Ah.  I thought mine was the real deal but JS hefted it and said the older versions were heavier - as with duffle coats.  Mine was a £50 buy from 'Wild' in Nottingham about fifteen years ago and is now being worn, on and off, by young Master Osin.  Navy sounds better than my black (also, one of the buttons has cracked).  Silvermans? Only had slight experience of their chinos.  Nothing warmer and snugger in the wind, rain and snow, though, that's for sure.

I have to say, in all honesty, I would not wear a peacoat now, being attracted to Donegal tweed overcoats and the like. 
But a sound choice should last a lifetime.  I'm guessing mine was late 60s.

Then £375 (yes?) from Silvermans might not be a bad option.  Paraboot I did not - and do not - much care for.  And the beret?  Mine shrunk upon being washed.  I had every intention of shaping it.  I wish now that I'd overridden my wife's objections and bought one in St Malo.

As you know, TRS, I have little or nothing to do with IG but just did a little snooping around.  The photograph of Weller I've seen before.  Looks highly, ahem, authentic, being gazed upon by those cartoon uniform 'Mods', doesn't he?  A tallish man could still carry off the Belmondo look, I suppose, pea coat and Paraboot. 
I know nothing of Buzz Rickson other than that they were a firm favourite of one of our former posters, Hepcat: now posting under another name elsewhere.  I used to look their stuff over online and think 'Not for me', but if Uncle Ian says they're good then they must be worthy of consideration.
I'm going back to a very Jeff G look (at least in my own mind), pared down at this very moment to a USA-made, logoless RL polo shirt in off-white and chinos.  I'm becoming increasingly disinclined to experiment.

Phew indeed.  The Silvermans might be a better option unless one is extremely unstrapped for cash.

£700 ! I'd be too shit scared to wear it. I think some of these companies that do the 'authentic' bit and overload it with our contemporary notion of 'how things used to be made', well, they do go a bit over the top don't they? I like things solid and well made but, you know, not everything was made from girders back in the 40s and 50s. There was cheap crap then as well.

I have to say the pea coat I got from the old ex-military shop in Nottingham was built to last even if probably cheap repro. It's certainly melton type wool not a mix. There's a similar stall on the Meadows old flower market Sundays that probably still has them, the shop is long gone near the station. It didn't have a label that I ever looked for (back then, I wouldn't of known or compared), when I dig it out, I'll check.

My wife has two Gloverall Peacoats and they are a more tailored, thin wool. Nice in their own way, but not what people here are after.

Montgomery still make in UK and their pea coat is now dirt cheap: https://www.dufflecoatsuk.co.uk/collections/mens-pea-coats/products/mens-pea-coat - but they only have big (and I mean big) sizes left.

Talk of Community Clothing earlier today, they do a nice UK made one now: https://communityclothing.co.uk/collections/menswear/products/menswoolpeacoat-navy?variant=32976356868150

That would be the one possibly if I ever renew.

Last edited by An Unseen Scene (2021-11-02 05:51:59)

I'm thinking of hiring a nurse - like Hubert Swaine - to take care of all my needs.

For suits, I think double breasted only works when done by French or Italian tailors.

But a peacoat is an informal overcoat. For me it works pretty well with cords or jeans and longwings or Red Wings. Knitwear and a BD of course.

I once saw a guy on Ask Andy Trad in a peacoat and a bow tie. To me it was a car crash but he got good compliments. I didn't bother commenting.

Yep. A few good ivy dressers and lots of stuff that looked very off to me.

The older US Navy peacoats were made of a much denser cloth called Kersey wool, a boiled wool cloth, a bit like Loden only heavier. If you find one in your size and it’s in good nick then buy it. Some time in the late 60s they changed to Melton cloth, presumably it was cheaper. From the label I can date mine as being made between 1948-51 in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Kersey wool is amazingly durable and people can’t believe it when I tell them that it’s actually older than I am.  It’s extremely warm, I love the corduroy lined pockets and the name of the sailor it was issued to is stencilled inside - Kennedy. No not one of those Kennedys, they were all officers and this is an enlisted mans coat.

With reference to Buzz Rickson - and their name has just cropped up again - the 'humble' side of it all does not seem to come into play. 
Even ten years ago I felt I was way too old to consider it even if I thought it affordable - which I didn't.
I'm going out on a limb here but their stuff was favoured by a former poster on here - and I'm naming no names - who seemed more interested in flashing the cash around than anything else. 
So, in spite of Uncle Ian's recommendation, I still feel Rickson to be a little, well, ostentatious.