Like a the balusters on a Regency staircase  or an oppressively facetious cheese, this is a jacket for the cognoscente. Or, a lunatic who’ll spend 350 quid to look like he sleeps in an railway arch. It’s difficult to tell.

This is from the brand Proposition, a new find over at Present. According to the blurb, it’s a French hunting jacket from the 1930s, retooled by London tailors. That’s all it says. And for me, there lies the problem. The thing about vintage gear is, it’s all about provenance. You’ve got to have a clear idea what you’re buying and the brevity of the information here is something of a turn off for me. Who are Proposition? Are they just mates of the shop? Show me something that illustrates it’s a genuine 1930s French hunting jacket – a label, some branding, even just write more blurb to convince me. I’m not suggesting for one second that this isn’t what it says it is, I just think a bit more effort in the online presentation is needed.

History aside, to most, this will still look like the coat of a vagrant – outerwear to be worn while collecting dog ends, going bongo on Spice and displaying a liberal attitude to ones own fecal matter. I’m not entirely convinced that should be part of my AW16 lookbook.