Help buying a pea coat online

[Stravouguine]

Hi everyone

Hope some of you can loose a minute helping me buy a pea coat on a online store.
I live in Portugal, and even doe pea coats are still used in our navy, mostly by the officers, the quality of the ones you can buy in a sort of surplus store leaves much to desire. So I decided to buy one in the USA via web.
I come to the conclusion that exists 3 major players selling "civilian" pea coats.

-Schott's Classic 32 Oz. Melton Wool Naval Pea Coat 740
-SterlingWear (but I want the Navy Blue almost black, and I think they do not produce this blue nowadays)
-And Fidelity I think.

After some consideration, I am starting to be a lot more inclined to buy the Schott's Pea Coat. Is this a good choice?
The problem is that is the most expensive one of them all. Is it worth it?
And also I've seen other webshops selling (or stating it) the 740 from Schott's, and cheaper than the Schotts webpage?!?
Are they for real, or I should just stick with the official Schotts shop and not risk maybe a web scam?
Since I do not live in the states I am not aware of all the stores and surplus and their honesty (its easy to copy paste a logo with a photo to a web page, so I ask you guys.


Thank you for your time

 

[Doctor Strange]

From what I've seen, the differences in these three premium makers aren't all that great. All of them are good, first-class coats - better than both the lower-priced Rothco ("Ultra Force") coats you see everywhere, and the higher-priced department store and designer models. The Sterlingwear and Schott coats might be a hair nicer than the Fidelity coats, but only slightly.

Just be very sure of your sizing when ordering them (especially given overseas postage costs, you don't want to have to return-ship) - they all fit differently, so measure yourself carefully and follow the advice in the sizing charts and from sellers.

I recommend the Vermont Army-Navy Store, who always have the best prices and great service. (I actually got one of their Fidelity ladies pea coats for my daughter a couple of years ago, and later a Sterlingwear for myself.)

http://www.vtarmynavy.com/pea_coats.htm

 

[SamReu]

Spokes Man

Have you considered shopping around on eBay for the real thing? There are some really fine pea coats out there.

 

[celtic]

Have you considered shopping around on eBay for the real thing? There are some really fine pea coats out there.

I can't comment on the Sterlingwear or the Fidelity, but I love my Schott 740

What exactly do you mean by "real thing"?

Schott produced Peacoats for the US Navy during WWII.

They claim they still make them to those specs. How more "real" can you get?

As a matter of fact, they still use 32oz wool, unlike modern peacoats.

I've owned 2 cheaper, lighter peacoats and they couldn't hold a candle to the Schott.

I can't comment on vintage, because I have never owned one.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Schott's not the only one still making the older heavier coats.

Sterlingwear and Fidelity both make traditional 32oz coats in addition to their current-spec 22oz or 24oz models. These older style coats generally also have the traditional quilted lining (vs. just satin) and 10 buttons rather than the current-style 8 buttons. (Which look like 8 or 6, respectively - this is counting the hidden under-lapel set).

My Sterlingwear is the old-style 10-button, 32oz model and it's an extremely solid, very warm garment.

 

[navyguyAl]

Pea Coats

Try Ebay as a real bargain can be found there.

Hi everyone

Hope some of you can loose a minute helping me buy a pea coat on a online store.
I live in Portugal, and even doe pea coats are still used in our navy, mostly by the officers, the quality of the ones you can buy in a sort of surplus store leaves much to desire. So I decided to buy one in the USA via web.
I come to the conclusion that exists 3 major players selling "civilian" pea coats.

-Schott's Classic 32 Oz. Melton Wool Naval Pea Coat 740
-SterlingWear (but I want the Navy Blue almost black, and I think they do not produce this blue nowadays)
-And Fidelity I think.

After some consideration, I am starting to be a lot more inclined to buy the Schott's Pea Coat. Is this a good choice?
The problem is that is the most expensive one of them all. Is it worth it?
And also I've seen other webshops selling (or stating it) the 740 from Schott's, and cheaper than the Schotts webpage?!?
Are they for real, or I should just stick with the official Schotts shop and not risk maybe a web scam?
Since I do not live in the states I am not aware of all the stores and surplus and their honesty (its easy to copy paste a logo with a photo to a web page, so I ask you guys.


Thank you for your time

 

[Stravouguine]

Thank you for all of your suggestions.
The online store that was recommended by Doctor Strange (Vermont's Barre Army Navy) only ships to US, and Canada. I'm in Portugal, Europe.
Can any of you explain the difference of prices betwee the apparently same pea coat in the official Schott store and others. Less pricey in others than in the official store.
I'm not planning going on E-bay for this one. But thanks for the idea.

Once again thanks everybody

 

[Roadrunner]

I have a Schott Slim Fit Pea Coat (the 24 oz wool one made in Canada) and like it a lot. I can only imagine the official version is just as nice. I got the Slim Fit because I wanted a slightly lighter weight coat and don't really like the quilted lining. Schott definitely sells good stuff.

 

[Peacoat]

My expertise is with the vintage issue coats. I stay away from the civilian manufacturers as well as the current issue Navy peacoats, starting in about 1980. E-Bay is the best bet for finding the vintage coats, but there is another source for the vintage coats as you don't want to go through E-Bay. The link is copied below.

The tag is often pictured along with the coat, as well as the company's best guess as to the date of the coat.

If you find something in your size, I will be glad to help you on the date of the coat.

http://www.vintagetrends.com/milita...tage&CA=Men&SC=Jackets/Coats&ST=Navy+Pea+Coat

If you can't get the link to work, the name of the company is VintageTrends.com.

 

[Stravouguine]

My expertise is with the vintage issue coats. I stay away from the civilian manufacturers as well as the current issue Navy peacoats, starting in about 1980. E-Bay is the best bet for finding the vintage coats, but there is another source for the vintage coats as you don't want to go through E-Bay. The link is copied below.

The tag is often pictured along with the coat, as well as the company's best guess as to the date of the coat.

If you find something in your size, I will be glad to help you on the date of the coat.

http://www.vintagetrends.com/milita...tage&CA=Men&SC=Jackets/Coats&ST=Navy+Pea+Coat

If you can't get the link to work, the name of the company is VintageTrends.com.

Thank you for the link, but for the moment, and also because this coat is going to be a present from the girlfriend and I do not think she is interested in buying second hand, If you had to choose between those 3 options which and where would you buy it.
Thank you

P.S. The jackets are realy cheap, so maybe I will buy one from the 70s later on

 

[JanSolo]

Strange things happen...I was just about to start a similar thread because I was seeking advice concerning the best peacoat available. My focus is not only on correctly replicating vintage patterns but also on longevity and quality of workmanship. I know that the Schott is a nice coat but I don't like quilted linings.
I currently own two peacoats. One from Drykorn which was quite expensive, well made but also very modern and stylish in certain details (which I don't like too much).
The other one is from Gloverall UK who also made Monty's Duffle coat back in WW2. This is a lovely coat. Any opinions on the Gloverall or on the subject in general?

For the gloverall have a look here:
http://www.torquato.de/pea-coat-herren.html
http://www.gloverall.com/acatalog/copy_of_copy_of_copy_of_copy_of_copy_of_Classic_512_BB.html

 

[Doctor Strange]

Can any of you explain the difference of prices betwee the apparently same pea coat in the official Schott store and others. Less pricey in others than in the official store.

My guess is that Schott mainly views their own business as it always was until recently: manufacturing and wholesaling. That is, they would prefer that you buy from one of the dealers that carries their stock, rather than sell to you direclty.

I've been watching their website for years: until a year or two ago, its main function was to point people to retailers carrying their stuff. They only recently added the ability to buy directly from them, I suspect because they realized that it was an opportunity that was too good to pass up. But they set their own prices a little higher than those offered by most retailers, to keep those retailers more attractive to customers.

That's my guess, anyway.

Sorry to hear that the Vermont outfit won't ship internationally. Some other web dealers to check out:

American Mystique (Sterlingwears) - http://www.americanmystique.com/leather-and-wool-jackets.htm

Legendary USA (all three brands) - http://www.legendaryusa.com/Wool_Naval_Peacoats_s/30.htm

US Wings (Schott and Sterlingwear) - http://www.uswings.com/peacoat.asp

 

[Stravouguine]

I think I'm going to buy the Schott's Pea Coat. The quilted linnings do not bother me (as long as they are on the inside, of course).
I will order it on their website. In the shops that Doctor Strange suggested the price is the same that in the official Schott's store so I will order from them. Thank for the links Doctor.
Now all I have to do is measure myself, and send the measurements to Schott's and let them be the judge of which best size to send to me. I'm guessing a medium regular, dark blue.
Thank you very much for all your help.
Seasons greeting and all that.

 

[celtic]

I think I'm going to buy the Schott's Pea Coat. The quilted linnings do not bother me (as long as they are on the inside, of course).
I will order it on their website. In the shops that Doctor Strange suggested the price is the same that in the official Schott's store so I will order from them. Thank for the links Doctor.
Now all I have to do is measure myself, and send the measurements to Schott's and let them be the judge of which best size to send to me. I'm guessing a medium regular, dark blue.
Thank you very much for all your help.
Seasons greeting and all that.

Actually, the sizing on the 740 is in Chest Size, not Small, Medium, Large, etc.

So you will be doing yourself a favor by making sure you get the correct size and having them help you order the correct size. They also sell a "Long" version if you're taller than average. They are VERY helpful and have fantasic customer service. Do not be afraid to ask a lot of questions beforehand, they will gladly help you.

Cheers!

 

[JLStorm]

Difference between ordering directly from Schott or another online store

For your purposes there is no advantage to ordering a Schott coat from their website. If you lived in the US there would be a large advantage which is that if you encountered a warranty issue, you could send the coat directly to Schott and deal directly with the company via phone or email. If you lived inside the USA and purchased from another online retailer any returns or warranty issues would have to go through the company your purchased from rather than directly to Schott. However, Schott does not offer warranty service for products shipped or sold outside of the USA.

Since you live outside of the USA and Schott will not accept returns, nor will they warranty the product (which I disagree with) I would not pay the higher price of buying directly from them unless you needed custom work done.