Apea coat is an outercoat, generally of anavy-coloured heavywool, originally worn bysailors of European[1] and later Americannavies.[2][better source needed] Pea coats are characterized by short length, broadlapels,double-breasted fronts, often large wooden, metal or plastic buttons, three or four in two rows, and vertical or slash pockets.[3] References to the pea jacket appear in American newspapers at least as early as the 1720s,[4] and modern renditions still maintain the original design and composition.[2]
Areefer jacket is anofficer's orchief petty officer's pea coat, with the same design but bearing gold buttons andepaulettes.[1] Abridge coat is a reefer jacket which extends to thethighs, giving greater protection to an officer who does not need agility to climb the rigging.[5]
It may also be called apeacoat,pea jacket, orpilot jacket.
According to a 1975 edition ofThe Mariner's Mirror, the term "pea coat" originated from theDutch orWest Frisian wordpijjekker orpijjakker, in whichpij referred to the type of cloth used, a coarse kind oftwilled blue cloth with anap on one side.Jakker designates a man’s short, heavy coat.[6]
Another theory, favoured by the US Navy, is that the heavytopcoat worn in cold, miserable weather by seafaring men was once tailored from "pilot cloth" — a heavy, coarse, stout kind of twilled blue cloth with the nap on one side. This was sometimes called P-cloth from the initial letter ofpilot, and the garment made from it was called a P-jacket — later a pea coat. The term has been used since 1723 to denote coats made from that cloth.[7]
Today, the style is considered a classic, and pea coats are worn by all manner of individuals. The style has evolved to the addition of hoods.
While some of the jackets seen on the street are genuine navy surplus, most are designs inspired by the classic uniform and available from retailers with design variations that reflect current fashion trends, including a variety of fabrics and colours. The standardUS Navy-issued pea coat uses Navy blue wool and sports buttons (brass for officers, black plastic for enlisted) decorated with an anchor motif. The standard fabric for historical pea coats in the 20th century was a smooth and heavy, dark navy blueKersey wool, which was dense enough to repel wind and rain, and able to contain body heat without further insulation. This wool was left lightly treated after being sheared to retain much of the natural lanolin oil from sheep, thus increasing its water-repelling and insulating properties.[8][9] Kersey was gradually replaced in the U.S. Navy through the 1970s by the rougher blackMelton cloth (also lightly treated), a lighter wool that requires a quilted lining to match the warmth of the original Kersey.[10]
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