The Lining Matters

The Lining Matters

A coat lining is, in most of the fashion industry, an afterthought. It is the part no one sees — the inside of the inside — and it is treated accordingly. Polyester or viscose is cheap, adequate and ubiquitous. It does the minimum required and no more. It lines the coat so that the coat can be called lined, and that is the end of the conversation.

This is a mistake, and not only an aesthetic one.

A lining does several things that directly determine how long a coat lasts and how well it performs. It reduces the friction between the outer fabric and whatever the wearer has on underneath — meaning the coat slides on easily over a jumper or a jacket rather than dragging and pulling. It protects the outer fabric from the inside, absorbing the stress of movement so that the cloth itself does not bear it. It stabilises the structure of the coat, helping it hold its shape through years of wearing rather than sagging and distorting with use. And it conceals the internal construction — the seams, the interfacing, the raw edges — giving the inside of the coat the same finished quality as the outside.

It also breathes — or it does not. A synthetic lining traps heat and moisture against the body, which is uncomfortable in any temperature and actively unpleasant in anything warm. Silk breathes. It regulates temperature, wicks moisture away from the skin and keeps the wearer comfortable whether she is stepping out of a heated building into cold air or sitting through a long lunch in a warm room. This is not a small thing. It is the difference between a coat that feels good to wear and one that merely looks good from the outside.

In short, a good lining makes a coat last longer, feel better and perform better in every condition. A cheap lining does the opposite. The coat that loses its shape after two seasons, that pulls across the shoulders, that feels uncomfortable by mid-afternoon — these are frequently lining failures as much as anything else.

This is worth bearing in mind when you consider what some designer coats actually contain. A wool and cashmere coat retailing at close to £2,000 from a well-known designer house is lined in 100% viscose — black or oyster, utilitarian, entirely beside the point. Another coat from the same house at a similar price: 100% viscose again. These are synthetic linings in coats that present themselves, and are priced, as luxury garments. The outer fabric may be beautiful. The lining is an afterthought.

At EdNerat we line everything in silk. Not acetate, not viscose, not polyester. Silk — which breathes, which moves, which drapes without clinging, which feels against the inner arm and the back of the hand in a way that nothing synthetic can replicate. It is also, for a coat designed to last for decades, the right choice structurally: silk is strong, resilient and holds up over years of use in a way that cheaper linings do not.

We also treat the lining as what it is — an opportunity. Most linings are a single colour: black, or at best oyster. Functional. Forgotten. Ours are not. We offer our linings in around twenty colours — pewter, hazel, lichen, rosy, rose, red, navy, stone, turquoise — chosen to complement, contrast or quietly echo the outer cloth in ways that reward the woman who knows what is inside. A denim blue herringbone tweed coat lined in pewter. A chocolate brown tweed coat lined in hazel. A deep sage green coat lined in lichen. A pink and camel checked tweed lined in rosy silk. These are not accidents. They are decisions — made with care and, frankly, considerable pleasure.

If we are making a coat for you, you can make that decision too. Choose your lining from our full range of colours — we will suggest a combination we think works beautifully with your chosen cloth, and then do exactly what you want. If you do not see a colour that is right, tell us and we will find it.

One more thing worth saying. Linings wear out. Even the best silk lining, in a coat worn regularly, will eventually show its age — fraying at the edges, beginning to split at the seams. This is not a failure of the coat. It is simply the honest result of time and use. And it is entirely fixable.

We reline coats. Bring us an EdNerat coat whose lining has seen better days, and we will put a new one in — in the same colour as the original if you want continuity, or in something entirely new if you want a change. The coat itself, in good cloth with good seams, will outlast several linings. We consider it our job to make sure it does.