The Coat Route: Craft, Luxury, & Obsession on the Trail of a $50,000 Coat

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this fascinating book. Meg Lukens Noonan follows the created of a $50,000 coat from buttons, fabric, lining, Andes Mts and ultimately to Vancouver. The author weaves a story that captures the reader from the first chapter. I found myself wanting to savor this bespoke world. I wanted to live like I, too, could afford $4000/ yard fabric. I tried to read slowly so I wouldn't have to go back to my H&M world. This book truly made me think about the clothes that I purchase and what their craftsmanship says about my character (I feel that it currently screams that I work in the non-profit world).
The author has charming and engaging way of writing and you find yourself discovering this super show more luxury world with her. Surprisingly, this ultra high end world is a resilient niche in today's economy. However, the world of bespoke tailoring is dying out .
A fascinating, entertaining book that I cannot recommend enough, even for those not remotely interested in clothing. By the end of this book, you will be saving your money for a custom-made suit. show less

I was also pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book, daughter of a seamstress I was always distraught at the fact that I had to wear home made clothes while my school friend donned their new matching 'Garanimals'. But today I appreciate the fact that my clothes were unique and yes they did fit nicely. This journey was wondrous from the mountains of Peru to the basements of silk printers in Italy. I have had the opportunity to know a local bespoke tailor and have seen the struggle with the misunderstanding and under-appreciation of their trade. Ready to wear providers continue to make the news with warehouse collapses and worker abuse, perhaps the media coverage will help to turn at least some consumers further away from show more ready to wear and a little bit closer to custom or at least locally made, sustainable clothing. This book will certainly whet your appetite for the finer things in life, even if I may never have a Vicuna coat, I probably could swing for some special buttons for my favorite jacket! Well written and highly entertaining. show less

Meg Lukens Noonan wrote The Coat Route after reading of an overcoat made by Sydney tailor John Cutler for $50,000. The book is a loving description of the fine materials and expert labour that went into creating this unique garment. Noonan tells us the stories behind the vicuna wool, the fabric, the silk, the horn buttons and the other elements of the coat's construction. Along the way she gives us potted histories of Savile Row, the Andean vicuna industry, the Yorkshire mill towns, button manufacture and Italian designer fashion. We meet some larger-than-life characters, but we are never too far from the realisation that all of this history is at risk of soon being swept away by the tide of mass manufacturing in the modern world. The show more Coat Route is a delightful and interesting read, with an elegiac tinge of sadness to it. show less

This work takes the reader effortlessly through the creation of a magnificent navy vicuna overcoat -- silk-lined, horn-buttoned, and gold-labled. Along the way, we learn of the conservation efforts in Peru to save the vicuna, the creation of the modern industrial age in English mill towns, and the turf wars on Savile Row between bespoke tailors and disposable fashion houses.

The author first learned of the $50,000 overcoat created by J. H. Cutler in a newspaper article. The book takes the reader on the author's journey to the places from which the main jacket materials were sourced: from the highlands of Peru for the jacket fiber to the villas of Italy for the one-of-a-kind silk lining. This isn't a book that dwells on the intricate show more machinery or the economics of making: it focuses on the people who devote their lives to craft. Along the way, reader meets the iconoclast silk designer, the third generation button maker, and the dedicated metal engraver, to name a few. Stars of the show are of course the tailor himself and his clients, including the owner of the overcoat. Upon finishing the book, one can understand why that coat was worth the money spent, why the many craftsmen who worked on it deserved their pay, and what the real price is for the disposable fashion most people wear today.

***This book was received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program which requires a review, but the content of the review was in no way affected by the free book.*** show less

The $50’000. cost of the coat is what first intrigued the author. “If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it” truly applies here. This glimpse into the rarefied and endangered world of bespoke was fascinating; combining a relatively light topic with a heavier look at industrialization and globalization .

The Coat Route is a very enjoyable read It follows from A to Z the creation of a bespoke overcoat. “Bespoke” was a new word for me(!) Each chapter is dedicated to one aspect of the coat. The list is comprehensive and includes all the materials and fundamentals involved in creating said overcoat: fleece, fabric, printing of the silk, buttons, sewing etc.. the choosing and production of inclusive. Along the way we are show more introduced to academics, artisans, craftsmen, salesmen… a whole cast of characters that had a hand in bringing the coat to life. Fun!

The highlights include the attempt to define “luxury” and what that means to a certain group of men who value made-to measure clothes. It took a lot of generosity on the part of the tailor, client and suppliers to allow the author access and that spirit uplifted the book.
I also liked the bit of drama that preceded each chapter. In one, the client touches the fabric that is destined to be his coat. It felt like a magic moment from Harry Potter…the one when Harry first holds his predestined wand! (ie; queue lights and wind blown hair!) show less

The Coat Route, traces from idea to vicuna to button to wearer the entire fabrication of a marvelous man's overcoat. Noonan's prose style is thoroughly engaging; at once full of information and allowing quiet reflection on the beauty of craftsmanship and heartbreak of dying artisanry. A gorgeous work, it hits the interest of non-fiction readers with beautiful writing and a moving plot for fiction lovers. I've already started recommending this book to everyone around me.

Author Meg Lukens Noonan describes the making of a $50,000 vicuna bespoke overcoat in this fascinating book that explores not only the rarified world of custom tailoring, but also the history of the garment industry and it's relationship to the industrial revolution, both past and, in the insance of manufacturing moving to the third world, present.

This book is a good bookend to the recent works on fast fashion. Today, the garment industry has largely been moved to Asia where factories churn out tons of garments that can be bought for incredibly cheap prices, but that also fall apart almost immediately. Thus, we are now throwing out 30% more garments than we did in the 1980's. In contrast, it was a pleasure to read about true craftsmen show more when make a garment to the client's specifications even though in the back of my mind, I know that only a tiny fraction of the world's population can afford to pay the prices for such clothing.

Lastly, the book raises the question of the wisdom of the first world in ceding a huge industry to other countries. Jobs thus lost are not going to come back. Will we exchange our love of cheap clothing for something more substantial and lasting? That is th big quesstion this book left me asking myself. show less