The Ulster is a
Victorian working daytime
overcoat
An overcoat is a type of long coat (clothing), coat intended to be worn as the outermost garment, which usually extends below the knee. Overcoats are most commonly used in winter when warmth is more important.
They are sometimes confused with ...
, with a
cape
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck.
History
Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...
and sleeves.
The Ulster is distinguished from the
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
by the length of the cape; in the Ulster, this cape only reaches the elbows, allowing free movement of the forearms. It was commonly worn by coachmen who would be seated outdoors in bad weather for long periods, but needed to use their arms to hold reins.
Often made of hard-wearing fabrics, such as
herringbones or tweeds, it was not a formal coat at the time, though in the 20th century a cape would be seen as such. After the
Edwardian
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
period, it lost its cape, and continued to be used as a heavy-duty overcoat, often in a
double-breasted
A double-breasted garment is a coat, jacket, waistcoat, or dress with wide, overlapping front flaps which has on its front two symmetrical columns of buttons; by contrast, a single-breasted item has a narrow overlap and only one column of button ...
style.
A lightweight version of this coat is called an ulsterette.
Origins
Prior to the inception of the Ulster coat in the first half of the nineteenth century, the
greatcoat
A greatcoat, also known as a watchcoat, is a large overcoat that is typically made of wool designed for warmth and protection against the weather. Its collar and cuffs can be turned out to protect the face and hands from cold and rain, and the ...
or
surtout was the main component of a gentleman's wardrobe. Whilst fashionable at the time, these
garments
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials ...
proved to be very cumbersome for travel due to the heavy lengths of overlapping cloth involved in creating the
silhouette
A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...
. By the mid-1800s, these coats were replaced by lighter variations such as the
Chesterfield Overcoat and the Albert. These coats were designed primarily for show, so did not amount to the same level of weather protection.
John McGee of
McGee & Co set about creating a coat that would fulfil this purpose.
By 1866, McGee had conceptualised the coat known as the ‘Ulster.’ The design was met with much attention upon its introduction and brought acclaim to the Irish designer. Due to the increased sales from the popular coat, the company invested in a second location in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, known simply as the ‘Ulster Coat Warehouse.’
The success of the male coat eventually led to a public clamouring for the female version. And so in the early 1870s, an ulster coat for women was introduced to the market.
In fiction
It is often seen in
period productions of Victorian novels, such as those of
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
and
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for '' A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
. The Ulster coat was referred to in Doyle's
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
novels, ''
A Study in Scarlet
''A Study in Scarlet'' is an 1887 detective novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become the most famous detective duo in literature. The book's title deri ...
'', ''
The Sign of the Four
''The Sign of the Four'' (1890), also called ''The Sign of Four'', is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes by British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories featuring the fictional detective.
Plot ...
'', ''
A Scandal in Bohemia'', ''
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' and ''
The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
"The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the tenth of the twelve stories collected in ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes''. The story was first published in ''The ...
''. It has become a signifier in a great many late-Victorian
costume drama
A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...
s since.
![JacktheRipper1888](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/JacktheRipper1888.jpg)
In the
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
short story ''Blue Carbuncle'' for example,
Watson recounts that:
“It was a bitter night, so we drew on our ulsters and wrapped cravats about our throats.”
The novel,
''The Lodger'', by
Marie Belloc-Lowndes
Marie Adelaide Elizabeth Rayner Lowndes (née Belloc; 5 August 1868 – 14 November 1947), who wrote as Marie Belloc Lowndes, was a prolific English novelist, and sister of author Hilaire Belloc.
Active from 1898 until her death, she had a li ...
features the infamous
Victorian criminal
Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...
stalking the streets of
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...
wearing an ulster coat.
This was later replicated in the
film adaption of the book by
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
, where the villain played by
Laird Cregar
Samuel Laird Cregar (July 28, 1913December 9, 1944) was an American stage and film actor. Cregar was best known for his villainous performances in films such as ''I Wake Up Screaming'' (1941) and '' The Lodger'' (1944).
Cregar's screen career ...
is seen burning an ulster coat in the fire after committing a murderous crime.
The coat also features briefly in
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
’s novel, ''
Dubliners
''Dubliners'' is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. It presents a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century.
The stories were writt ...
''. In the story ‘Grace,’ the character of Mr. Power is wearing an ulster coat when he approaches the drunk Mr. Kernan:
“a tall agile gentleman of fair complexion, wearing a long yellow ulster, (coming) from the far end of the bar…”
In
L.M. Montgomery's ''
Anne of Green Gables
''Anne of Green Gables'' is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, t ...
'', Diana is mentioned to wear a "blood-red ulster" at Christmas.
Marlow, the narrator in
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...
’s ''
Heart of Darkness
''Heart of Darkness'' (1899) is a novella by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad in which the sailor Charles Marlow tells his listeners the story of his assignment as steamer captain for a Belgian company in the African interior. The novel ...
,'' observes'':'' "There was an agent buttoned up inside an ulster and sleeping on a chair on a deck within three feet of me."
The title character of
Madeline
''Madeline'' is a media franchise that originated as a series of children's books written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans, an Austrian-American author. The books have been adapted into numerous formats, spawning telefilms, television series ...
wore an ulster coat when doing detective work.
The
Eleventh Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is played by Matt Smith in three series as well as five specials. As with previous incarnations of the Docto ...
, played by
Matt Smith
Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the Eleventh Doctor, eleventh incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the BBC series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targarye ...
, wore an ulster coat when posing as Sherlock Holmes on the
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
episode ''
The Snowmen
"The Snowmen" is an episode of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', first broadcast on Christmas Day 2012 on BBC One. It is the eighth ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special since the show's 2005 revival and the first to be ...
''.
See also
*
Inverness cape
The Inverness cape is a form of weatherproof outer-coat. It is notable for being sleeveless, the arms emerging from armholes beneath a cape. It has become associated with the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes.
History
The garment began in ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulster Coat
Coats (clothing)
Formal wear