The History and New Fortune of the Chore Coat

The chore coat, a 19th-century work garment worn by English laborers and French street sweepers, and favored by painters like Renoir, van Gogh, and Gauguin, has seen a resurgence since the pandemic began. This soft, unlined long jacket with three large pockets has become a default cover for remote workers worldwide. Its unlined design accommodates various body types, and its pockets are ideal for modern gadgets like smartphones. Available online in materials from denim to stretch wool, it is primarily a men's garment but also suits women drawn to minimalist, utilitarian style. The coat previously returned to fashion in the mid-1970s when Giorgio Correggiari, a lesser-known Italian designer who died in 2011, called it a "shirt-jacket" and offered a super-minimalist version without collar, anticipating Japanese designers. The current revival, however, comes from the bottom up, not from fashion houses except for a J.W. Anderson capsule for Uniqlo. During lockdown, many workers wore sweats over pajamas, but others maintained grooming rituals and donned the chore coat as a psychological marker to separate work from leisure, removing it at 6 PM with a glass of red wine.