Test drive: Burberry bounces down Beverly Boulevard

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It’s raining in Los Angeles today, which afforded me the rare opportunity to break out my beloved Burberry trench, which I hadn’t thought much about since last winter’s rains (except, I’ll admit, briefly when Agent Fields made her entrance in ‘Quantum of Solace’).
On the way to work, I rode shotgun in my wife’s car as she navigated the slick stretch of Beverly Boulevard between our house and the office, and within a few miles I heard a ka-thunk ka-thunk kind of noise coming from the car somewhere near the passenger door. As she slowed it would dissipate, as she sped up it would increase in volume and frequency. It didn’t seem to affect the way the car drove so we continued our drive and began rehearsing our weekend, mentally preparing our call to Car Talk.
As we pulled into the garage, I hopped out and prepared to peer under the car. As I pulled the belt of my Burberry trench close I felt the buckle end was soaking wet. Mystery solved (the notion of closing my belt in the door had crossed my mind, but I had apparently checked only one end).
What surprised me was how little damage it had seemed to suffer thwacking against the car and being battered by the elements during the 8-mile drive, but I probably shouldn’t have. Thomas Burberry made a name for himself back in 1880 when he developed gabardine -- the breathable, waterproof and tear-proof fabric used in the construction of the famous trench coats.
In recent years, under the creative direction of Christopher Bailey, Burberry has managed to walk the fine line between acknowledging the label’s roots and at the same time move it beyond the instantly recognizable check pattern and the trench silhouette.
Though most of us won’t be hunkering down in the trenches like the British officers of the Boer War (who wore Burberry’s Tielocken, a predecessor of the modern coat), it’s nice to know that where the rubber meets the road (literally), the Burberry trench comes through virtually unscathed.
-- adam.tschorn@latimes.com