Big Fan of the Balmacaan #

July 7, 2025
Nowhere in particular

It is exceedingly hot throughout much of the Eastern seabord of the United States at the moment, and I’m finding some respite by looking at clothes from the chillier months. This has led me to one of my favorite garments, the balmacaan!

This is a garment that I was surprised to find that I love so much, mostly because when I first started liking winter overcoats, I really wanted to have a lapel on it in some form, over just a collar. However, after purchasing my own balmacaan and wearing it extensively, I’ve found much to love from its simplicity.

Firstly, what exacty is a balmacaan? Well, I’m sure definitions change from person to person, but to me, a balmacaan coat is a winter overcoat with raglan sleeves, typically single breasted, and typically long and voluminous. The coat allegeldy originates from an estate near Inverness in Scotland. Traditionally, it was rather long and wide. Yes, that is a very springy definition, my apologies. This definition also begs the question of what a raglan sleeve is, which is, more simply, a sleeve that is a single piece extended up to the collar. In the above picture from Auralee, you can see that the sleeve on that grey coat is a singular piece, not broken by any shoulders. This gives the coat a much softer, de-constructed, casual look, that I think makes it excellent for a modern wardrobe.

I purchased a balmacaan coat about one and a half years ago, mostly because the particular coat was considerably on sale and had a decent enough fabric makeup for me to not feel like I was just buying well designed plastic. Immidiately upon wearing it, I felt it was both way too long and way to wide. I had, up till that point, been more used to the millennial silhouette of winter coats. However, it was surprisingly well made for what I paid for it, and it was very warming, which was useful for winters at both my university and home city.

There are some garments that I have or have seen on other people that “feel like home”. They are clothes that, once you put them on, you feel at ease and especially comfortable, and maybe comforted. This balmacaan is that kind of a garment to me. I think this has to do in part to its size, and it is huge! It feels a lot like a blanket whenever I put it on, and like I’m being totally swathed in wool.

Regardless of my personal love for this coat, it does have a lot of utility for the winter. I find they typically have huge pockets, big enough to fit a pair of gloves and a knit beanie in each (something I’m frequently doing when I’m going indoors and back out again), making them pretty useful beyond warmth. They have been sported by many, many stylist people who I look up to, and they look really cool! These coats, also, have the fantastic quality of being cape-like. When unbuttoned and walking around, due to their weight and size, they flow around you incredibly dramatically, which is a feature in clothing design that I can really appreciate.

One last thing I’d like to say about these coats is that, due to their unconstructed style, they are well suited to a not excessively formal wardrobe. I’m not typically wearing very sharp suits on a daily basis, and I feel like this type of coat can go over almost anything I wear, from chunky knit sweaters, to button downs and thinner sweaters layered in interesting ways. I could also see more casual suits or even fun ties going pretty well under a coat like this. In this way, they feel like a overcoat that works pretty well for a modern wardrobe.

Miscellaneous photos I liked #