A pea coat or reefer jacket is usually a navy colour or black. It is made of heavy serge wool and was orginally worn by sailors of navies especially the U.S. Navy Pea coats have broad lapels , double breasted front and slash pockets. The buttons have anchors on them for design. The pea coat was worn as early as 1725 and still is a winner and looks the same. It can sometimes be a longer version and this would be used by officers and with gold type buttonsIn the 21st centure the pea coat is a classic. The pea caost are still worn by sailers and is a fashion item and can sometimes be called a reefer jacketNot all jackets and infact very few are navy surplus as most are made in the orginal design and sold by retailers up all over the world. The most common colour for the pea coat is navy or black .