Double-Breasted Overcoat for Weddings and Evenings: Questions Answered — Colour, Fit and How to Wear One After Dark
The short answer: yes — a double-breasted overcoat is one of the few coats that works over tailoring after dark. Wardley's version — the Greenwich, £257.95 — is a long double-breasted coat in Charcoal, Black or Camel, with a six-button front, wide notch lapels, a half-belt at the back and a lined body, in a regular fit, sizes S–XXL. Open over knitwear on Saturday, buttoned over tailoring at night: the same coat covers both. Below are the questions men actually ask before wearing one to a wedding or an evening event, answered plainly.
Can you wear a double-breasted overcoat to a wedding?
Yes. The Greenwich double-breasted overcoat is cut to layer over tailoring, with a regular fit that leaves room for a suit or a roll neck underneath. At a winter wedding the coat is the first and last thing seen — arriving, standing outside, leaving after dark — and a structured, lined, long coat reads as part of the outfit rather than a cover for it. Our smart-casual wedding outfit guide covers what sits underneath in full.
Should the coat be buttoned or open over a suit at night?
Buttoned, for the formal version. The six-button double-breasted front and wide notch lapels are what give the Greenwich its finished outline over tailoring, and buttoning it keeps that outline clean from arrival to departure. Worn open, the same coat settles into an easier register — over knitwear and dark denim at the weekend, it gives a plain outfit a deliberate shape without dressing it up. One coat, two registers; that is the after-dark case for it.
Which colour works best for evenings and formal wear?
Black and Charcoal work best after dark. Both sit naturally over tailoring, and Charcoal is the softer of the two against navy or grey suiting. Camel is the colour that changes a plain outfit most — a bolder arrival, and the one to choose when the rest of the outfit is deliberately quiet. All three come in sizes S–XXL. Our guide to choosing an overcoat colour works through the trade-offs in full.
What is the Greenwich made from?
It is made from wool-finish polyester cloth with a polyester lining. The maker does not publish an exact fibre-percentage breakdown, so we state the cloth as supplied rather than estimate a figure — it is a wool-finish cloth, not a wool cloth, and the product page says so in the same words. The lined body is part of why it layers cleanly over a jacket or knitwear without dragging.
How does it fit over tailoring, and what size should I buy?
The Greenwich is a regular fit, cut to layer over a jumper or a suit jacket. It has a clean, structured shape rather than a relaxed one, so judge it by the garment measurements below rather than by a letter size carried across from another brand. Between sizes, size up if you will wear it over chunky knitwear. These are garment measurements, as published on the product page, not recommended body sizes:
| Size | Length | Chest | Shoulder | Sleeve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | 95cm | 110cm | 47cm | 62cm |
| M | 97cm | 115cm | 49cm | 63cm |
| L | 99cm | 120cm | 51cm | 64cm |
| XL | 101cm | 125cm | 53cm | 65cm |
| XXL | 103cm | 130cm | 55cm | 66cm |
The simplest check is to measure a coat you already own — length from the base of the collar to the hem, and chest across — over the layers you plan to wear, and compare the two sets of figures. If you need help interpreting a measurement, contact us before ordering.
How long is it? Will it cover a suit jacket?
It is a long coat: 95cm in size S rising to 103cm in XXL, measured as published above. That length is what lets it cover what sits underneath — a suit jacket, a roll neck, knitwear — so the outfit underneath stays a single, finished line. Our complete guide to men's overcoats in the UK covers length and proportion across coat styles.
What should you wear underneath it for an evening event?
Keep it plain. Over a suit, nothing else is needed — the coat is the outer statement. Without a suit, a roll neck and tailored trousers is the reliable evening combination: buttoned over a roll neck, the coat ends the outfit debate. At the weekend the same coat works open over a hoodie and jeans. Our guide to what to wear under an overcoat and our general double-breasted overcoat questions, answered cover the daytime versions in full, and one coat for winter makes the case for this single coat replacing two.
How much is it, and will it arrive before the event?
The Greenwich is £257.95, with free tracked UK delivery. Orders are dispatched in 1–2 working days and delivered in 6–10 working days from order — so order ahead of the event, not in the same week. An evening in the diary is exactly the order this delivery window suits: fixed date, known in advance.
What if it does not fit?
There are 30-day returns on unworn items. Return postage is paid by you unless the item is faulty or incorrect. If you are between the measurements above, checking before ordering is the surest way to get the size right first time.
Browse the wider range in men's coats and jackets.