British Style Legends

Aquascutum

Every man needs a rain mac. Really. You might not think so, but as the years pass you’ll find yourself considering, more and more seriously, supplementing your waterproof wardrobe with a grown-up raincoat. You’ll step away from cagoules and anoraks and aim for something a little sharper, with a little more heritage. Might be a classic trench. Might be a simple straight Mod mac. What you should certainly think about when weighing up the dry options is Aquascutum. 

Even the name sounds the business doesn’t it? As any schoolboy knows it’s Latin for watershield. When founder John Emary opened his high-end menswear shop (then called Box and Co.) at 46 Regent Street, London in 1851, he hadn’t invented the patented waterproof wool that would become Aquascutum. That came in 1853, when Emary also changed the name of the shop to Aquascutum. The functionality of the coats was instantly put to the test as officers came into the shop and bought coats that they then took out to the Crimean War - Russian winters offering perhaps the severest test a coat can expect. They worked, and were well liked by the soldiers. Aquascutum trenchcoats were also used by soldiers during both World Wars, and their functional design soon became a civilian style staple when veterans continued to wear them after returning from the wars, and the look was appreciated by non-military types.

In 1901 the shop moved to its current location at 100 Regent Street. King Edward Vll had become the first royal wearer of the brand, and the famous check was known as King Edward Vll check, although it is now more popularly known as the Club Check. Just before the shop moved to it’s current location Aquascutum opened a womenswear department, and the long waterproof capes and coats were popular with the suffragette movement. Was Emily Davidson wearing Aquascutum when she hurled herself in front of the King’s horse Anmer at the Derby in 1913? We don’t know, and it is unclear from the hazy photographs from the day, but if she was at least she was warm and dry before the fateful collision. 

Through the years Aquascutum was picked as the raincoat of choice by film stars, politicians and anyone who wanted to look ace and keep dry. Michael Caine wore both the classic Aquamac and a trenchcoat as Harry Palmer in the Ipcress File. Humphrey Bogart loved the trenchcoats, and wore them on-screen and off. Churchill and Cary Grant visited the Regent Street shop to be kitted out. More recently, the Aquamac has become the sharp raincoat of choice for young men with Mod tendencies, perhaps inspired by Paul Weller’s love of the brand.

It’s not, of course, just the styling. It’s the fact that you know Aquascutum is going to work. Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing wore Aquascutum when they conquered Everest using d117 fabric Aquascutum, and Aquascutum haven’t stood still. They have made use of new fabrics, producing lively, bright rainwear, including some in iridescent fabrics, satin lined garments and shorter knee length versions of the original ankle garments. And what really puts the cherry on the cake is all of the products are still made in England, at factory in Corby, Northamptonshire. A simple British classic.