Classic or Dud: Navy Pea Coats

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I dug mine out of cold storage today, having forgotten how much I love it. Can't say why, exactly. I just love the look of it. There's kinda no way to look bad in a Navy Pea coat (well, that is, unless you wear it over a tuxedo or with the collar way up like a jackass like Richard Crenna in "Wait Until Dark").

Also, why is it called a Pea coat? Anyone?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:24 (twenty years ago)

they used to be made out of pilot cloth

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:29 (twenty years ago)

ergo p-coat

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:29 (twenty years ago)

classic obv

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:30 (twenty years ago)

i don't think i'd look good in one, but other people do.

― hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:30 (twenty years ago)

look good in one, i mean.

― hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:30 (twenty years ago)

Sailors began donning the pea coat in 1723 as a heavy outer layer to keep them warm in the cold and misty sea air. It was originally made from a heavy, resilient and coarse twilled Dutch cloth called “pilot cloth,” abbreviated as “p-cloth.” Over time, the name of the garment transitioned from “p-coats” to the contemporary “pea coats.”

http://www.jackets-coats.usa.za.com/pea.htm

― luna (luna.c), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:30 (twenty years ago)

Or um yeah, what blount said. I have a bright red one, and I love it on each of the three days a year it's cold enough to wear it.

― luna (luna.c), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:31 (twenty years ago)

Luna OTM.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:33 (twenty years ago)

mine is more black but I love it. It's a fake one from jcrew though. I used to have a real one from a surplus store but that fucking thing was way too heavy to wear all the time, it never gets that cold in California.

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:01 (twenty years ago)

The issue Navy P-coat is the only piece of clothing the military gives folks at basic training that you'll see them wearing five years after they separate or retire. It's a great piece of gear. Speaking as a veteran of the AF and having served on 3 consecutive joint bases, I can tell you the other branches are all jealous of the Navy's uniform supply, and the P-coat was probably the main reason. Crackerjacks and the old-school canvas dungarees being the others.

Fuck any other color but black, though (I mean blue) (oh, wait).

― TOMBOT, Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:06 (twenty years ago)

The best pea coat i've seen was pea green, so there!

― kate/baby loves headrub (papa november), Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:10 (twenty years ago)

That's a horrid color for any kind of clothing unless you are very dark-skinned and you're into cutesy lingerie. Not that I would know, really, except for the assertion that YECH pea green p-coat YECH BLECH.

To each his own!

― TOMBOT, Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:13 (twenty years ago)

Pea coats rule, bolero jackets drool

― Morley Timmons (Donna Brown), Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:13 (twenty years ago)

http://www.enokiworld.com/goods/limepeacoat.jpg

Avert your eyes TOMBOT!

― kate/baby loves headrub (papa november), Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:18 (twenty years ago)

NOT A P-COAT!!! six buttons on front, wrong collar shape. NEXT.

― TOMBOT, Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:21 (twenty years ago)

frankly unless the buttons have anchors on them it's not a p-coat. end of line.

― TOMBOT, Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:22 (twenty years ago)

I stopped wearing mine sometime in the last 2 years, in part due to the realization that I don't look very good in one.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:23 (twenty years ago)

Okay well it was a pea-ish coat. Wasn't the one I was thinking of anyhow, just the closet thing I could find on google image search

― kate/baby loves headrub (papa november), Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:24 (twenty years ago)

i have a bright red peacoat, i love it

― gem (trisk), Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:27 (twenty years ago)

Peacoats remind me of the J. Peterman catalogue, which also had ribbed turtlenecks, both excellent for sailors.

― youn, Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:28 (twenty years ago)

My older bro was in the US navy and would send me his too-faded-for-duty jeans. I loved the buttons. Yeah, peacoats are great, too. Just don't throw yours onto a chair where the cat can sleep on it. There is no known material which has been proven to exceed the peacoat in the attraction of unwanted pet hair.

― jim wentworth (wench), Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:39 (twenty years ago)

haha that's so true jim!

― gem (trisk), Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:54 (twenty years ago)

in college, nearly every girl wore one. i think they must've handed them out at registration. it was ridicuolous.

― ()ops (()()ps), Thursday, 3 March 2005 10:12 (twenty years ago)

My brother has the classic navy one. I have one, but it's in kind of an odd coral shade with black buttons. I had a dark red one in college, and a black velveteen one before that, which was from J Crew so it wasn't a complete and total goth shame.

― daria g (daria g), Thursday, 3 March 2005 10:22 (twenty years ago)

I wore one all through college, when most of my wardrobe also came from the surplus store (that also sold carhartt and levi's stuff, so only like half of it was a real surplus store), despite having scraped off a couple of the buttons when climbing through a window. The great thing about them also is that you can button them to the right or left, and the pocket linings were sooo soft and nice. I wore it until the fabric at the wrists started to wear through.

― sgs (sgs), Thursday, 3 March 2005 10:24 (twenty years ago)

I like finding out that coats have names, it somehow makes the world feel right, you know organised.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Thursday, 3 March 2005 11:43 (twenty years ago)

After I posted this thread, I had to step out and run some errands. As fate would have it, they're painting our hallway this week, and I GOT WET PAINT ON ONE OF THE ARMS OF MY PEA COAT! OH SWEET LORD DO I EVER SUCK! I have since dropped it off at the dry cleaners to see what they can do with it. Ugh.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 3 March 2005 14:27 (twenty years ago)

Maybe you're cursed?

― Leon the Fatboy (Ex Leon), Thursday, 3 March 2005 14:30 (twenty years ago)

My brother, who is in the navy, has one and I am jealous.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Thursday, 3 March 2005 14:39 (twenty years ago)

I wear one all the time. It has the little anchors on all the buttons, but it's made of a cheap felt material. I got it from K Mart.

I bought it when I was going for my noir look. If only I had a little pistol and smoked in dark hallways, I would've been exactly what I thought I was.

― David Allen (David Allen), Thursday, 3 March 2005 15:01 (twenty years ago)

I have a grey one and a red one. I haven't worn either in ages.

― Allyzay Dallas Multi-Pass (allyzay), Thursday, 3 March 2005 15:11 (twenty years ago)

two years pass...

http://www.sensesofcinema.com/images/26/cteq/last_detail.jpg

― Alex in NYC, Sunday, 25 November 2007 22:35 (seventeen years ago)

pea coats are the best.

― max, Sunday, 25 November 2007 22:56 (seventeen years ago)

I have one of my dad's from when he was in the navy. I used to wear it all the time through high school and college and now only wear it when it is extremely cold outside, because nothing gets through it.

― Yerac, Sunday, 25 November 2007 22:59 (seventeen years ago)

I wish it were cold enough for long enough here to justify buying one.

― milo z, Sunday, 25 November 2007 23:01 (seventeen years ago)

They are great and you can fit like 8347 things in their pockets.

― Abbott, Sunday, 25 November 2007 23:03 (seventeen years ago)

you should try to get a real one from a thrift store or something. the real ones are much much warmer than than any you would buy in a dept store.

― Yerac, Sunday, 25 November 2007 23:05 (seventeen years ago)

My friend's dad gave me all his old Navy clothes from when he was my-sized and not walrus-sized. BOSS.

― Abbott, Sunday, 25 November 2007 23:05 (seventeen years ago)

They are great and you can fit like 8347 things in their pockets.

This is true, although the crucial flaw is that it (or, at least, mine) has no INSIDE pockets.

― Alex in NYC, Monday, 26 November 2007 11:53 (seventeen years ago)

your inside pockets are in the breast pocket of the proper jacket that you are wearing underneath so that at any moment you may dramatically whisk your pea coat away and reveal the dramatic cocktail version of yourself

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 26 November 2007 15:55 (seventeen years ago)

I had a Barbie doll like that once.

― Laurel, Monday, 26 November 2007 16:04 (seventeen years ago)

two years pass...

I want one. Where should I look? UK-centric, specifically Glasgow (if you're able to recommend Army Surplus stores here). Thanks!

As simple/traditional/classic etc as possible. I hate extraneous belts and buckles etc that the dept. stores like to put on such things. Suggestions very welcome...

― krakow, Tuesday, 23 November 2010 11:31 (fourteen years ago)

I bought a classic Schott US Navy pea coat from Silverman's mail order (http://www.silvermans.co.uk/) years ago. Weighs a ton. Looks like it will last for ever.

― bham, Tuesday, 23 November 2010 12:08 (fourteen years ago)

Those do look very good! Was it the £199 Schott one you got rather than the £125 one? I'm not entirely sure on the difference...

― krakow, Tuesday, 23 November 2010 12:32 (fourteen years ago)

Hurrah - just discovered this: http://www.scottsonline.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_11801_12551__480102_-1_

Both £20 cheaper and with an actual store here in Glasgow! Assuming it's the same thing, it's off I go...

― krakow, Tuesday, 23 November 2010 12:43 (fourteen years ago)

the £199 one is quilt-lined the other one is unlined. that's the one i had, total classic. amazing. i took it to the dry cleaner and they melted the bottons off, i never got round to getting them replaced so i chucked it.

― jed_, Tuesday, 23 November 2010 13:40 (fourteen years ago)

Classic. These have been my winter coat of choice for years. Also, Joshua Jackson looks GREAT in the one he wears on Fringe.

― "I am a fairly respected poster." (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 14:52 (fourteen years ago)

Fringe totally changed my mind about JJ. Never thought he was anything notable before, but after a couple of seasons of Ne'er Do Well Prodigal Son Shows Affection, Falls in Love, I kinda understand what the big deal is. I should catch up w that show.

― I've got ten bucks. SURPRISE ME. (Laurel), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 15:02 (fourteen years ago)

you should - it's really gone from good to great in season 3. and you're right, the show has totally warmed me to JJ.

― Kim, Tuesday, 23 November 2010 16:01 (fourteen years ago)

Do you think the £180 one at scottsonline is the quilt-lined version, just cheaper than Silvermans? They didn't have any in stock in the Glasgow stores, so I couldn't check in person.

― krakow, Tuesday, 23 November 2010 16:04 (fourteen years ago)

def should be judging by the photos.

― jed_, Tuesday, 23 November 2010 16:16 (fourteen years ago)

i think you should skip the peacoat and get a ghillie suit.
http://www.usnavypeacoat.com/v/vspfiles/photos/gs-njpnt-2.jpg

― Mark Chmuras Hot Tub Crime Machine (chrisv2010), Tuesday, 23 November 2010 17:24 (fourteen years ago)

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