Box-back coat

[chilidawgguy]

What exactly is a box-back coat? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Wild Root]

Ah..

I've wandered the same thing. I wonder if it is a term for a belted back type of style. I'm not sure; it's just a shot in the dark. I've heard that term before and when I've heard it, it was paired with a pair of button shoes.

Could be a 1900 or 1910's term. I'd like to hear the answer as much as you would I'm sure.

=WR=

 

[jake_fink]

Perhaps a box-back coat has a box pleat on the back. I think those are the kind that have the folds facing in opposite directions:

F<<<<< >>>>>F
O<<<<< >>>>>O
L<<<<< >>>>>L
D<<<<< >>>>>D

Where are Marc Chevalier or Mrty M, they'll know the answer to this question.

 

[resortes805]

"When I die, I want you to dress me in straight-laced shoes
Box-back coat and a Stetson hat
Put a twenty- dollar gold piece on my watch chain,
So the boys will know that I died standin' pat."

This is from St. James Infirmary Blues, the earliest recording with these lyrics date back to the 20's, although versions with different lyrics predate these. So I'd imagine a box back coat is a 20's or 10's item. Here a link to the history behind St. James Infirmaryhttp://www.yehoodi.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=74618&highlight=james+infirmary

 

[chilidawgguy]

The answer to this question may be a lot more difficult than I thought. Take a look here........http://wordcraft.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/932607094/m/619108765

 

[herringbonekid]

i would guess that 'box' comes from 'box-pleat'....the kind of pleat where two inward facing folds meet up....as found down the centre-back of some belt-back jackets and morning coats.

 

[Siirous]

What an interesting forum! I got lost in there for 1/2 hour without even meaning too.

Rob

 

[Doctor Strange]

I also always assumed it meant the box-shaped pleat in the center of the back (essentially between the shoulder blades) you sometimes see on old coats.

For an exapmple, see the first picture on the right on this page:

http://www.savilerowsporting.co.uk/vienna1.html

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I've seen sportcoats with two vertical pleats, outward folding (one on each side of the back), running down from each shoulder seam to the bottom of the coat. These two pleats, so widely spaced from each other, give a distinctly square shape to the back of the jacket.

 

[RedPop4]

Dr. Strange, those are some NICE jackets. I like that style.Thanks for posting it.

 

[Stanley Doble]

It took 8 years but here is the answer. The box back coat is the one on the left.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Box backs were a downright essential fixture of late '40s and early '50s hipster style. To provide a specific definition, a box back is one without a center seam.

 

[jlanderson]

Man, I've got to admire your persistence! And nice looking coat, btw.

It took 8 years but here is the answer. The box back coat is the one on the left.

 

[Stanley Doble]

I suspect the box back coat was a new fashion in New Orleans in the 1890s or early 1900s when the song was written.

The long tail Prince Albert coat hung on in the south long after the war, and before that the swallow tail and claw hammer coats were common.

 

[herringbonekid]

It took 8 years but here is the answer.

7 years...


http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?69703-1920s-suits&p=1604089&viewfull=1#post1604089

 

[Stanley Doble]

Not on this thread.