vi-mil pea coats

[damobussi]

Hi can anyone give me some advice on vi-mil pea coats as i want to purchase one .What i am wondering is are they the same in sizing as the present coats made by sterlingwear (which was formally vi-mil inc )as i have a size 42s of the modern day melton wool and want a kersey wool coat as well. Also did they make the coats in shorts size or do they just come in regular , thanks in advance for any advice on this regards damian

 

[Spoonbelly]

I'm not sure, and I could be wrong, but I don't think Vi Mil made any Kersey coats, and made only Melton. I think they had the contract long after Kersey was gone.

 

[Peacoat]

Yes, Vi-Mil produced Kersey wool pea coats; I have one. Can't tell you the year as my peacoat rack collapsed two days ago--too much weight--and the coats are not presently accessible. I now am going to have to sell some of my coats to get the weight off of the rack when I re-build it. My Vi-Mil is a size 42 if you are interested, although the shipping to Australia would be pretty steep.

There are manufacturors of pea coats other than Vi-Mil during the Kersey era, up until 1980, that made nice coats. So, no real need to limit yourself to Vi-Mil unless there is an ancillary purpose for wanting that particular brand. PC

 

[Grayland]

Peacoat, how many peacoats do you have?

 

[Peacoat]

Not so many. I'm down to probably fewer than 20.

 

[Grayland]

Oh, only 20? I was worried you may have a problem.

 

[too much coffee]

Man it's a good thing I wasn't taking a nap under the peacoat rack when it broke. I can see the newspaper article now: "Former Army Ranger buys the farm, he succumbed to the overpowering weight of Peacoat's U.S. Navy peacoat collection when the coat rack, holding the approximately 20 Kersey class and Melton class peacoats, broke sending the tonnage of wool slamming down over the sleeping body of said Army Ranger. He never knew what hit him.
A news scource said this might be a precursor to this years Army Navy football game."

 

[Peacoat]

Actually, I was an Army helicopter pilot. Didn't want any part of that Ranger stuff; they slept on the ground and didn't have much of an officers' club.

If I had been under the rack when it came down, I would have been a long time coming up. Only one Melton in the collection.

Every since Roger Staubach played for Navy, they think they have a real team. Unfortunately, for Army, they play like it as well. Go Army!

 

[too much coffee]

Actually, I was an Army helicopter pilot. Didn't want any part of that Ranger stuff; they slept on the ground and didn't have much of an officers' club.

If I had been under the rack when it came down, I would have been a long time coming up. Only one Melton in the collection.

Every since Roger Staubach played for Navy, they think they have a real team. Unfortunately, for Army, they play like it as well. Go Army!

Actually, when I composed the post I referenced myself as the Army Ranger taking the snooze under the coat rack. I tried to be a Huey driver but the Army said I wasn't intelligent enough. Some things never change

Regards,
coffee

 

[Peacoat]

After reading your post again, it is very clear that it is you as the Ranger. Sorry. I read it too fast. If you are hungry, I have a snake in the barn you might enjoy.*

_______
*For those of you who aren't SF or a Ranger, it's an inside joke.

 

[too much coffee]

Gee Peacoat.......just ate. Thanks anyway. "Grayland" may be interested however!

Cheers,
coffee

 

[Spoonbelly]

Not so many. I'm down to probably fewer than 20.

I think I have 8. One Melton, and 7 Kersey. The small hall closet I have them in cannot fit anything else on the pole - the closet is full. This is the mothball closet as I put each coat in a clothing bag hung up, and also use mothballs to keep those little critters away. I also can't wait to start wearing them ( usually in Oct). I can't wait till this hot weather goes bye,bye

 

[Grayland]

Gee Peacoat.......just ate. Thanks anyway. "Grayland" may be interested however!

Cheers,
coffee

Sorry, no snake for me. After getting out of the military, I actually became a chef and am now a chef-instructor at a college. I like food way too much.

 

[CC-1]

FYI everybody,
VI-MIL stands for Viking military. Viking also made general apparel.
In about 1968 they changed their name to... Sterlingwear!
Of course, they made kersey coats. The president of the
company, Frank Fredella, showed me the 1970 Vi-Mil kersey he wears.
I believe he is in his early eighties but you would never guess it.

 

[Peacoat]

FYI everybody,
VI-MIL stands for Viking military. Viking also made general apparel.
In about 1968 they changed their name to... Sterlingwear!
Of course, they made kersey coats. The president of the
company, Frank Fredella, showed me the 1970 Vi-Mil kersey he wears.
I believe he is in his early eighties but you would never guess it.

Yes, Vi-Mil was the branch of the company (Viking) that did the military contracts. They did contracts other than pea coats as well (I believe I remember that correctly). Impressive that you met Mr. Fredella; is he still the president of Sterlingwear? Interesting that he wears a vintage coat when he has all the others to choose from.

 

[CC-1]

As far as I know he's still heading it up. I was there over a year ago. The company is very accessible to anyone wanting to visit or purchase stuff. (Boston, near the airport) They do a lot more than peacoats now, but all military, i.e., shipboard jackets, gen 3 thermal suits, etc. It has been a Fredella family business since the beginning. I think they have a history section on the Sterlingwear website. One thing I read was a claim to have been the exclusive Navy peacoat contractor since 1968- which is erroneous, of course. But they have indeed been the sole manufacturer for a number of years, the last competition being, perhaps, Major. As nice as the folks are at the plant, the quality of the coats since the eighties needs a serious tune up.

 

[Peacoat]

As nice as the folks are at the plant, the quality of the coats since the eighties needs a serious tune up.

I fault the Navy for that as it is the one that specs the materials; Sterlingwear builds to the specifications supplied by the Navy. Evidently the Navy was wanting to save money on the pea coats, so it went with a less expensive material starting in 1980. As I understand it, the first batch of pea coats, with the Melton shell, drew complaints from the sailors about the lack of warmth. So the Navy added a liner to give warmth. That worked and no real changes have been made since. The few coats I have seen made in the 1980s and after, have all been well made.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

the quality of the coats since the eighties needs a serious tune up.

One could say that about most items now days.