A cheap pea coat (or pea jacket, pilot jacket) is an outer coat, usually of the navy-colored heavy wool, originally worn by sailors of European navies. Pea coats are characterized by broad lapels, double-breasted fronts, often big wooden or metal buttons, and vertical or slash pockets. Even though it first appeared within the early 19th century, modern renditions nevertheless preserve the first design and composition.
A “bridge coat” is really a pea coat that extends to the thighs, and is really a uniform solely for officers and Chief Petty Officers. The “reefer” is for officers mainly, and is identical towards the basic design but generally has gold buttons and epaulettes.
Today the type is regarded a classic, and cheap mens pea coats are now worn by all method of individuals, not just expert sailors. Frequently donned by a woman, it is often referred to being a Jackie O Jacket. This jacket is very related, but not exactly the same being a trench coat.
Note that handful of of the jackets seen on the street are authentic navy surplus; being a classic garment, it is frequently available from retailers, although often with little design modifications that reflect the current fashion trends. The common for historical pea coats was 30 oz. wool, but presently coats are created from 22-32 oz. wool. While cheap pea coats are provided in numerous colours by retailers, the U.S. Navy-issue pea coat is always dark blue.
The term “pea coat” originated from the Dutch or West Frisian word pijjekker, by which pij referred to the kind of cloth used, which was known as “Pilot cloth” , a coarse type of twilled blue cloth having a nap on one side. The cloth was occasionally called P-cloth for the initial letter from the word and the garment created from it was called a p-jacket – later cheap wool pea coats