The Balmacaan Coat: A Guide to the Scottish Raglan Overcoat

A Balmacaan coat is a loose, single-breasted overcoat with raglan sleeves and a small rounded collar, cut for ease of movement and traditionally made in heavy woollen cloth for hard weather. The six Balmacaans in Johnstons of Elgin coats at Coveti sit among the women’s designer coats and the men’s rail, and the Balmacaan Moorland Glen Urquhart Check Coat is a good example of the type: a men’s Balmacaan in Glen Urquhart check wool.

The short answer, then. A Balmacaan is a raglan-sleeved overcoat with a small Prussian collar, named after an estate near Inverness on the western shore of Loch Ness. It is cut loose so it moves with you, and it was usually made in tweed and gabardine. Johnstons of Elgin makes six at Coveti, priced $3,370 and $3,560.

What makes a coat a Balmacaan

Three things define the style, and none of them is a colour. The first is the sleeve. A Balmacaan has raglan sleeves, which run all the way up to the collar instead of stopping at the shoulder. On a coat built for hard weather this has a practical point: bringing the sleeve to the collar reduces the seams water can get through.

The second is the collar. A Balmacaan has a small rounded collar, known as a Prussian collar. It is a modest detail, and one of the easiest ways to tell the style apart on a rail.

The third is the cut. The coat is loose and single-breasted, made for walking and for wearing over a jacket and a heavy jumper without strain. That ease is the whole idea.

The name is a place. Balmacaan is an estate near Inverness, on the western shore of Loch Ness, which ties the coat firmly to the Scottish Highlands. That makes Johnstons of Elgin a natural maker for it: the house was founded in 1797 in Elgin, also in the north of Scotland, and its first tweed, made in the 1840s, was cloth for estate workers. If you want the longer story of the mill itself, our guide to who Johnstons of Elgin are covers Newmill and the River Lossie.

The cloths: Glen Urquhart check, houndstooth and herringbone

A Balmacaan is traditionally made in heavy woollen cloth, usually tweed and gabardine. The six Johnstons Balmacaans at Coveti use three patterns, and the house names each coat after its cloth.

Glen Urquhart check is the one to know. It is a woollen twill with small and large checks laid over each other, also called Glen plaid and the Prince of Wales check. It is named after the Glenurquhart Estate in Inverness-shire, where the Countess of Seafield first used it in the 1840s to fit out her gamekeepers, and it was made famous by King Edward VII when he was Prince of Wales.

The timing also lines up with the house. Johnstons of Elgin created its first tweed in the 1840s as a form of camouflage for estate workers, and in 1853 it wove the Super Balmoral Tweed for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s Balmoral Estate.

Three of the six Balmacaans are in Glen Urquhart check. The other three are in houndstooth, herringbone and a check the house names Dark Slate. The house does not publish cloth weights for any of them, so we do not quote one.

The Johnstons of Elgin Balmacaans at Coveti

There are two women’s Balmacaans and four men’s. Every one is printed with the fit line Relaxed Fit, which matches the loose cut the style calls for.

Women’s: two coats in lambswool

The two women’s coats are both 100% lambswool and both $3,370 at Coveti, in sizes S, M and L. The Balmacaan Peregrine Glen Urquhart Coat is the classic version, the check that gives the style its Highland roots. The Balmacaan Shale Houndstooth Coat swaps the check for houndstooth. Both share the same composition, fit line and price, so the choice is the pattern. A Glen Urquhart check shows its two sizes of check laid over each other, which is the more traditional Balmacaan look.

Men’s: four coats in wool

The four men’s Balmacaans are 100% wool, in letter sizes XS to XXL (the herringbone runs XS to XL). Two are $3,370 at Coveti: the Balmacaan Moorland Glen Urquhart Check Coat and the Balmacaan Dark Slate Check Coat. The other two are $3,560 at Coveti: the Balmacaan Indigo & Lichen Glen Urquhart Check Coat and the Balmacaan Rust & Petrol Herringbone Coat.

Those two dearer coats are also the two whose product pages carry a Scotland origin line. The other four Balmacaans do not print one on the page, so we make no claim either way about where their cloth was woven. The house’s own description of its mills is plain: “Our woven goods are crafted at our mill in Elgin, while our knitwear is produced at our Hawick mill,” it says on its brand FAQ page.

Balmacaan vs car coat, great coat, wrap coat and trench

Johnstons of Elgin has 18 coats at Coveti, and the Balmacaans are a third of them. The rest fall into five other cuts by name: the car coat, the great coat, the wrap coat, the trench and the cape. Our product data for these coats gives no lengths, linings, closures and weights, so we compare what the pages do print: the cloth, the composition and the fit line. Everything below agrees with the table further down this page.

The car coat. At Coveti the difference is in cloth and in sizing. The Brodie Rust & Petrol Herringbone Wool Car Coat is a women’s coat sharing its Rust & Petrol herringbone name with a men’s Balmacaan, 100% wool, printed Oversized Fit, at $3,560 at Coveti. The men’s car coats are plain wool rather than patterned: the Wool Car Coat in Grey is $2,440 at Coveti and is sized UK 36 to UK 46 rather than in letters, the only Johnstons coats here sized that way. So the Balmacaan is where you go for check; the plain car coat is the simpler, lower-priced option.

The great coat. The Great Coat in Brown is a women’s coat in plain 100% wool, printed Oversized Fit, at $2,910 at Coveti, with a green version alongside. Where the women’s Balmacaans are relaxed and patterned, the great coat is roomier by its fit line and plain.

The wrap coat. The Camel Cashmere Wrap Coat is the outlier: 100% cashmere, printed Oversized Fit, at $6,440 at Coveti, also made in black and mid grey. Apart from the Hoolie hooded cape, it is the only Johnstons coat here in pure cashmere, and nearly twice the price of a Balmacaan.

The trench. The Threave Mallard Glen Urquhart Wool Trench Coat is useful because it shares the Balmacaan’s cloth. It is 100% wool in Glen Urquhart check, printed Relaxed Fit, at $4,390 at Coveti. It is the alternative for anyone who wants the check in a different shape.

The capes. Three women’s capes in wool and cashmere make up the rest, in one size. Our guide to cape coats covers how they wear.

How to wear a Balmacaan

The cut does most of the work. A loose, raglan-sleeved coat is made to go over things, so wear it over a jacket and a proper jumper rather than a thin shirt alone. A 2-ply crew such as the Rory Grey Classic Cashmere Crew Jumper is a plain base under the Moorland and Dark Slate coats.

With a check this busy, keep one pattern on the body. A Glen Urquhart coat over a plain jumper and plain trousers looks deliberate; add a second check underneath and the two compete. The same rule holds for flecked knitwear. A Donegal jumper under a herringbone coat is a lot of texture, so if you want it, make the coat the quieter piece. Women who want a ribbed knit can put the Norah Ribbed Natural Donegal Cashmere Jumper under the Shale houndstooth coat and keep the trousers plain, and our guide to Donegal cashmere covers the flecked look in more detail.

Men building a full winter wardrobe from the house can start with our Johnstons of Elgin menswear guide.

On sizing, the house publishes garment measurements and fit lines, and gives no sizing instruction beyond them. The Balmacaans are all Relaxed Fit. Our Johnstons of Elgin size guide explains how the house sizes and how to read its fit lines.

Caring for a Balmacaan

The house’s rule for tailored outerwear is short. Hang it on a sturdy shaped hanger in a breathable garment bag, and never in plastic.

The knitwear you wear under it follows a different rule: always fold knitwear, never hang it. The house’s washing advice for knitted cashmere is in our guide to washing cashmere. For the coat itself, we give only the house’s hanging and storage line above.

Balmacaan coats around the world

United Kingdom. This is the coat’s home climate: cool, wet and windy for much of the year. A wool Balmacaan over a jumper covers most of autumn and winter, and UK buyers will know the knit underneath as a jumper.

United States. US buyers say sweater, and the Balmacaan suits the northern cities with real winters, worn over a sweater and a jacket. In milder states it is a coat for the coldest weeks.

Europe. From Paris to Copenhagen, a relaxed wool overcoat works over tailoring through the colder months. Sizes on the Balmacaans are letters, XS to XXL for men and S to L for women, so there is no conversion from continental numbers to do on the label.

GCC. In the Gulf, a heavy wool overcoat is a coat for travel to colder cities and for the cooler winter evenings, rather than for daily wear.

Wherever you are, prices at Coveti are shown in US dollars, every piece is 100% authentic, and Coveti ships worldwide from London. The full Johnstons range is on the Johnstons of Elgin brand page, and the men’s coats sit in men’s designer coats.

Every Johnstons of Elgin coat at Coveti

How we measured: all 18 Johnstons of Elgin coats live on Coveti on 1 November 2026. Cut and pattern are read from the name the house gives each coat; composition is copied from its product page; prices are US dollar list prices.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Balmacaan coat?

A Balmacaan is a loose, single-breasted overcoat with raglan sleeves and a small rounded collar, often called a Prussian collar. It is cut for ease of movement and was traditionally made in heavy woollen cloth for hard weather, usually tweed and gabardine. The name comes from an estate near Inverness, on the western shore of Loch Ness.

Why does a Balmacaan have raglan sleeves?

Raglan sleeves give the coat room to move and keep out the weather. Bringing the sleeve all the way to the collar reduces the seams water can get through, which mattered on a coat made in heavy woollen cloth for hard weather. The loose cut that goes with the raglan sleeve also leaves the arms free over a jacket.

How many Johnstons of Elgin Balmacaan coats does Coveti carry?

Coveti carries six Johnstons of Elgin Balmacaans: two women’s coats in 100% lambswool and four men’s coats in 100% wool. Three are in Glen Urquhart check, and the others are in houndstooth, herringbone and a Dark Slate check. Prices are $3,370 and $3,560, and every one is printed with the house’s Relaxed Fit line.

What is the difference between a Balmacaan and a car coat?

At Coveti the clearest difference is cloth and sizing. The Johnstons Balmacaans are patterned, in check, houndstooth and herringbone, and sized in letters. The men’s car coats are plain wool, sized UK 36 to UK 46, and cost less. We hold no length data for either, so we compare only what the product pages print.

What is a Glen Urquhart check?

Glen Urquhart check is a woollen twill with small and large checks, also called Glen plaid and the Prince of Wales check. It is named after the Glenurquhart Estate in Inverness-shire, where the Countess of Seafield first used it in the 1840s for her gamekeepers. King Edward VII made it famous when he was Prince of Wales.

How should I store a Johnstons of Elgin coat?

Hang it on a sturdy shaped hanger in a breathable garment bag, and never store it in plastic. That is the house’s guidance for tailored outerwear. Store it hanging, not folded. Knitwear worn underneath is different: the house says always fold knitwear and never hang it.