A pea coat is an outer
coat
A coat is typically an outer garment for the upper body, worn by any gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front, and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners (AKA velcro), ...
, generally of a
navy-coloured heavy
wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...
, originally worn by
sailor
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...
s of European
and later American
navies.
Pea coats are characterized by short length, broad
lapels,
double-breasted
A double-breasted garment is a coat, jacket, waistcoat, or dress with wide, overlapping front flaps which has on its front two symmetrical columns of buttons; by contrast, a single-breasted item has a narrow overlap and only one column of b ...
fronts, often large wooden, metal or plastic buttons, three or four in two rows, and vertical or slash pockets.
References to the pea jacket appear in American newspapers at least as early as the 1720s, and modern renditions still maintain the original design and composition.
A reefer jacket is an
officer's or
chief petty officer's pea coat, with the same design but bearing gold buttons and
epaulettes.
A bridge coat is a reefer jacket which extends to the
thighs, giving greater protection to an officer who does not need agility to climb the rigging.
Terminology
It may also be called a peacoat, pea jacket, or pilot jacket.
Etymology
According to a 1975 edition of ''
The Mariner's Mirror'', the term "pea coat" originated from the
Dutch or
West Frisian word or , in which referred to the type of cloth used, a coarse kind of
twill
Twill is a type of textile
Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and d ...
ed blue cloth with a
nap on one side. designates a man’s short, heavy coat.
Another theory, favoured by the US Navy, is that the heavy
topcoat worn in cold, miserable weather by seafaring men was once tailored from "pilot cloth" a heavy, coarse, stout kind of twilled blue cloth with the nap on one side. This was sometimes called P-cloth from the initial letter of
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
, and the garment made from it was called a P-jacket later a pea coat. The term has been used since 1723 to denote coats made from that cloth.
Characteristics
Today, the style is considered a classic, and pea coats are worn by all manner of individuals. The style has evolved to the addition of hoods.
While some of the jackets seen on the street are genuine navy surplus, most are designs inspired by the classic uniform and available from retailers with design variations that reflect current fashion trends, including a variety of fabrics and colours. The standard
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
-issued pea coat uses Navy blue wool and sports buttons (brass for officers, black plastic for enlisted) decorated with an anchor motif. The standard fabric for historical pea coats in the 20th century was a smooth and heavy, dark navy blue
Kersey wool, which was dense enough to repel wind and rain, and able to contain body heat without further insulation. This wool was left lightly treated after being sheared to retain much of the natural lanolin oil from sheep, thus increasing its water-repelling and insulating properties.
Kersey was gradually replaced in the U.S. Navy through the 1970s by the rougher black
Melton cloth (also lightly treated), a lighter wool that requires a quilted lining to match the warmth of the original Kersey.
See also
*
Chesterfield coat
*
Covert coat
*
Duffle coat
*
Greatcoat
*
Paletot
*
Polo coat
*
Trench coat
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pea Coat
2010s fashion
Coats (clothing)
Jackets
Military uniforms