Questions About the United States Navy Peacoat

[Worf]

Excellent fit and an excellent coat. Do you have horses up there in the Capital District?

I sometimes do farm/stable work for a friend in Hudson, NY about 1.6 hours north of NY City. Also don't forget Saratoga... oldest horse racing track in the country IIRC.

Worf

 

[Peacoat]

I sometimes do farm/stable work for a friend in Hudson, NY about 1.6 hours north of NY City. Also don't forget Saratoga... oldest horse racing track in the country IIRC.

Worf

Yes, and the favorite track of Carly Simon and Warren Beatty. Vintage information. I doubt many will get that one, but I had to throw it out there.

 

[joshua alvarado]

Everyone needs a P coat. Classic.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Yep, the nice allround-wintercoat. Cozy, (heavy warming), classic looking, available nearly everywhere, even on priceworth massmarket (woolfelt-blend instead of wool) in usual chain-stores.
Take your burgundy check-winterscarf and strangers greet you, maybe, because you look like coming from the theatre, etc..

 

[Onizuka]

Gents!

Hello! New to the forum. Recently acquired two vintage peacoats, one from a vintage clothing store in NYC, the other on ebay. The vintage store one seemed pretty easy to date (post WWII '47-50, thanks Peacoat!), but the ebay one has me a bit confused.

The listing had the peacoat dated to Vietnam era. However once I received it, the coat had 10 buttons and a throat latch (WWII??). Having a look a the label though, it does indeed look like late '60s. Would anyone be so kind to help me date the lovely peacoat? Thanks!

 

[Peacoat]

If you aren't pranking us, then I would have to say someone has sewn a 1966 tag into this WWII peacoat. In enlarging the picture of the tag, it appears there are stitch holes at the bottom of the tag. The stitching around the tag appears suspect as well. What does it look like to you, having the benefit of seeing it firsthand?

BTW, welcome to the Lounge.

 

[Onizuka]

Wow! Incredible someone would do that. I wholly agree with your assessment. And with your agreement, I'll will ask my wife to remove the tag. It's a shame, the coat was intended for her (Size 34 was the smallest size kersey wool peacoat I could find.) But when she tried it on, the shoulders were way too big. I don't think it make much sense to alter this peacoat with that level of modification.

Here is a link from the ebay sale:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/282425290719

Here is a short video I made to take a closer look:

 

[Gamma68]

Why would someone sew a later tag into a WWII peacoat?

I would think a WWII peacoat is going to be worth more than a Vietnam era peacoat. So why try to pass off a more valuable peacoat for one of lesser value?

 

[Peacoat]

You got that coat for a very good price. The seller thought she had a VN era peacoat, and advertised it as such, when it actually is a WWII coat. Yes, I would remove the tag. Use a seam ripper if you have one to avoid damage to the lining. Underneath the tag you will probably see machine stitch holes where the original tag was attached.

 

[Feetlebaum]

Mr. Peacoat, have you ever seen a 1966 with this type of tag? I was searching for another example of the tag and the only one similar to it that I could find was on this thread, but it was a 1968.
I say that the one I have is 1966 for the fact that it has the double row of stitching on the cuff, as well as the tag not featuring the date within the contract number. (You've taught me the former ended in 1967, the latter began the same year.)

 

[Peacoat]

I think you are pretty close with the 1966 date, but it could be a 1967 holdover with the double row of stitching on the cuffs. The DSA number is consistent with a 1967 tag. No, I don't remember seeing this tag before.

We can narrow it down to a year or two, but getting an exact year on every 50 year old peacoat is asking a bit much, especially when so many anomalous tags were used. Also please remember that there were some seamstresses who delighted in using old tags they found lying around in the shop for the sole purpose of confusing researchers 40, 50 and even 100 years in the future. It is difficult enough to follow the trail without dealing with misdirection, whether intended or not.

 

[Feetlebaum]

You're right, a pinpoint date isn't needed, nor very sane. Getting it within a couple years is good for me. I'm glad I got your opinion. Thanks! This thread, and the guide you made has been really helpful.

 

[Adam_C]

I just bought my first vintage peacoat on eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/401411671958) and have a few questions about this WWII version:

1. This is obviously a WWII peacoat but is there anyway to know which year it was manufactured?
2. Though the label matches the stenciling and is correct for the age range, the label stitching looks a little funny, is that anything to be worried about?
3. It looks to be in very good condition with no obvious repairs needed but I would like to clean it. Is it safe to take to my local dry cleaner?
4. I feel like I got a good deal at $122 (free shipping), would you guys agree?

Thanks for the help and sorry for the blurry pics, they were taken by the seller.

 

[Peacoat]

1. For a coat that is over 70 years old, I think WWII is as close as we can get. I don't have any examples of early WWII tags. They may all be the same, for all I know.

2. The label stitching is nothing to be concerned about.

3. Dry cleaning is safe and will make the shell look better—fresh and fuller.

4. Yes, you got the coat for a very good price.

Semper Fi Adam and welcome to the Lounge.

 

[Adam_C]

Thanks Peacoat.

 

[Salem]

Hey guys,

I've been private messaging Peacoat with various questions for a bit but thought I might open this up to the forum to possibly help others.

I have a peacoat (around 1952) that had a rip in the collar.



I brought it in to get restitched as it was curling the back of the collar.



The seamstress did the best she could and it doesn't curl anymore.





My question is: is this a small collar for a 1952?

[URL=http://s3.photobucket.com/user/Outerman/media/IMG_3185_zps3uir2gym.jpg.html] [/URL]

 

[Spoonbelly]

Hey guys,

I've been private messaging Peacoat with various questions for a bit but thought I might open this up to the forum to possibly help others.

I have a peacoat (around 1952) that had a rip in the collar.
Why don't you measure and put down the height of the collar? I haven't gotten my peacoats out yet, but it will be pretty soon as winter is starting to creep in here in New York. I can measure a few of mine and let you know.


I brought it in to get restitched as it was curling the back of the collar.



The seamstress did the best she could and it doesn't curl anymore.





My question is: is this a small collar for a 1952?

Hey guys,

I've been private messaging Peacoat with various questions for a bit but thought I might open this up to the forum to possibly help others.

I have a peacoat (around 1952) that had a rip in the collar.



I brought it in to get restitched as it was curling the back of the collar.



The seamstress did the best she could and it doesn't curl anymore.





My question is: is this a small collar for a 1952?

 

[Peacoat]

My collars measure about 3.25" wide at the rear. Yours does look a little narrow.

 

[Salem]

Hi Peacoat,

As I've mentioned to you in PM's, I've bought another coat (1945 dated) and the collar on that one is FRICKEN' HUGE! We'll... maybe not that big but it does come well over my ears when pulled up. My 1952 coat is well under my ears ~



My 1952 coat was my first and I wasn't really aware what I was looking for then. The collar measures 3 3/4". Perhaps because of the rip, the previous owner altered it but to my eye it does not appear so or maybe there was some variety in collars.

 

[Peacoat]

I measured my collar—3.25"—while it was lying flat as yours is in your post of yesterday at 3:24 pm.

The collars on the WWII coats are larger than the post war coats. Mine measures 4.25" at the back while lying flat.