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MEGA PEACOAT THREAD - 61 threads merged - all Peacoat questions HERE

Peacoat

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If you live in a climate where the high temperature is frequently below 40F during the winter, then the primary consideration should be the type of material the coat is made of (hopefully wool), and the thickness and tightness of the weave. These considerations will tell you the probable warmth of the coat. That should be the primary motive for buying any heavy winter coat.

In the pictures above, it is impossible to determine the fit of the peacoat, as the buttons are not fastened! On a double breasted garment, and the buttons aren't fastened? The length of the sleeves is good. The length of the body is short, and there is some odd stying of the cuff.
 

bizzlenate

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I recently bought a black CK peacoat. I love the material and the shoulders and arms are perfect, as is the length. The chest width is great too. However, my problem is that my shoulders are very broad compared to my waist. I always have problems getting fitted for tuxes and even fitted shirts are bunchy in the torso. Anywho, I got the large to fit around my shoulders and to allow me to extend my arms a little to drive, but now the back is very...poofy and bunchy.
Is this tailorable and what kind of alteration is needed? Also what cost am I looking at considering it is lined, etc?
Lastly, would it be better to just exchange for a medium and have a little tightness when extending my arms forward?
(sorry, total fashion noob)
confused.gif
 

ArsenalDan

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Hi Peacoat, began this inquiry before but then dropped off the face of the earth, so I thought I'd try again.

I am looking to grab a vintage USN Peacoat but am unsure how to size down/up based on the vintage. I tried on a new Sterling 38R which fit basically perfectly (if SLIGHTLY too snuggly). I measured my chest today and it is a 37. I'm 5"11, 160 lbs. Do you have any advice regarding coats from pre-79? I see a range of 38 and 40 on vintagetrends that I think would suit my needs, but would like to be as sure as possible before ordering.

Tangentially: I live in New York City....is there a store here that you would recommend for this type of pickup if I were to forego vintagetrends? Googling hasn't been my friend on this question....

Thanks so much for all of your help!

EDITED from saying "40R" to "38R" for the Sterlingwear...thans to Paul for the catch.
 

PaulYAY

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If you have a 37" chest, according to Peacoat's sizing system, you should be looking for a peacoat that measures 19 + a fraction from armpit to armpit. Doubling 19 1/8 yields 38 1/4", likewise 19 7/8 yields 39 3/4", so those are the limits you should be looking within. I can't imagine why a Sterlingwear 40 would fit you even remotely well. If you read further into the thread you'd realize that everyone* sizes down into Sterlingwear, not up. I've never tried the brand myself, but last vintage peacoat in size 34 that I saw measured 40" for the chest. Sounds like you're confused..
 

ahjota

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Only reason you should size up in Sterlingwear is if you're fat. Seriously. (0)
 

GreenFrog

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Where should the cuff of the sleeves fall on your wrist when you're standing up? How about when you're sitting down and your arms are bent, as if they are resting on a table?
 

ArsenalDan

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Originally Posted by PaulYAY
If you have a 37" chest, according to Peacoat's sizing system, you should be looking for a peacoat that measures 19 + a fraction from armpit to armpit. Doubling 19 1/8 yields 38 1/4", likewise 19 7/8 yields 39 3/4", so those are the limits you should be looking within. I can't imagine why a Sterlingwear 40 would fit you even remotely well. If you read further into the thread you'd realize that everyone* sizes down into Sterlingwear, not up. I've never tried the brand myself, but last vintage peacoat in size 34 that I saw measured 40" for the chest. Sounds like you're confused..

I WAS confused; don't know why I wrote 40R, it was a 38R that I tried on and it fit close to perfect. Thanks for the spot!

My specific question, by the way, concerned how, say, a WW2 coat would differ in fit from a Vietnam-era coat, perhaps beyond what the measurements would indicate. Thanks for the other info.
 

PaulYAY

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perhaps you've actually got a 38" chest (body measurements can be tricky). Then by Peacoats method, the ideal range would be 20+ fraction, which comes out to 40 1/4" - 41 3/4". Another possibility is that maybe you're not accustomed to what a perfect fit is and that people here would look at pics of you in a size 38 (which is still sizing up according to your measurements, or even if you're a 38; not sizing down like most people do) and unanimously say you need to size down. That is not at all uncommon. When I first came to this site, I thought that I fit into size large across the board despite the fact that I had a 37" chest. Now I wear xs-med but usually small. Have someone snap pics of you in the size 40 if you can and post them up.
 

lightyear

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p1010010kg.jpg
What do you guys think? I know it's too small now but I'm in the process of dropping 20-30 I thought I'd rather get it then large since shoulders fit very well.
 

Peacoat

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Originally Posted by ArsenalDan
Hi Peacoat, began this inquiry before but then dropped off the face of the earth, so I thought I'd try again.

I am looking to grab a vintage USN Peacoat but am unsure how to size down/up based on the vintage. I tried on a new Sterling 38R which fit basically perfectly (if SLIGHTLY too snuggly). I measured my chest today and it is a 37. I'm 5"11, 160 lbs. Do you have any advice regarding coats from pre-79? I see a range of 38 and 40 on vintagetrends that I think would suit my needs, but would like to be as sure as possible before ordering.

Tangentially: I live in New York City....is there a store here that you would recommend for this type of pickup if I were to forego vintagetrends? Googling hasn't been my friend on this question....

Thanks so much for all of your help!


EDITED from saying "40R" to "38R" for the Sterlingwear...thans to Paul for the catch.


I would think a 36 or a 38 would do the trick. But the question becomes, which one? If a tag size 36 is built a bit large, or a tag size 38 is built a bit small, either would do fine.

It surprises me that the Sterlingwear 38 was a tight fit for you, based on your chest size. I would have thought it would have been a bit big.

Generally, the WWII peacoats were built a little tighter than the subsequent years--maybe 1/4" tighter. But from 1949 to 1979, I don't see much difference in the size. There is some, but I'm not sure if that is because of the individual coats I have or because the sizing actually changed.

No, I'm not aware of any vintage shops in the City, but there is bound to be one. I have one or two peacoat contacts up there who may have scouted something out. I will ask them what they know. Before Google, and before the internet, we used the yellow pages from the phone book. I imagine they still have that multi volume set for NYC. Might check there. The City has almost everything, so it is bound to have a store that sells vintage peacoats. The trick is to find it.

In the event you haven't read my article on peacoat dating, the link is below. At the end there is a section on sizing which you might find helpful.

Well I forgot the link. Here it is:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showt...PEACOAT-DATING
 

ArsenalDan

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You're the man, Peacoat. Thanks for the response. Relative to my chest build I have pretty broad shoulders, which may explain these fits?

When I am back in town my first course will likely be to shop around the vintage stores to see what I can find for a try-on. Even if I don't find the exact quality I'm looking for, it'll give me a benchmark for ordering from vintagetrends.

And Paul, I appreciate your help, but I do have a good idea of what fits me and what does not; I tried on the Sterlingwear with the help of a sales associate and generally get my clothes tailored by a professional. I don't think my experience with my peacoat sizing is so surprising: I wear either a 38 or 40 for suits, and [to give an example of widely-available decently cut clothing that does not go with modern American standards] a medium (going on large for certain things) from J. Crew.
 

Peacoat

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Originally Posted by GreenFrog
Where should the cuff of the sleeves fall on your wrist when you're standing up? How about when you're sitting down and your arms are bent, as if they are resting on a table?

I like mine to fit between the break in the wrist and the first joint of the thumb--where the webbing starts. About 1/2 between the two would be ideal for me. Others may want the sleeve length to be a little longer or shorter.
 

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