How to Care for a Wool Overcoat: The Complete Guide

A good wool overcoat will outlast almost everything else in your wardrobe, but only if you treat it properly. The problem is, most of the advice online is either wrong (don't dry clean it after every wear), overly complicated (you don't need a steamer, a hat brush and three different brushes), or written by people who've never actually owned one for ten years.

This is the version we'd give a friend. It's what we tell customers when they ask, and it's how we look after our own coats.

The short version

Hang it on a wide wooden hanger. Brush it after wearing. Spot clean small marks straight away. Dry clean it once or twice a season, no more. Store it properly when summer comes. That's it.

Do those five things and a quality wool overcoat like our Covert overcoat or long classic overcoat will look as good in year ten as it did in year one.

1. Use the right hanger

This is the single most important thing, and most people get it wrong. Wire hangers, the kind dry cleaners send your coat home on, will deform the shoulders within a season. Thin plastic hangers do the same thing, just slower.

What you want is a wide wooden hanger, ideally contoured, that supports the full width of the shoulder seam. The shoulder of an overcoat is structured with canvas and padding. The hanger needs to mirror that shape so the coat hangs in its natural silhouette. A good hanger costs about £8 and saves a £150 coat.

Hang the coat properly fastened, at least one button done up, so the front holds its shape. And give it room. A coat crammed against everything else in the wardrobe will crease.

2. Brush it after wearing

Wool is a self cleaning fabric in a way cotton isn't. The fibres release dirt and odour when aired, which is why a wool coat can be worn dozens of times without needing a clean. But it does need brushing.

A soft horsehair clothes brush is the right tool. Brush downward, with the nap, in long even strokes. This lifts surface dust, hair, lint and the small particles that would otherwise work their way into the weave. Two minutes after each wear is enough.

Brushing also restores the surface. Wool has a very subtle directional sheen, and brushing in one direction pulls that back into uniformity. The coat looks cleaner, sharper, and newer for it.

3. Deal with marks straight away

Most stains come out if you deal with them within an hour. Most stains become permanent if you leave them for a week.

For dry marks (mud, dust, salt from winter pavements): let it dry fully, then brush it out. Don't rub damp mud into the fibres.

For wet spills (water, coffee, wine): blot, don't rub. Use a clean white cloth, press down firmly, lift it away. Repeat with a fresh corner of the cloth. If it's just water, let it air dry on the hanger and it will be fine.

For greasier marks: a small amount of talcum powder dabbed on the spot will absorb the oil overnight. Brush it off in the morning.

What not to do: don't apply heat, don't use household stain removers (most are too aggressive for wool), and don't put a wool coat in the washing machine. Even on a wool cycle. Especially not a coat with structured construction. The canvas inside will be ruined long before the wool is.

4. Dry clean sparingly

Once or twice a season is enough for most people. Dry cleaning is harsh on wool. The solvents strip natural oils from the fibres, and the pressing flattens the lay of the cloth. Done once a year, it refreshes a coat. Done once a month, it ages it.

If you commute in it daily through a wet winter, end of season is the right time: clean it, then store it for summer. If you wear it more occasionally, you may not need to clean it at all in a given year. Just brush, air, spot clean as needed.

When you do dry clean, use a specialist. A coat dry cleaner (the kind that handles tailored garments and not just shirts) will hand press the lapels and shoulders properly. Cheap chains will steam it flat and you'll lose the structure.

5. Store it properly in summer

From May to September, your wool overcoat is going into hibernation. How you store it determines what condition it's in next October.

Clean it first. Moths are attracted to invisible food residue and skin oils, not the wool itself. A clean coat is a safe coat.

Use a breathable garment bag. Cotton is ideal, the soft kind a tailor would use. Plastic bags trap moisture and can cause yellowing or mildew, especially if there's any residual cleaning solvent. If you only have plastic, leave the bottom open for airflow.

Store it in a cool, dry, dark place. Lavender sachets or cedar blocks help with moths. Refresh them every two months or so, as the scent fades.

Hang, don't fold. Folded wool develops creases that take weeks of wearing to drop out, and in a long overcoat the fold lines can be permanent.

What about pilling?

Some pilling on a new wool coat is normal. It's not a defect, it's the loose fibres in the yarn working themselves out, particularly in high friction areas like under the arms and around the cuffs. After the first season it stops.

Remove pills with a fabric shaver (a small electric one, not a razor blade), or for very small ones, a sweater stone. Don't pull them off by hand. You'll pull good fibres with them.

What about cashmere blends?

The same rules apply, but be slightly gentler with brushing. Cashmere fibres are finer than pure wool and a stiff brush can fluff them up. A softer goat hair or horsehair brush, light strokes, and you'll be fine.

Our overcoats are 70% wool and 5% cashmere, with the cashmere mainly contributing softness rather than fragility. They can be treated like any quality wool coat. The cashmere isn't a reason to be precious about it.

What about the velvet collar on a covert overcoat?

The velvet collar on our covert overcoat needs slightly different care. Brush it gently in the direction of the pile (downward) with a soft bristled brush. Don't use the same horsehair brush you use on the body of the coat. That's too stiff and will crush the pile over time. A small clothing or velvet specific brush is ideal, and they cost almost nothing.

If the velvet gets crushed, a few seconds of steam from a kettle (held at a sensible distance) lifts the pile back up. Then brush gently while it's still warm.

The bigger picture

None of this is difficult or expensive. A good hanger, a brush, a garment bag, and ten minutes of attention every couple of weeks. The coats we see come back to us after fifteen years of wear, still looking right, are owned by people who did exactly this.

The opposite is also true. We've seen £500 coats ruined in two seasons because someone hung them on a wire hanger, threw them in the washing machine, or left them folded in a suitcase for six months. The fabric doesn't care how much you paid. It cares how you treat it.

A wool overcoat is one of the few pieces of clothing that genuinely rewards looking after. Do the basics and our Greatcoat or any of our overcoats will be in your wardrobe in twenty years.

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