• 14 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Trench Coat

Front and back of a classic trench coat, from the throat latch to the back vent.

Parts of a Trench Coat

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Collar
  2. Lapel
  3. Throat latch
  4. Epaulette
  5. Storm flap
  6. Buttons
  7. Belt
  8. Buckle
  9. Pocket
  10. Cuff strap
  11. Raglan sleeve
  12. Back yoke
  13. D-ring
  14. Back vent

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

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All 14 parts on the diagram

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Front 11

  1. Collar A tall collar; the throat latch fastens at its neck.
  2. Lapel Trench coats traditionally have wide lapels on a double-breasted front.
  3. Throat latch A short strap at the neck of the collar. One of the coat's weatherproof details along with the wrist straps and the rain shield.
  4. Epaulette A shoulder strap that buttons closed. On the army officer's coat it carried rank insignia.
  5. Storm flap A button-down flap on one shoulder, also called the gun flap. One of the coat's army features.
  6. Buttons Run in two rows, as a trench coat is traditionally double-breasted.
  7. Belt A belt of the coat's own cloth. Many wearers tie it to look more casual.
  8. Buckle It fastens the belt; the cuff straps have small buckles too.
  9. Pocket Traditionally the pockets close with a button. This one has a slanted flap.
  10. Cuff strap Buckles around the wrist so that water cannot run down the forearm.
  11. Raglan sleeve Runs in one piece all the way to the collar. A slanting seam runs from the underarm, so there is no shoulder seam.

Back 3

  1. Back yoke A second layer over the shoulders and upper back. It keeps that area dry. Also called the rain shield or storm cape.
  2. D-ring Rings on the belt for attaching equipment such as map cases. Left from the coat's army days.
  3. Back vent An opening up the middle of the back from the hem. Here a tab buttons it.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two sources use it: Wikipedia, Trench coat, text only (double-breasted with ten front buttons, wide lapels, storm flap, pockets that button, self-belt, raglan sleeves, cuff straps that buckle, epaulettes, D-rings, vents); The Visual Dictionary of Everyday Things (Stoddart, 1991), trench coat, pages 56 and 57, read through archive.org's full-text search, https://archive.org/details/visualdictionary0000unse_o3q7 (collar, lapel, epaulette, storm flap, storm cape, cuff strap, belt, buckle, D-ring, button, pocket flap); and, for the collar, throat latch, gun flap, back yoke, rain shield and centre vent, Oscar Lenius, A Well-Dressed Gentleman's Pocket Guide (Prion, 2006), https://archive.org/details/welldressedgentl0000leni, Josh Sims, Icons of Men's Style, https://archive.org/details/iconsofmensstyle0000sims, William Wilson, Man at His Best: The Esquire Guide to Style (1985), https://archive.org/details/manathisbestesq00wils, and GQ, October 1967, https://archive.org/details/sim_gq-gentlemens-quarterly_1967-10_37_6. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's pattern, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A trench coat keeps the features of the army officer's coat it began as in the First World War. The first drawing is the front; the second is the back.

Read the full guide

Work down the front, then turn it over

Numbers 1 to 3 close the neck: the collar, the lapels and the throat latch. Numbers 4 and 5 sit on the shoulder and chest: the epaulette and the storm flap. Numbers 6 to 9 are the buttons, the belt, its buckle and a pocket. Numbers 10 and 11 are the cuff strap and the raglan sleeve. On the back, 12 to 14 are the back yoke, a D-ring and the back vent.

  • Storm flap and gun flap are two names for the same flap on the chest.
  • The back yoke is also called the rain shield or storm cape.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a trench coat called?

A collar with a throat latch, wide lapels, epaulettes, a storm flap on the chest, two rows of buttons, a belt with a buckle and D-rings, pockets, raglan sleeves with cuff straps and, behind, a back yoke and a vent.

What are the D-rings on a trench coat belt for?

They are left from the coat's army days. The rings were added during the First World War for attaching equipment such as map cases to the belt.

What is the flap on the chest of a trench coat?

The storm flap, also called the gun flap: an extra flap of cloth that buttons down over one side of the chest, on the shoulder.

Why do trench coats have straps on the cuffs?

The cuff straps buckle round the wrists so that water cannot run down the forearm, for example when using binoculars in the rain.

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