Designed to suit the needs of a soldier on the battlefield, the trench coat has evolved into a staple for stylish civilians.

The trench coat. No other item of outerwear embodies the understated yet self-assured vibe of our Parisian style fantasies. Can you imagine Catherine Deneuve, Francoise Hardy or Jane Birkin strolling around the 4th arrondissement in anything else?

But like Birkin, the trench coat isn’t actually French – it’s a British invention. Thomas Burberry, a former draper’s apprentice, developed gabardine – a rugged, water-resistant twill – in Basingstoke, Hampshire in 1880. After submitting a design for an army officer’s raincoat to England’s War Office in 1901, he was commissioned to create a gabardine coat for the British Army’s officers serving in the Boer War in South Africa.

Françoise Hardy epitomizing Parisian style in her trench – chic, understated and elegant.

By World War I, Burberry’s design had been perfected. Shoulder epaulets allowed officers to attach rank insignia without damaging their coats. Button down storm flaps prevented water seeping down into the soldier’s coats after firing their rifles and a D-ring was attached to the the belt in order to carry a firearm or sword. Worn by half a million British troops while fighting at the front, the name “trench” stuck. The tried-and-tested military design elements remain unchanged to this day.

The mannish allure of Catherine Deneuve’s trench underscores the femininity of the outfit beneath.

Used again by soldiers fighting in the harsh European winter battlefields of World War II, the style was adopted by Hollywood celebrities and volunteer entertainers performing for the troops overseas. Demobilized, the coat quickly became synonymous with every 1940s film noir protagonist and his beautiful, but conniving femme fatale.

Emma Watson is the modern day face of Burberry’s best-selling trench.

Remaining the company’s best-selling item to this day, Burberry celebrated the 97-year-old fashion icon by launching Art of the Trench, a photo-sharing website described as “a living document of the trench coat and the people who wear it.” Featuring dedicated images, past and present, of people sporting the Burberry trench coat, the Art of the Trench showcases images from professional fashion photographers including celebrated fashion photo-blogger Scott Schuman, better known as The Sartorialist.

With its ability to transform its wearer into either sultry Raymond Chandler heroine or insouciant Parisienne, this lightweight cotton coat might well be the perfect pick for the new season after we put away our heavy winter coats.

Jackie O knows – the trench coat is a timeless classic that’s worth the splurge.

Also Check out:

Now & Then: The History Of The Cocktail Dress

Now & Then: The Bold Brow

Now & Then: The History of the Cuff

Now & Then: The History of Turtlenecks

Now & Then: The History of Tights

Now & Then: The History of Skinny Jeans

Now & Then: The History of the Chevron Stripe

Now & Then: The History of Penny Loafers

Now & Then: The History of Go-Go Boots

Now & Then: The History of the Poet Blouse

Now & Then: The History of Ladylike Gloves

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As I flicked through the January edition of Harpers Bazaar, I came across an excerpt from a newly released bio of Jacqueline Kennedy by John Loring, who had worked closely with her during her days as a Doubleday book editor. He described her savvy approach to dressing and wide knowledge of fashion, writing, “Yet Jackie was more interested in how people wore things than in what they wore.”

I imagine in this digital age of fashion voyeurism, the many online style tools available with a click of her mouse would have delighted the high priestess of American chic.

Photographer Scott Schuman, better known as “The Sartorialist” to the rest of the world is one of the industry’s most influential figures, capturing exactly how the stylish are wearing their things from New York to Milan. Together with StreetPeeper, currently documenting the world’s fashion editors as they arrive for the fall shows, the sites make for utterly irresistible daily style inspiration. Another favorite of mine is Vogue’s online feature “Five days, Five looks, One girl” where they break down the looks of glamorous gals about town in their daily ensembles.  Rather than looking at fashion through the abstraction of a magazine layout, it’s useful to see how real people wear the latest designer fashion to work, albeit to a job that accommodates 5-inch ponyskin heels.

Putting together our outfit for work every morning is one of the most creative things modern women do. In our fast-paced, work-heavy lives, few of us engage in other types of creative pastimes. Many of us are waking up to the environmental ramifications of forever buying more while still wanting to revel in the fun and creativity of fashion. Happily there are a number of sites that aim to provide with the grown-up version of playing paper dolls. Vogue’s Light box, Polyvore and Closet Couture allow users to put together an outfit, to see which combinations work – and which don’t – without handing over credit cards or adding to our overstuffed closets.

Perhaps you get your creative kicks from hair and make up. The hundreds and thousands of viewers who enjoy the beauty tutorials on YouTube phenom, Pixiwoo prove you are not alone.  Make up artists, Samantha and Nicola Chapman’s exhaustive resources show you everything from how to wear to Spring’s acid bright color palette to how to skillfully recreate the chiseled cheekbones seen on the runways.

InStyle magazine’s Hollywood Makeover feature allows you to upload a photo of yourself and superimpose a collection of celebrity make up and hairstyles.  Another way to utilize the style know-how of celebrity stylists  (who are largely responsible for enhancing their client’s best features and minimizing their worst), is to take some cues from your celebrity lookalike.  Try uploading a picture of yourself onto My Heritage’s face recognition tool to find out which star you most resemble and pick up some hair and make up tricks from your Hollywood doppelganger. You can spend a frivolous ten minutes, okay, 40 minutes – uploading your photos to produce a range of celebrity faces that are most similar to yours. Consider yourself forewarned and turn the gender function on first.

And if, after all that fun and creativity, you do decide to go ahead and buy something, first visit Made By, a U.K. based non profit that recently launched a set of online tools that allow us to make our fashion purchases as transparently as possible. Features such as Scorecards and Track & Trace, record the eco-developments of the participating brands and allows the consumer to see exactly where and who created a garment.

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