Coat Over the Shoulder

A cool-looking way of carrying your coat, and a step up from the Coat Cape — this character isn't wearing their coat at all, but instead, they hold it casually slung over their shoulder. It's not only used to indicate that a character is cool, but also a certain amount of self-confidence and nonchalance.

Often used as a Modeling Pose.

Also related to Dramatic Wind and Badass Cape. Compare Coat Cape for another cool-looking (if less than practical) way of "wearing" a coat.

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Examples:

Advertising

• Practically in every political ad, particularly when the candidate is looking directly into the camera.

Anime and Manga

• Cowboy Bebop: Spike did this a few times at least.
• Kyosuke Nanbu in Super Robot Wars: Original Generation The Inspector

Film — Live-Action

• The movie Charly (an adaptation of Flowers for Algernon) begins with Charlie trying and failing to flip his coat over his shoulder in a cool way.
• In Twins (1988) (the Arnold Schwarzenegger/Danny Devito film), Danny gets them matching sets of cool white suits. They simultaneously flip their jackets, with Arnold's jacket floating over Danny.

Live-Action TV

• Kamen Rider Stronger: Shigeru Jo.
• Booth from Bones has a tendency to do this.
• Castle: Rick Castle has his jacket over his shoulder when Beckett's supervisor tells her that he's going to be helping her on the case in the very first episode. He oozes self-confidence.
• The Mentalist: Jane ALWAYS is wearing the same blue, three piece suit, season after season. But occasionally, he takes off his jacket and carries his coat over his shoulder.
• One episode of Saved by the Bell has Zack showing this to Screech. Zack was forced by Mr. Belding to take his niece out while she was in town, but it was Kelly's birthday that day, so his plan was to have Screech take his place on the date and was teaching him how to "be cool" like him.
• The X-Files:
  • Agent Mulder at least once◊. Though carrying a suit jacket over his shoulder isn't a thing he would do often.
  • In "Dreamland I", Kersh's secretary thinks she scored with Agent Mulder, but it was in fact his body switched doppelgänger. When she passes Agent Scully in the hall of Mulder's apartment building, she looks at Scully as if she was saying "I won" and confidently tosses her jacket over her shoulder.
• Jack McCoy was seen to do this periodically on the original Law & Order.

Music

• Michael Jackson in the video for "Billie Jean".
• Young Frank Sinatra would often carry his coat over his shoulder.
• Patti Smith on the iconic cover of her Horses album.

Video Games

• Persona 3: Akihiko is almost always seen doing this.
• Detective Dojima of Persona 4 never wears that coat of his.
  • Kanji does this in the The Golden opening animation but wears a Coat Cape in the game and every other cutscene.
• Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth: Jacques Portsman literally rotates from this to wearing the coat.
• The Commissar from the original Dawn of War keeps his coat draped over his shoulders at all time. Particularly jarring in that he was introduced in an expansion called "Winter Assault," where it makes sense for him to actually wear the coat.
• The King of Fighters: King will occasionally remove her jacket and drape it over her shoulder as one of her victory poses.
  • Kyo does this (in his outfit during the NESTS saga) as a Victory Pose if you beat Iori combining it with Battle Strip.
• Garou: Mark of the Wolves: Terry's victory pose sees him take off his jacket and toss it up into the air before catching it and performing this pose. Carries over to his appearances in The King of Fighters 2003 and The King of Fighters XI where he wears his outfit from this game.
• The international version of Pokémon Black and White had a variant with Nacrene City gym leader Lenora, who carried her apron that way. (she was wearing it in the Japanese version, but it was feared she'd seem too mammy-like to American players, since she's black. Oddly, though, the original sprite's back in the sequel games.)
• The final shot of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Gears of Destiny, which shows Lord Dearche slinging the coat of her Barrier Jacket over her shoulder and looking all cool while she goes home together with the rest of the Purple Sky Family and the Florian Sisters.
• In the III games of Street Fighter Ibuki holds her ninja top when she takes it off this way when she wins a battle.
• One of I-no's win poses in certain Guilty Gear games has her do this, but with her shirt. With her back to the camera, since this isn't an AO-rated franchise.

Webcomics

• Homestuck: Doc Scratch does this briefly before beating the shit out of Spades Slick.

Western Animation

• Family Guy: Peter, while running for the school board, combines this with Captain Morgan Pose.

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