ATDTDA (17): duster (464.34)

[Tim Strzechowski]

" ... and with one hand loosely in a pocket of her duster, [Stray] strolled admirably out the door to swing abroad behind and around damned old Vang, in the same motion bringing along and distributing duster and skirts in a routine as elaborate as any curtsey of Grandmother's day, lifting them, in fact, and to the delight of the onlookers, high enough so as not to catch fire from the vehicle's exhaust" (p. 464).
 

A duster is a light, loose-fitting coat.

The original dusters were full-length, light-colored canvas or linen coats worn by horsemen to protect their clothing from trail dust. These dusters were typically slit up the back to hip level for ease of wear on horseback. At the turn of the 20th century, both men and women wore dusters to protect their clothes when riding in open motorcars on the dirt roads of the day. In the 1950s, a duster was a woman's knee-length, button-front unfitted housecoat which could be thrown on over underwear for housework or cooking. [...]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duster_(clothing)

 
Examples of dusters (contemporary):
 
http://tinyurl.com/2xxb4l
 
http://tinyurl.com/29vjho