# Where did that dark sunglasses & dark trench coat thing first start with? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 9, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348 "2018-08-09T16:20:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/1 "2018-08-09T16:20:09Z")
It’s a trope now to see the guy in the dark sunglasses and dark trench coat do the “slow motion walk” directly into the camera, I remember the Matrix as the first one with it. Did they take it from Japanese movies? Earlier westerns? Never see any Neos like that in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/2 "2018-08-09T20:45:40Z")
Not slo-mo, but still a guy with dark sunglasses and a trenchcoat walking at the camera [Judd Nelson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv1I4q6lOpo) ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2018, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/3 "2018-08-09T21:43:35Z")
don’t think people in old westerns wore sunglasses ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/4 "2018-08-10T13:26:40Z")
The Rutger Hauer film _[Omega Doom](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117238/)_ had a lot of black trenchcoats. The “robots” in particular wore sunglasses. A lot of visuals like this that are similar to _The Matrix_. It came out in 1996, three years before. Lots of drawn out pan or zoom shots. Don’t recall for sure any slo-mo. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/5 "2018-08-10T13:38:49Z")
[Resevoir Dogs?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju65gr9sUjk) That’s dark suits, not trenchcoats. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/6 "2018-08-10T14:58:03Z")
There were a whole bunch of [black trenchcoats](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102005/mediaviewer/rm3637992704) in Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, too. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/7 "2018-08-10T15:51:28Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > don’t think people in old westerns wore sunglasses They could have… [https://truewestmagazine.com/did-old-west-folks-wear-sunglasses/](https://truewestmagazine.com/did-old-west-folks-wear-sunglasses/) Tarantino originally planned to have Jules and Vincent wear long black coats in _ **Pulp Fiction** _ as the mark of gunslingers/assassins. He settled on black suits with skinny black ties. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/8 "2018-08-10T18:03:53Z")
The [Power Walk](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PowerWalk) aspect of the image mostly goes back to _The Right Stuff_. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/9 "2018-08-10T18:16:02Z")
Here’s my daily pedantry… IMHO, you’re mixing trenchcoats with dusters. They are quite different, and I would regard Neo’s coat as a duster, not a trenchcoat. YMMV and everyone is welcome to his/her opinion. BTW, my wife says it’s a cassock. ---
**Author:** ![Panther\_Modern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac8455/32.png) [@Panther\_Modern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panther_Modern)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/10 "2018-08-10T19:44:11Z")
If I see a man in a black trench coat and dark sunglasses headed in my direction, I walk the other way. He could be moments away from pulling out a gun and firing. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/11 "2018-08-11T01:25:11Z")
So could a man wearing, well, pretty much anything. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/12 "2018-08-11T02:27:21Z")
George Carlin in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. 1989. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/13 "2018-08-11T11:10:29Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > Here’s my daily pedantry… > > IMHO, you’re mixing trenchcoats with dusters. They are quite different, and I would regard Neo’s coat as a duster, not a trenchcoat. > > YMMV and everyone is welcome to his/her opinion. BTW, my wife says it’s a cassock. Well, if we’re being pedantic … I honestly don’t think you can make that clear a distinction. Both trench coats and dusters have varied quite a bit, over the years, with considerable crossover between them. Neo’s coat isn’t a classic example of either, to my mind — it’s just a long coat. He does wear a cassock right at the end of the film, and in the sequel, but the iconic look is definitely a coat. Re the OP: I don’t think you’ll find a single origin. What there is, is a chain of influences, crossing cultures and media, taking in comic books, anime and manga, film, television and pop videos. Look at the original _Highlander_, directed by Russell Mulcahy, and his earlier video for Ultravox’s _Vienna_. He later directed _The Shadow_, based on a 30s pulp fiction hero — who dressed in a long black coat. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/14 "2018-08-12T19:05:28Z")
There was a campy Italian sci-fi movie from 1966. The English title was _Wild, Wild Planet_. It featured bald guys with sunglasses and black trench coats. The trench coats hid the fact that they were mutants with four arms! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/15 "2018-08-12T19:57:55Z")
> [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](#): > > Never see any Neos like that in real life. If you’re seeing anybody walking in slow-mo in real life, you might need to consider decaf. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/16 "2018-08-12T21:40:51Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > If you’re seeing anybody walking in slow-mo in real life, you might need to consider decaf. But it can be a lot of [fun](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx0yCo9Rv8k)! ---
**Author:** ![pmwgreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@pmwgreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmwgreen)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2018, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-that-dark-sunglasses-dark-trench-coat-thing-first-start-with/819348/17 "2018-08-12T22:01:34Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > There was a campy Italian sci-fi movie from 1966. The English title was _Wild, Wild Planet_. It featured bald guys with sunglasses and black trench coats. I think the faceless bad guys is where to look. I was trying to think of actors in lead roles. My first thought was Le Samourai or a noir film. The problem is leading men, especially good looking ones, don’t seem to like wearing sunglasses, they want their eyes on-screen. Also the black trench coat seems to be a recent development. It always seems to be a buff trench coat or a black suit.