Questions About the United States Navy Peacoat

[Peacoat]

there used to be a dedicated Peacoat thread pinned to the top of the outerwear section and there used to be a moderator named Peacoat.. both now seem gone.. I may have missed something?

I'll guess your jacket is Melton wool.. I think all there Kersey ones had corduroy pocket bags.

I hope I'm not gone!

The major peacoat thread is indeed at the top of the page under important links. D-Man posted some, and I added to that in another post

The Melton wool peacoats started in 1980 with a 22 oz. shell. There were some in, I believe 1974, that had the Melton in a 30 oz. shell, just like the pre 1980 coats. Most of those were marked "Melton Wool'" but not all.

I also went to the original listing and saw that most of the pictures showed a black coat, just as did the images you posted. The one showing the tag, appears to be blue.

The pewter buttons were required in 1976, so this one may have had the buttons changed out.

If I had to guess, I would say this one is Melton, but that is based on the color of most of the images and the date of the tag (because there were some Meltons manufactured in 1974).

You'll know for sure when you get it.

 

[moimanuh]

I hope I'm not gone!

The major peacoat thread is indeed at the top of the page under important links. D-Man posted some, and I added to that in another post

The Melton wool peacoats started in 1980 with a 22 oz. shell. There were some in, I believe 1974, that had the Melton in a 30 oz. shell, just like the pre 1980 coats. Most of those were marked "Melton Wool'" but not all.

I also went to the original listing and saw that most of the pictures showed a black coat, just as did the images you posted. The one showing the tag, appears to be blue.

The pewter buttons were required in 1976, so this one may have had the buttons changed out.

If I had to guess, I would say this one is Melton, but that is based on the color of most of the images and the date of the tag (because there were some Meltons manufactured in 1974).

You'll know for sure when you get it.

So you mean that if its blue than it will be kersey and if its black it will be melton? Also does the coat looks genuine to you?

 

[Peacoat]

So you mean that if its blue than it will be kersey and if its black it will be melton? Also does the coat looks genuine to you?

Oh, it is genuine alright.

Yes, if a dark midnight blue, it is Kersey. May have to view it in a strong light to make sure. If it appears black, it will be Melton.

Sterlingwear, the manufacturer, says the Melton is a dark blue, but neither I nor anyone else has been able to see any blue in the fabric.

 

[moimanuh]

Oh, it is genuine alright.

Yes, if a dark midnight blue, it is Kersey. May have to view it in a strong light to make sure. If it appears black, it will be Melton.

Sterlingwear, the manufacturer, says the Melton is a dark blue, but neither I nor anyone else has been able to see any blue in the fabric.

The ebay seller had listed the coat as navy colour. So hopefully its blue(kersey). It even looks blue to me(i might be wrong). I am getting it for 70$ shipped.

 

[Peacoat]

The ebay seller had listed the coat as navy colour. So hopefully its blue(kersey). It even looks blue to me(i might be wrong). I am getting it for 70$ shipped.

Some of the images look black and some look blue. No way to tell until you get it.

A little information about your tag: Vi - Mil stood for Viking Military. It was the branch of Viking that did contract work for the military. The name was later changed to Sterlingwear of Boston, and they continued to be the contractor for peacoats until the peacoat was replaced several years ago. A big blow to the company as it lost a substantial portion of its business.

Viking, later Sterlingwear, is considered a top notch company with excellent quality.

 

[moimanuh]

Some of the images look black and some look blue. No way to tell until you get it.

A little information about your tag: Vi - Mil stood for Viking Military. It was the branch of Viking that did contract work for the military. The name was later changed to Sterlingwear of Boston, and they continued to be the contractor for peacoats until the peacoat was replaced several years ago. A big blow to the company as it lost a substantial portion of its business.

Viking, later Sterlingwear, is considered a top notch company with excellent quality.

My search for peacoat began like this. I wanted a coat\jacket for Canadian winter. I didnt wanted to wear puffer and down jacket as they look ugly in my opinion. Asked a fellow Canadian who pointed me towards B7 parkas. But B7 are too costly for me. So started finding alternatives. I knew only about schott peacoats then. When i dig deeper into schott i found they are 80% wool. Which is also a big no for me since i will be spending 300$+ for 80% wool. Then after research i found sterlingwear of boston. But couldn't contact them as their site is down. Then finally i saw your thread on peacoat dating. I used your information to find a vintage peacoat in ebay and found this 1974.peacoat in good condition. Your thread is really helpful for.people like me. I would like to suggest you to add a note on how to distinguish between kersey and melton wool in the overlapping period peacoats.

 

[Peacoat]

My search for peacoat began like this. I wanted a coat\jacket for Canadian winter. I didnt wanted to wear puffer and down jacket as they look ugly in my opinion. Asked a fellow Canadian who pointed me towards B7 parkas. But B7 are too costly for me. So started finding alternatives. I knew only about schott peacoats then. When i dig deeper into schott i found they are 80% wool. Which is also a big no for me since i will be spending 300$+ for 80% wool. Then after research i found sterlingwear of boston. But couldn't contact them as their site is down. Then finally i saw your thread on peacoat dating. I used your information to find a vintage peacoat in ebay and found this 1974.peacoat in good condition. Your thread is really helpful for.people like me. I would like to suggest you to add a note on how to distinguish between kersey and melton wool in the overlapping period peacoats.

I wish I could tell prospective buyers how to tell the difference between the two by images and tactile differentiation, as described by the seller. But I just haven't come up the words to describe the two.

 

[Boyo]

I hope I'm not gone!

“The reports of your 'disapearance' are greatly exaggerated."

glad to read/see you again PC!

 

[Peacoat]

“The reports of your 'disapearance' are greatly exaggerated."

glad to read/see you again PC!

I check in 5 or 6 times a day to monitor my forums, and a few others, but don't post very often.

 

[ZenEdge]

Forgive me. I know this question has been asked many times, but I cannot find the link to the answer. What thread is best for replacing the buttons on a peacoat? I also need to repair the buttonholes. The military surplus store Mash Japan offers sewing thread made by a US Government contract thread factory, and they say is matched to the original in weight, twist and color. Of course, it is expensive, especially when factoring in shipping costs.

 

[Peacoat]

Forgive me. I know this question has been asked many times, but I cannot find the link to the answer. What thread is best for replacing the buttons on a peacoat? I also need to repair the buttonholes. The military surplus store Mash Japan offers sewing thread made by a US Government contract thread factory, and they say is matched to the original in weight, twist and color. Of course, it is expensive, especially when factoring in shipping costs.

What, you don't want to read 106 pages to see if the answer is in there? It is, by the way.

Simply go to a fabric store and get nylon thread. It will last a long time, maybe forever.

 

[ZenEdge]

Nylon. I would have thought they used cotton back then. Ok, thanks.

 

[Peacoat]

Nylon. I would have thought they used cotton back then. Ok, thanks.

I didn't say they used nylon back then. I said nylon would last a long time, maybe forever. The cotton thread just isn't durable enough for peacoat buttons.

 

[Slobo]

I have been studying the 1947 USN regs and a couple gems re: enlisted peacoats: (1) the regs still call for 10 buttons, not yet 8, BUT:
"Art. 7-25. - Regulation that enlisted men's overcoat shall be worn
buttoned to the neck has been deleted in view of the fact that new
stocks of enlisted men's overcoats are manufactured with convertible
collar."

SOURCE for regs: https://pdf4pro.com/view/navy-regulations-1947-quarterdeck-org-3994a1.html

p.s. This is the same year the regs no longer specified black mohair rank rings on the Officer overcoat (a/k/a bridge coat). Shoulderboards remained.

 

[Peacoat]

Yes, the " . . . new stocks of enlisted men's overcoats . . . . " refers to the post war (1945) version of the peacoat with 6 buttons showing. I imagine they continued to issue the 8 buttons showing coats until the stock was depleted.

In 1945 the Navy was in the business of processing men out of the Navy and not processing them in. They may have depleted their stock of the old style coats by 1945, but very few of those who would know are still around. Even if they are still around, I doubt they would remember such an arcane detail.

 

[BotanPhotography]

Hi everyone,

I’m back and looking for a nice heavy duty wool Navy Pea Coat. I’m wondering what the difference between Melton and Kersey is. Afaik, Kersey is more authentic to the WWII period. I’ve been looking at the Buzz Rickson edition mainly, but I’m really looking for any suggestions

 

[dubpynchon]

Hi everyone,

I’m back and looking for a nice heavy duty wool Navy Pea Coat. I’m wondering what the difference between Melton and Kersey is. Afaik, Kersey is more authentic to the WWII period. I’ve been looking at the Buzz Rickson edition mainly, but I’m really looking for any suggestions

I have an original (from 1967 or so) in kersey and a Schott 740n in melton. The original is the more impressive coat, the quality is very high and it's hard to imagine so many being made so quickly at such high standard, it couldn't happen these days. On the other hand I wear the Schott more, it's warmer as it has a polyester lining. For warmth though you can't beat sheepskin.

 

[Nigel Doe]

Hi Everyone,

I've been reading the forums for a while, mostly about other clothing styles, and this is my first post.

I've been considering buying a Peacoat for years and soon decided I wanted to buy vintage. I finally found one that's the right size:

It's Dark Navy, unlined, 7 button with light brown corduroy pocket lining. It has a white label stating "Manufactured for Naval Clothing Depot". From my own limited knowledge gained from this forum I've estimated that it's post 1950 and pre-1968.

Most of the damage I can repair, and I can live with some wear. It's part of the jacket. However what I'm not sure I can live with are brown marks on the edge of the lapels, in the image attached. I'm not sure if this is just dirt or where the material has faded.

Does anyone have any views on the age and what these marks could be?

Thanks.

 

[Peacoat]

Don't know why I missed this post when it came through last month.

But to answer your questions, your coat is between 1949 and 1955. If I had a picture of the tag, I could get it closer. As to the marks on the lapel, don't know what it is.

Later today, I am going to move this to the major Peacoat thread.

And a belated welcome to the Lounge. PC

 

[eclipse7309]

Hey all,

New to the lounge.

I’ve read MUCH of the info on here and elsewhere about peacoats, specifically WWII era. A lot of this thread, as well as Peacoat’s “peacoat dating” thread.

I’ve been on the market for a new peacoat for a while. I’ve had a Sterlingwear “Classic” for well over 10 years and wanted to get something a little more serious, so I’ve been trying to find a legit WW2 era coat.

I recently picked one up on ebay and was wondering if I could ask a couple questions.

I’m trying to basically verify the authenticity of this coat I got. It has all/many of the hallmarks of a WWII era USN peacoat:

- 10 button front (8 visible) (one is loose and has blue thread which I may have re sewn sometime)

-"Naval Clothing Factory / Name / Rate" tag under inside right chest pocket

-Collar tag reading:
"Size 40
US Naval
Clothing Factory
Brooklyn N.Y.
Inspector J.O.”

-1 stitch 3” above sleeve cuffs

-Single center back vent

-Storm tab to fasten collar when collar is up (those 3 little buttons have the fouled anchor)

-Dark blue soft & seemingly thick wool shell. Obviously would be Kersey if era is correct etc.
This is where I have a couple questions…

The condition of the wool seems to be pretty much excellent. However, after looking at SO many pictures of Kersey wool coats, vs. Melton wool coats, one thing I keep noticing about Kersey when viewed from close up is a kind of cross stitch looking pattern to it. My coat doesn’t have this at all. It *does* have a denser softer feel than melton (like as opposed to my late 60’s USN bridge coat which is of course melton), but it doesn’t have the sort of weave/pattern ive seen on other kersey coats. It’s more of a flat looking texture.

The other thing I noticed is that in addition to MANY loose threads (outside under sleeves, next to inside pockets, stitching around outside pockets, stitching on cuffs) there also seems to be some sort of careless looking stitching on this coat. The triangles on the top/bottom of the outside pockets doesn’t always “line up”. And most noticeable is the stitch on the left sleeve that’s 3 inches up doesn’t line up when it comes back around to the other side of the sleeve seem. It’s about 3/8th of an inch off.

If this coat is indeed from the 40’s / at 75+ years old, some of this might be understandable, but it’s peculiar because the wool and the lining look to be in such great shape. I'm slightly wondering if the lining and other parts of the coat were just poorly redone, thus the loose threads, but I have very limited knowledge of tailoring etc. and just don't know.. The lining also looks a little different / more shiny than others I've seen online.

I’ll attach some pictures of the coat illustrating the above, if anyone wants to take a look and offer some insight. There’s a few of these kicking around on ebay, and I can return this one for the next couple weeks, but I went with it cuz it looked great in the pictures, seems to fit well, and had the actual collar tag with a size actually on it. Some pics with and without flash. It's quite difficult to get anywhere close with color accuracy with such a dark blue, but it is indeed a dark blue..

One last sort of anecdote about the wool/coat. I was recently out in the grocery store and spotted someone wearing an almost identical coat to this. I asked him where he got it and he was very nice and said his was his grandfather’s from WW2. I didn’t get a super close look at it but from what I saw it seemed to put me just a bit at ease about the the authenticity of mine. Perhaps when you see that cross threading pattern on kersey it means it’s a bit worn?

Happy to share more pics if anyone would like.

Discuss!

Thanks very much for reading all.