I. Opening: The Coat I Couldn’t Find

For years, I wanted what seemed like a simple thing: a proper winter overcoat. Not just a layer to keep the chill out, but something sweeping, powerful, & heirloom-worthy — the kind of coat you shrug on and immediately feel taller. The problem? Every option I found was either wildly out of reach or depressingly underwhelming.

If you wanted the real deal — bespoke, with weight & gravitas — you were staring down a $7,000 to $10,000 price tag. Even the ready-to-wear pieces that had the right silhouette and quality cloth hovered north of $2,000. And anything under $1,500? Too often you got a middling wool blend padded with synthetics, flimsy details, & a silhouette that looked more like drapery than tailoring.

That gap nagged at me. Why should a coat with heritage, presence, and purpose be either unattainable or compromised? It was in chasing that question that the Balmoral Polo Coat began to take shape — a project rooted in the lineage of the polo coat, tied to Balmoral’s sense of tradition, and anchored by the enduring craft of Harris Tweed.

This edition of The Chronicles is the story of how those threads came together.

II. Origins of the Polo Coat

The polo coat didn’t start in a Savile Row atelier or on a Hollywood backlot. It began on the sidelines of polo fields in the 1910s & 1920s, when players needed something to throw over their gear between chukkas. The solution was a loose, belted coat cut typically from camelhair — warm, drapey, & forgiving enough to layer over padded clothing. It wasn’t sleek, but it did its job: keeping the cold at bay while looking appropriately rakish on horseback.

By the 1930s, the coat had crossed the Atlantic & landed firmly in American collegiate life. Ivy League students — always quick to elevate sportswear into style — adopted it as an emblem of casual elegance. The double-breasted, 6x2 button configuration we know today took shape here, slimming down the original belted form into something sharper. By the 1940s, the polo coat had graduated from campus greens to city streets, its silhouette a confident stride in cloth.

Hollywood soon followed. Cary Grant & Clark Gable wore theirs with effortless ease. Edward VIII helped cement its aristocratic appeal, wearing it both as prince & king; some slight inspo for our namesake. What began as a piece of practical sportswear had, within decades, become a universal symbol of masculine elegance — equal parts American collegiate cool & European refinement.

Of course, not all variations of this coat have lived up to the myth. As fabrics shifted from pure camelhair to cheaper blends, & details were shaved away for mass production, much of the original power was lost. That’s the gap we wanted to reclaim.

III. Balmoral as Muse

There are few places that capture the imagination quite like Balmoral. Set in the Scottish Highlands, the castle rises from granite & mist, framed by heathered hills & the stags that have roamed its grounds for centuries; also a slight ode to our logo. Since Prince Albert purchased it for Queen Victoria in 1852, Balmoral has stood as more than just a royal retreat — it has been a symbol of continuity, tradition, & a quieter sort of majesty.

For me, Balmoral wasn’t the obvious choice of inspiration. It isn’t London’s tailoring streets or Bath’s Georgian crescents. But that’s exactly why it spoke to me. Balmoral carries an aura that blends rugged landscapes with regal refinement — the very balance Arc & Iveagh has always sought to strike. It is a place where tradition & wilderness meet, where history feels alive in every stone wall & river valley.

Naming our polo coat after Balmoral felt natural. It connected the coat’s international lineage — from American polo fields to Ivy League quads — to something distinctly British, rooted in heritage & landscape. Balmoral’s presence is commanding yet understated, much like the coat itself. It’s tradition, refinement, & endurance woven together — exactly the spirit we wanted to capture.

IV. Behind the Seams: Designing the Balmoral

When I first set out to create the Balmoral Polo Coat, I wasn’t chasing novelty — I was chasing balance. Every overcoat I tried either drowned me in fabric, felt flimsy & thin, or relied on synthetics that cheapened the experience. Worse, many of them seemed to check a few boxes but there was no character, no depth, no story to be told – there wasn’t intention with many of their designs. What I wanted was presence without bulk, structure without stiffness, refinement without fragility. That tension became the design brief.

We obsessed over details, because details are what separate an heirloom from a placeholder. The lapels, for example: I wanted them broad and sweeping, with a gorge (the spot where collar meets lapel) set wider than most modern coats. It gives the coat a sense of confidence, a nod to classic proportions without veering into costume.

Function mattered just as much as silhouette. We built a throat latch — a buttonhole under one lapel that meets a hidden button under the opposite collar — for those blustery days when the wind cuts sideways. On the back of the collar, a small functional button lets you raise it for storm protection, a subtle nod to utility hidden within elegance.

The coat’s structure follows tradition: a double-breasted 6x2 configuration, each buttonhole and eyelet sewn by hand. At the back, an inverted box pleat is capped with a hand-stitched rectangular detail — understated, but purposeful. A half-martingale belt & darts at the waist give taper without robbing the coat of its sweep. Even the vent is adjustable, designed to move with you whether you’re striding through the city or taking a seat at your local pub.

None of this came together in a single draft. It took three prototypes, what seemed like an endless amount of tweaks, & plenty of “almost but not quite” moments before we landed on something that felt right. But when I look at the finished coat, I see those choices layered in — every stitch intentional, every detail earned.

V. Cloth of Kings: Harris Tweed

If Balmoral gave us the spirit, Harris Tweed gave us the soul. There is no fabric in the world quite like it — woven by hand in the Outer Hebrides, protected by Act of Parliament since 1934, & marked with the Orb stamp only after passing rigorous inspection. It isn’t just cloth; it’s a covenant between land, maker, & wearer.

My own path to Harris Tweed was shaped by a conversation with Sam Goates of Woven in the Bone, a weaver who works from a small coastal cottage in Scotland. We spoke briefly over the phone after a few whatsapp conversations, She told me about returning to the Highlands in 2007, about the old Hattersley looms with their mind-boggling Victorian mechanics, & the unmistakable clickety-clack that fills the room when the treadle starts moving. Hearing her describe the rhythm, & the patience required to guide yarn into cloth, struck me. It was a moment of clarity: this was the type of authenticity I wanted to build into Arc & Iveagh. A fabric with soul, not shortcuts.

While I’m hopeful to one day use work with Sam and her fantastically ‘foot-pedaled’ fabric, we chose Harris Tweed for this launch – a light brown plaid woven with whispers of blue & mustard — versatile, sophisticated, and deeply rooted in tradition. Just as Balmoral Castle embodies continuity and quiet power, Harris Tweed is Scotland’s textile crown jewel. It is tactile history, handwoven into every yard, and the natural choice for a coat meant to endure.

VI. Closing: A Coat for City and Countryside

The Balmoral Polo Coat is, at its heart, the coat I could never find — until we made it. It carries the weight of history, from the polo fields of the 1920s to the halls of Balmoral Castle, and the soul of Harris Tweed, handwoven by artisans whose looms echo with a century of craft. Yet it also carries something else: the intentionality of every design choice we made along the way.

We wanted power without pomp, elegance without fragility. Wide lapels, thoughtful tapering, and purposeful details make the silhouette commanding but never overwhelming. Harris Tweed, with its rugged beauty and noble heritage, anchors the coat in authenticity while giving it versatility. It’s as at home over a suit in the city as it is over denim and knitwear on a weekend escape to the countryside.

For me, this coat represents more than a garment — it’s a statement of what Arc & Iveagh stands for: tradition respected, design refined, and quality uncompromised. It’s not fast fashion, and it’s not fleeting. It’s a piece meant to endure, to gather stories, and to be passed down.

The Balmoral Polo Coat is our crown jewel — a quiet declaration that some things are worth doing the long, hard, careful way.