# Which hat to choose with pea coat?



## Decadent (Sep 29, 2007)

Gents,

soon I'll receive my first and only pea coat with the classic specs: navy colour, double-breasted, big buttons, slimmish, waist length. I hate beanies, a fedora would be too much and a Greek sailor's cap would make me look like a costume-fool.

Thus far I've been pondering my head sore with this question in mind: what headwear should I choose with my pea coat?


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Decadent said:


> Thus far I've been pondering my head sore with this question in mind: what headwear should I choose with my pea coat?


I believe that this picture from the mid-80's was the last time I wore my pea coat. The only other type headgear that I ever wore with it was the white hat issued to me by the Navy at the same time they gave me the pea coat in 1968. I think that informal caps look better with pea coats than most hats.










Cruiser


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## sowilson (Jul 27, 2009)

A tweed cap, hunting cap with ear flaps, wool knit cap, winter weight Tilley.


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## smujd (Mar 18, 2008)

The dreaded and much feared baseball cap!  Oh! The horror! Look away children, avert your eyes!

Yes, the classic American baseball cap is the way to go.


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## Bernard T. McManus (Sep 23, 2009)

smujd said:


> The dreaded and much feared baseball cap!  Oh! The horror! Look away children, avert your eyes!
> 
> Yes, the classic American baseball cap is the way to go.


:icon_smile_big:

In case no one told you, this is a baseball cap free zone! :icon_smile_wink:


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## Bernard T. McManus (Sep 23, 2009)

You could wear a flat cap, a trilby, a tilley, a beaney or even a homburg or a bowler / derby (although that would be a stretch).


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## Sean1982 (Sep 7, 2009)

Bernard T. McManus said:


> You could wear a flat cap, a trilby, a tilley, a beaney or even a homburg or a bowler / derby (although that would be a stretch).


I don't agree, bowlers, homburgs, trilbys or fedoras do no suit such an informal coat in my opinion. Stick with the tweed/flat cap as others have said.


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## smujd (Mar 18, 2008)

Bernard T. McManus said:


> In case no one told you, this is a baseball cap free zone! :icon_smile_wink:


Hmm. I've never noticed. :icon_smile_wink:


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

I'l try and find the Greek Fisherman cap I saw without all the typical embellishments/embroidery on it.

It was pretty cool!!


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## Pr B (Jan 8, 2009)

*A Watch Cap, of course!*

You'll have to whistle the Old Spice song, and carry a sea bag on your shoulder. Don't forget the sea-legs swagger.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Pr B said:


> *A Watch Cap, of course!*
> 
> You'll have to whistle the Old Spice song, and carry a sea bag on your shoulder. Don't forget the sea-legs swagger.


How could I have fogotten the watch cap? I wore my Navy watch cap with my pea coat many times, on occasion when I was actually in the Navy. I guess that's what happens when you start getting old. :icon_smile_big:

Cruiser


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## Bernard T. McManus (Sep 23, 2009)

Cruiser said:


> How could I have fogotten the watch cap? I wore my Navy watch cap with my pea coat many times, on occasion when I was actually in the Navy. I guess that's what happens when you start getting old. :icon_smile_big:
> 
> Cruiser


Time to man the mail buoy watch.


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## jc1305us (Jan 13, 2009)

I know it's a bit unpopular, but a baseball looks great with a pea coat! (At least it does on me! haha) But in all seriousness, a flat hat would look great, or you can get a great haircut and go sans hat.


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## Decadent (Sep 29, 2007)

Thanks for the quick replies. I'll be searching for a suitable flat cap during the coming weeks.


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## Blueboy1938 (Aug 17, 2008)

*What about . . .*

. . . when it gets colder, up there in Finland?

There are a variety of Watch Caps, including the classic U. S. Navy model:

https://www.militaryclothing.com/IBS/SimpleCat/Product/asp/hierarchy/0O06/product-id/494509.html

Here are fleece versions in several colors:

https://www.militaryclothing.com/IBS/SimpleCat/Product/asp/hierarchy/0O06/product-id/36546933.html

Here's an interesting variation in black, a "Jeep Cap" with a brim:

https://www.militaryclothing.com/IBS/SimpleCat/Product/asp/hierarchy/0O06/product-id/494501.html

Or, how about the Finnish version?

https://www.milpro.fi/index.cfm?action=tuotekuvaus&tuoteperheid=000286F4-2DF8-1E18-B4E1DFA2504A902C


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## David V (Sep 19, 2005)

I haven't worn a pea coat since college and then I worn it with a knit watch cap.


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## windsor (Dec 12, 2006)

Flat tweed cap or perhaps one of those Russian fur hats.


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## Scott Hill (Jun 9, 2009)

I would wear a flat cap or a knit skull cap.. anything else you would look rediculous. I don't mean to be too absolute, but all of the other hats mentioned are too formal and would not look "hip". A pea coat is casual and so should be your head gear. In your photo with short hair, I would wear a skull cap.. 

Scott Hill


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## Scott Hill (Jun 9, 2009)

Baseball caps are for baseball and would look rediculous with a pea coat.. You might as well wear white tennis shoes and your gym shorts.. I would wear a boot with dark denim and the pea coat for weekends.. or school.. 

Scott Hill


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## amplifiedheat (Jun 9, 2008)

Flat caps are great, but I don't hesitate to wear a fedora with a pea coat. It's a practical issue as much as a sartorial one--fedoras are warm and better against precipitation.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
+1. I have a pea coat design, made up in a distressed leather, with which I have worn my Stetson Temple hat and a Tilley, tweed winter hat, quite frequently. They both work...surprisingly well!


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## nicksull (Sep 1, 2005)

Anything with a brow - homburg trilby derby fedora - would look really weird to my mind. Like wearing spats with jeans. 

A pea coat - being essentially utilitarian - would look best with either a woolly knit hat (beanie, boblle etc), or a flat cap or a hunting cap perhaps.


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## tda003 (Aug 16, 2009)

Watch cap or possibly the classic "Cracker Jack" boy sailor's cap. Try things like "ahoy", "avast", "shove off" and, of course, the ever popular "poop deck", but be careful about using "head" and watch cap together.


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## London380sl (Apr 17, 2009)

I wear a fisherman cap with my pea coat whenever it rains and I think it looks rather spiffy. If nothing else it sure beats the look of a baseball cap.
A watch cap is a good alternative though.


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## PJC in NoVa (Jan 23, 2005)

Watch cap.

It worked for the sailor dude in that Old Spice commercial from the 70s. (Somebody tossed him a bottle of O.S. as he debarked his vessel, and he became a chick magnet.)

Personally, I like to strain Old Spice through bread and drink it.


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## a tailor (May 16, 2005)

WouldaShoulda said:


> I'l try and find the Greek Fisherman cap I saw without all the typical embellishments/embroidery on it.
> 
> It was pretty cool!!


thats what i wear most of the time. love it.


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## Guest (Dec 28, 2021)

Decadent said:


> Gents,
> 
> soon I'll receive my first and only pea coat with the classic specs: navy colour, double-breasted, big buttons, slimmish, waist length. I hate beanies, a fedora would be too much and a Greek sailor's cap would make me look like a costume-fool.
> 
> Thus far I've been pondering my head sore with this question in mind: what headwear should I choose with my pea coat?


Newsboy. ivy, or snap brim hat.


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