Men's Fashion: A Primer on Pea Coats

What is a Pea Coat and Why Should You have One?

Pea Coast have been around a long time and while they come in different styles and colours they have always been a classic of men's style and will be for a long time to come.  Every man should invest in at least one pea coat to have in their wardrobe.  They are classy and stylish and you can accessorize them with many other garments.

Pea Coats or Pea Jackets were originally made and issued to the to the British and U.S. navies for sailors to wear around the 1720s because of often working in cold and wet conditions.  The material was a heavy, coarse wool called "pilot cloth" and was issued in only two colours which were dark navy blue and black.  Classic Pea coats are double breasted with 3-4 large buttons, wide collars and lapels and wide shoulders.  They were originally made very thick and heavy to guard against the weather, the standard at the time was 30 oz of wool.  Compare that to winter coats or other pea coats of today which usually weigh 20-22 oz. and are mostly cotton.

There are many places these days where a man can buy a pea coat and there are different styles to choose from.  If you want the genuine article you can go the a military surplus store and find them.  You can also find the 3/4 length version called a bridge coat.  

U.S. Military Pea Coat

U.S. Military Bridge Coat

One classic style to wear a pea coat that never seems to go out of fashion is to wear one with a turtle-neck sweater underneath.  The turtle-neck is usually gray or black.  Many people opt for a lighter pea coat when wearing a sweater underneath just so its not as warm but you can use either option depending on the weather of course.

Classic Pea Coat and Turtle-Neck Combination

Another option is to get a pea coat with the turtle neck already built in.  These coats usually come with an inner liner that you can zip up with an added neck collar at the top that can can zipped up as well.  When buttoned up, this gives the illusion that you are wearing a turtle-neck underneath.

Pea Coat with Built-in Turtle-Neck

Final Words

Another option to accessorize with a pea coat is to wear one in place of a blazer or suit jacket.  You can wear a light pea coat and take it off when indoors.  Either way, there are many options for a man when dealing with pea coats.  Whatever style you choose to go with it will always be a classy look on a man that will be in style for many years to come.