A Paean to the Pea Coat

Last week I read in a newspaper fashion column that pea coats are back in style this year.

Funny, I thought.  When have pea coats NOT been in style?



Here are a couple pea coats for men and women from 2012 designer collections.

And here are some pea coats from 2010 collections. 

I could go on, but I believe I have made my point.  Let's just say that the pea coat has been a fashion standard for a long time.

This is because it is such a versatile wardrobe element.  Pea coats can be worn by men and women with jeans, khakis and more formal slacks.  Women can wear them with dresses, mini skirts, frilly skirts, just about anything short of the glossiest evening wear.

Long before they became civilian wardrobe staples, pea coats were part of sailor uniforms in the British and American navies, starting in the late 17th or early 18th centuries. 

You probably have noticed pea coats on characters -- civilian and military -- played by movie stars.  Here are a couple I found just now.

Just very cool coats.

With the possible exception of a trench coat (whose design traces to British army uniforms in World War I, right down to the grenade loops), the pea coat is about the most standard outerwear there is.

The traditional pea coat is short, made of black or navy wool, double-breasted and with large buttons in either black or gold.  It has a collar that can be pulled up to shelter the neck from cold winds (although I have read this is frowned upon in military settings.)   It is available in all price ranges, from "faux wool" models costing less than $50 to designer versions from the likes of Jil Sander, Saint Laurent and Alexander Wang whose prices run to $2,000 or more.

I have several nice coats, but the pea coat is the one I wear most often.  Every few years, my pea coat will show signs of wear -- fraying at the sleeve hems or at the neck.  Then I start looking for another and, only after I have found a new one that I like, I toss the old one out.

My view is that a pea coat showing its age is better than no pea coat at all.