The Peacoat is Going But Not Gone

Say goodbye to the peacoat as known and loved by the Navy--

--and the cons at Alcatraz, who wore surplus peas exclusively by 1962:

What a blow to read this news about the classic double-breasted coat with its too cool collar turned up high:

In 2016, the United States Navy announced that its blue wool pea coats — which had been in use for well over a century — would cease being standard-issue for Sailors. In 2018, a black synthetic parka would be phased in, and by 2020, while Sailors could continue to wear the pea coat as part of their uniform, they’d have to purchase it with their own money.
--The Art of Manliness

It'll be interesting to see how many sailors are willing to part with their money. Depending on the style, peacoats range from $300-$800 new. Here's what I've learned about buying a pea after shopping in stores and online:

1) You'll do well to begin with a trip to an Army/Navy surplus store. Why? Because you'll see and try on the real deal, and learn what $300 will buy you. You'll get the feel of the Melton wool, the stiffness of the wide lapels and classic pop-up collar, the heavily stitched buttons. You'll see the official Navy label with the contract number, etc. Slip your hands in the hand warmer pockets and feel the soft, thick cloth lining that will warm your mitts.
2) Armed with this knowledge, feel free to shop online. I did twice.
    a)The first time, for a hundred bucks, I got what they claimed to be a Mil-Tec US Navy peacoat. Not  Navy-style peacoat. No, the real thing. But the box it came in shocked me: so light, I thought maybe a sweater had come. True, it looked like a peacoat...but it didn't feel like the real deal I'd seen in the surplus store. The wool, I learned, was 50% wool/50% viscose. The buttons were loose. The collar, though it buttoned high, didn't have that classic pop. And the hand warmer pockets? These were lined with polyester, A cheap imitation all the way around. Compare the picture of it with the old-time photo that starts off this post--and weep for what a C-note will buy you:

                                                    

    b) My second online gamble worked out well for me--mainly because I wanted a lightweight slim impression of a pea I could wear to a summer photo shoot. Just 35% wool, it's useless for late fall or winter. But it fit well, looked sharp and won lots of positive feedback. The color shot appears at the top of my blog. The fifty bucks had been well spent but it still left me wanting the real deal.

3)  The third option requires persistence and luck. But thrift stores can offer the real deal on the cheap. Three weeks ago I checked the men's coat section at Value Village. And on that first look, for $25, I found an older pea matching what I'd seen at the surplus store. And I am here to tell you there's simply no comparison between wearing the best imitation and wearing a real Navy pea.

Even if all sailors fall head over heels for the new parka, I think the pea will stay with us for many years to come. Its warmth and rugged rakishness are truly past compare.

I sign off with a gallery of pea loving stars:

If you'd like to know more about buying and wearing, check out the following link:

https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/mans-guide-pea-coat/

Should We Give Our Readers Hell...or Give Them What They Want?

Almost all writers I've known have been torn between two impulses they're helpless to resist. On the one hand, if they've worked for years and are finally enjoying some well-earned success, they're more than a little scared of messing with the formula. The voice of Success urges:





And so they do, and continue to do, until the rebel devil cries:





They begin to feel enslaved by their successful series or threatened in some unfathomable way by the love readers feel for one standalone book. Maddened by fear or resentment, they either tank the series or give it a twist that will turn readers off. Or, rather than follow their one runaway success with a sequel or something in a similar vein, they do something offputtingly different. Ah, the sweet siren call of




One remarkably talented writer I know is taking time off from a series of Tartan Noir mysteries--one that's been gathering steam--to work on an historical epic of 100,000 words. Another mystery writer I follow swings almost depravedly from mystery to romance to sci-fi. Hey, even Conan Doyle felt compelled to try at least to kill off Sherlock Holmes.

Lawrence Sanders comes to mind as a supreme example of a writer who perfectly balanced his commercial instincts and his independent spirit. Unwilling to grind out a Deadly Sin novel a year (the Sin books took 3-4 years to do), he launched a second series--of shorter and lighter Commandments. Oh, and he wrote two limited series of just two books apiece--the Peter Tangent and the Timothy Cone books. Meanwhile, always busy, he wrote many standalone titles, from erotica to thrillers to capers. Then, when he'd grown older, he launched the easy and breezy Archy McNally series.




The man I call The Colonel had brilliance to burn and a game plan that reminds us of Russell Blake--who's also committed to writing whatever he pleases to write.

For those who are less prolific, Claude Bouchard offers an excellent alternative. Lightly scattered among entries in his bestselling Vigilante series are standalones written to appease the rebel devil's voice.

We can see the same spirit at work in Clint Eastwood's early film career: one film for himself to each three for his fans. The older Clint likes to say that he'd always been able to tell his fans to buzz off if they weren't amused. But the man who made the two Whichways had one eye at least on box office success.






Somehow we all have to find our own way to calm those dueling voices.