Swedish Women's M56 Greatcoat, Surplus

Here's a stylish women's greatcoat from Sweden! Not some fluffy pseudo wool usually found in clothing stores, but the real deal. Made in Sweden during the Cold War, issued and used by the women's voluntary organization SLK. Badges and patches highlighting the historical use might or might not be affixed.

Are you after a good greatcoat made for demanding environments with a touch of old fashion? You're on the right track! This coat is a conservative model with high-quality wool fabric. Not the coarse "man-wool" usually found in East European or Russian stuff, but civilized and softer Swedish production. The color is very dark blue. In the dimly lit storage, some appeared black, even. So hard to tell.

On the inside, you'll find a thinner lining fabric to ease donning and protect against wind. There are two outside pockets but no inner ones. The inside has a retention strap you can attach to a button on the other side, and it limits the amount of flapping in the wind in case the coat is otherwise unbuttoned. The cuffs have hidden wind locks.

These usually (but not always) come with a removable hood. It's less common in size C40, but most often included with other sizes. The underside of the collar has attachment points to add this stormproof detail when necessary. How neat!

Material and care

Made of primarily woolen fabric. We do not know if there's a percentage of synthetic fibers mixed in or not - might also depend on the year of production. Anyway, it's good stuff. The garment does not require washing, just airing it out and brushing it once in a while will work as regular maintenance.

Size info

Made with decades-old patterns in Sweden. You may assume things based on this. Sweden at least used to use the German variant of European women's sizes, and these seem to follow suit.

The coats have a good amount of clearance for warm clothes but if you pick a smaller size in hopes of getting a form-fitting one, the shoulders might be tight. The cut tapers up a bit, so practically speaking you can check the fit at the bust and the rest won't be a problem.

Here are some measurements laid flat. The chest width is pit to pit, and the sleeve length from the shoulder seam.

Swedish surplus

Some were never issued, and others have been worn but not roughly at all. It's not like these were used for infantry combat exercises. The hood (if present) is often secured to the coat with a safety pin and these are often rusty: remove it with care and accept that it might leave a small mark.

The coats benefit greatly from airing after the long storage time. Attack wrinkles with steam. Finally: while these are presentable and neat, don't expect a factory-new garment.