What Makes a Great Peacoat
What Makes a Great Peacoat
The shape has not needed to change in a long time. The details are where a great one lives.
A coat that was already right
The peacoat came off the decks of sailing ships. The name traces back to the Dutch word pij, for a coarse wool cloth. Navies dressed sailors in it because it held up to wind and spray, and civilians took it off the docks because it looked as good as it worked.
The Black Bear Brand peacoat began with my own vintage peacoat, worn for over a decade. The shape was already right. The work was in refining every detail inside it.
The cloth
A great peacoat starts with dense wool. The Black Bear Brand Peacoat is 14.7oz wool produced for Black Bear Brand in the Aichi-Ichinomiya area of Japan. Ichinomiya sits at the heart of Bishu, the region that has woven Japan's wool cloth for generations.
The weight gives the coat its drape. It hangs straight from the shoulder and keeps its line.
The double breasted front
The double breasted front is the peacoat's purpose. Wool overlaps wool across the chest, and the wind meets two layers instead of one. Buttoned up, the collar stands and closes at the throat.
The anchor buttons
On a great peacoat the buttons are a decision, not an afterthought. The Black Bear Brand peacoat is closed with a special anchor button made in Japan, throughout the coat.
The lining and what it hides
The coat is lined throughout in blue Cupra made in Japan for Black Bear Brand. Cupra is smooth and breathes, so the coat slides on over a sweater. Inside are two concealed Black Bear Brand pockets, and at the inner neck sits the COMMANDER tag.
Made in one place
The peacoat is 100% made in Japan, from the wool to the last stitch.
Hunter green
Alongside the black, there is a hunter green. That color is a custom green created with the mill for Black Bear Brand, woven in the same 14.7oz weight in the Aichi-Ichinomiya area, and lined in black Cupra made in Japan. The Hunter Green Peacoat is available now.
A Way Of Life.
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