Thursday, January 17, 2008

Window Shopping in Florence, Italy

Pea coats!
It snowed here in Charlotte last night-can you believe it? So of course the schools all closed and the kids are home. It is just raining now but the damage is done and I won't get much work done so I thought I'd write a little.
I snapped these pictures last June while I was in Florence with my daughter. Eighty degrees and the department store windows were featuring pea coats. The fashion forward Italians already knew that the pea coat was going to be a must have this winter. And why not?
Pea coats have been around since the 1700's. Originally used by European Navies, the pea coat got it's name from the fabric it was made of. First called a pilot cloth coat, pilot coat, p-coat and finally a pea coat. The US military issue has
long been a favorite of mine and at The Vintage Peddler we try to keep a good inventory in stock. We carry mens' pea coats and ladies' pea coats so if your looking for a pea coat - check us out.