Coats and Jackets Dressing Appropriately with Fashion There were traces of coats or "Cotes" throughout the middle ages as soldiers avoided melee attacks from their opponents, using the coat as a shield. Overtime, the coat transitioned into a fashion item during the 19th century, and were denoted as an "overcoat." Jackets were derived from coats during the middle times however, there was a fine distinction between these two items. For instance, they were usually considered as an "undercoat,"…