak lapel, oversized fit, and of course the color (which I’ll note is a little richer than your standard camel), but the belt-less back is what streamlines the whole package for something that’ll effortlessly slot into any 2024 wardrobe. (Don’t worry though if you do like the belted back—there’s a lot of those below.)

Club Monaco Camel Hair Double Breasted Topcoat, $998 ($750 For A Limited Time)

Big shout out to Alex Hysel at Club Monaco for bringing this one to my attention via Twitter. The details are on point—the patch pockets, peak label, the belted back, and even the fact that it’s made from legit camel hair (67% of the fabric is at least). But the main selling point here is that all of that achieved at just a (camel) hair under $1,000. Even better, it’s currently on promotion on CM’s website, bringing the cost down to just $750.