If you went to high school or college in the late nineties (or hell, it’s probably still going on if you do now), you probably knew of the “Trenchcoat Mafia”, as immortalized by the Columbine shootings. These were that specific brand of nerd who dressed in long, black trenchcoats, giving off an almost gothy vibe.
Where did this look come from? It was too geographically widespread and consistent to have evolved naturally.
One important thing to realize is that this look predates “The Matrix”, which also emplolyed the aesthetic (on significantly cooler, more beautiful people).
My guess is that it just represents the independent discovery by a number of individuals that trenchcoats are a practical garment. They’re comfortable in moderate cold, but are still bearable in moderate heat (such as a climate-controlled building) if you just open them up, they tend to have large pockets, and you can wear a sword under one. If anything, the reason that non-nerds tend not to wear them is a reflection of the fact that nerds are less style-conscious, not more.
I believe The Basketball Diaries is often cited as a source for the ‘Trenchcoat Mafia’ look. Obviously this predates The Matrix but not the westerns that wolfman mentions.
It’s hard to believe it would influence anyone, but Heathers featured Christian Slater wearing a trenchcoat over his suicide bomb back in 1989. This may have been too early and too obscure to influence the late-nineties fashion, and it’s nothing more than a continuation of the history wolfman mentions.
Also, lots of Japanese anime features characters in long trenchcoats, and the typical audience for anime would seem to include the groups that became trenchcoat mafia.
I had (still have, actually, but it’s in storage back in the 'States) one of these black duster jackets. I bought it back in '94. I remember I had to beg my mother to give me an advance on my allowance so I could afford it. At least three of my friends liked mine so much that they bought their own later that year, and one of my friends had a boyfriend with a similar jacket. Our classmates soon branded us with a derogatory nickname quite similar to “The Trenchcoat Mafia”, which put a rather chilling personal twist on Columbine for me five years later.
Anyway, 1994 was long before The Matrix, and slightly before Basketball Diaries. I was about to suggest the period costumes in the film version of Interview with the Vampire as an influence, but I specifically remember that I bought my jacket at a summer sale and the movie was not released until well after the school year had begun. All of these movies probably had a role in popularizing the look, but the jackets were in the shops (and I mean boutiques with a young clientele, not Western wear places) before that.
I think it probably was a mostly “natural” evolution, although the movies mentioned already must have contributed. (The modern-setting movies had to get the idea from somewhere, though.) I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some Goth groups that also sported the same style of jacket, although I really don’t know anything about that subject.
This pseudo-goth look has been around for quite some time. (there are a surprising number of scaryboys (goth light) who like the Highlander and…knives, guns, etc.). Specifically back to the early '80s and late '70s Billy Idol dressed like this and you’ll all recall Reese from the TERMINATOR.
I bought a white duster at a western wear store ion the late 80s. Black ones were certainly available. They’re great, practical all-weather coats. They’re also the garment of choice for bank robbers and other outlaw types.
I had a beige trenchcoat in high school (late 70s), which I got mostly for the association with Bogart. I bought a black one in 1991 in Montana, at a surplus store. Surplus stores hit both the “badass” and “budget-conscious” buttons.
Living in California, a trench coat isn’t something you see very often. But I can see why some kids liked them. It’s really too bad that “some” kids included “those” kids.
I always detested…hated!…the more customary puffy down jackets with bright reflective stripes. I thought they looked juvenile…even when I was juvenile.
The Crow might have been another influential movie–I think it came out in 1993. I know it had a lot to do with high school-aged Goths adopting the black lipstick and white face makeup styles that would later be popularized by bands like Marilyn Manson and Insane Clown Posse (none of whom are Goth). And the Crow character (played by the late Brandon Lee) wore a black trench coat in parts of the film as well.
It wasn’t too long ago that robes for rich old women were fashionable. Just as the younger women (professionals in their late 20s) were picking them up, shorter shawls were the fashion.
I was doing the gothy trenchcoat thing in 1988 so it had to be before then. I suspect that it has been an item of clothing that an “outsider” wears for a long time - in the 40’s it was for mysterious women and private eyes, in westerns its for the mysterious stranger who comes into town, etc. It has always been kind of a “bad guy” look. I’m thinking that this goes back to before any of us were born, really.
Each generation is inspired by a different popular trenchcoat wearer - Humphrey Bogart, Clint Eastwood, Michael Biehn, Christian Slater, Brandon Lee, you get the picture.
My guess is that it stems from the 70’s UK punk rock look.
Surplus army clothing was cheaply available, and a good trench coat was just the ticket for the rainy climate. It also didn’t hurt that you could carry a lot of booze in the pockets.
From what I’ve seen, the trench coat has been a significant outsider fashion ever since.