Military Dress and Men’s Outdoor Leisurewear: Burberry’s Trench Coat in First World War Britain

This article explores the emergence of the trench coat through a range of First World War British press advertisements. Its military features did not confine the trench coat to army use, and it became a popular garment during and after the war. Burberry resolved the contradictions of the wartime trade by offering practical, mass-produced clothing, which bore the marks of sporting leisure. The firm’s modernizing approach was represented by the image of a man in a trench coat, a figure that embodied the militarizing of the home front during wartime.