Shavecoat?

Sharpologist has covered almost every aspect of shaving. From hardware to software, to shaving techniques. Hell, there are whole differing shaving methodologies out there. While Sharpologist can assist you in determining if you need a preshave oil, and if so which are the recommended ones, or the difference between superlathering and uberlathering (its the glycerin), or even how to concoct your own post-shave moisturizing oil, Sharpologist is strangely silent on what one should (or could) wear while shaving.

The Shaving Jacket?

After all there are (or were) smoking jackets, dinner jackets, and even sports jackets. I do own a couple of sports jackets, but oddly enough I do not wear them while engaging in any sporting activities. However, my spouse does say that I do look sporting in them, whenever the rare occasion to wear one arises. I did learn (Google) that sports jackets (or sports coats as Americans would say) were originally designed to be worn while participating in country sports; hunting, fishing, shooting, etc.

After some extensive online research –Google search with an assist from Gemini– I learned that a shaving jacket was indeed a thing. Back in the Victorian era, if you were lucky enough to have a valet, who shaved you (ahh, those were the days), one would don a shave jacket prior to being shaved. Fast forward a few dozen years, after the introduction of the safety razor (thank you King Gillette), a shave coat served a different purpose. Shared bathrooms were quite common; think boarding and/or tenement houses, or even modern-day university dormitories. One needed a garment to wear while traversing a public hallway enroute to the bathroom. 

It is not clear one actually shaved in these robe-like garments, but the term shave coat was, nonetheless, a gender differentiator. The English term “robe” was taken from the French, meaning “a women’s dress.” An early 20th century male consumer went shopping for a shaving jacket, found only in men’s clothing stores or the men’s section of a department store. They were not shopping for a robe. The unisex understanding of the term came later.

Note: I am purposefully ignoring the influence of the east: Chinese robes and Japanese Kimonos.

The Shavecoat

Moving forward in time to the American postwar period (the mid-1940s to the early 1960s – i.e. the Baby Boom) a company named Weldon manufactured a product called the “shavecoat.” I could not find any information about the company – seemingly no relation to the modern menswear company Mack Weldon. One can still find Weldon Shavecoats for sale on eBay or Etsy). They appear to be lightweight robes with short sleeves, cut wide around the neck, and no collar.

Image Courtesy Ebay

The label makes it clear that the garment is for shaving, however, that begs the question, why does one need a dedicated garment for shaving? One might turn this question around and ask why, in this era of highly specialized clothing (have you recently tried to buy a simple pair of what used to be called “tennis shoes?” – which decidedly were not meant to actually play tennis in) did a shaving robe fall out of fashion? 

Other Data?

A very unscientific survey (a 15 year old Badger-n-Blade discussion on this topic) indicated that the vast majority of those not shower shaving wear something to shave in: boxers/briefs, towel, tee shirt and gym shorts, etc. In other words, something convenient, at hand, but not designed around the act of shaving.

One might ask, how did this topic even occur to me? Well, unlike Mantic59 (our fearless leader behind Sharpologist) I live in a cold climate – about 100 miles from Canada. (Full disclosure: Columbus, Ohio is about 100 miles from the southern shore of Lake Erie where the Customs and Border Control entry point is located. The actual border is still halfway across the lake.) 

Yes, I shave after a hot shower, yes, the bathroom does heat up a bit from the shower, but either my showers are too short, or the bathroom too large, because it’s still cold exiting the shower. Our winter, day-time household temperature of 66 degrees may play a role, but that is a non-negotiable. Simply put, it’s cold standing at my sink. with only a towel wrapped around my waist, for my 10 minute, 2-pass shave.

My Experiments

Diligent readers of my past Sharpologist columns might recall that I believe whole-heartedly in experimentation. I have a nice thick fleece winter robe. It’s super comfy, but shaving in it was a lather disaster. I could not get the thick collar out of the way nor keep the long wide sleeves to stay rolled up on my too-skinny arms. While I did enjoy a warm shave, I would need to launder my robe after each shave! 

Personal note: I don’t do the laundry in my household. After my single robe-shaving experiment, my spouse, on laundry day, held up the robe and asked about the racoon I clearly had a wrestling match with while shaving…

My second experiment was only slightly more successful. I took a thick, large, beach towel and wrapped it around my body just under the armpits. Boy do I wish I had a video of that experiment. Wrapping a towel around one’s waist, where, at least in my case, there are hips to help hold the towel in place, no such protuberances exist under my armpits. The towel slowly started to sink south during the shave in spite of my odd body contortions meant to help hold the towel in place. Eventually, I gave up and shaved in my birthday suit. 

I can anticipate the obvious question(s): Yes, I did use a hair clip to help hold the towel in place (works great around my hips), but for this use, it was useless. No, it really wasn’t warm enough. While my usually bare torso was warmer wrapped in a thick towel, it was a bit too airy from the waist down. I’ll refrain from commenting on how I looked – thankfully, I am usually alone in our shared bathroom when shaving.

My third experiment was a lot more successful: a wife beater. For those not in the know a wife beater tee is basically a tank-top style undershirt. Google-Gemini says that the term originated in 1947 from a crime photo of a man accused of killing his wife, wearing a stained (beater) tee. Marlon Brando, the actor who famously portrayed the violent character Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” wore this style shirt in the film to signal a low-life bully. Today, the term is rightfully considered offensive. Some now refer to this style shirt as a wife pleaser (cutely ironic), beater (drop the wife part), or an a-shirt — not sure where this name came from and when can we expect b-shirts?

Aside from “Mantic59.” As a matter of fact, I often use a tank-top style undershirt when I want to make shaving content. Admittedly it’s a compromise between self-consciousness and usefulness (it doesn’t get wet like a t-shirt or a v-shirt can).  While I normally don’t wear one otherwise when the weather is warm, when it does get cold here in Texas I’ll pull one on while I shave.

Summing Up

Am I tempted to pick up a Weldon shavecoat off of eBay or Etsy – you bet. However, I am not prepared to pay vintage pricing nor answer my wife’s questions about needing specialized clothing to shave in. I do think that if I ever migrate to cut throat shaving, a shavecoat is a must. In the meantime, when the outside temps sink below freezing, after wrapping my bath towel around my waist post-shower, securing it with a hair clip, I don an a-shirt before heading to the sink for my shave. 

One final plus; my spouse says the view of me standing at the sink in an a-shirt and towel, shaving with a brush and DE razor, reminds her of her beloved grandfather – that’s something I can live with.