Polish Greatcoat, Green, Unissued

How about an east-bloc-chic officer’s greatcoat from the Polish army? Coarse, thick, and frightening just like the good ol' officers. When you enter a bar wearing this, the bouncer will tip you. Also perfect as the dapper gentleman's overcoat.

Features

A green greatcoat that reaches just below the knee. The shade is that magnificently gloomy eastern block kind that all the Communist regimes and ex-Communist regimes seem to use. They probably hoarded so much of it that it will be used no matter how liberated the political climate is. When you wear this, you can spread much-needed despair and horror to your fellow travelers. The fabric is really thick and warm so in normal use, you won’t need much underneath.

The coat is double-breasted, featuring bird of prey plastic buttons, French cuffs, two hip pockets, and an inside breast pocket. Hip pockets have been sewn shut but you can easily cut them open. The insides are lined with some kind of synthetic “silk”. Don’t ask what, we don’t know.

Use

You won’t crawl in trenches wearing these, instead, you bully your minions to do it for you. Even though these are just a few years old, their cut and color offer a delightful time travel to the Golden Age of Communism. During the Cold War, this kind of stuff could have been worn by everybody from the general to the public toilet ticket salesman. This timeless classic works everywhere even today.

Materials and care

These are made of proper thick wool frieze. They are pirimarily 100% wool but since this is army surplus, there can also be a few wool blend coats amongst them. But don’t worry, they are equally rough and stiff! Military surplus wool frieze is wonderful. Incredible quality at a very nice price.

The washing instruction is not to wash. But wool rarely needs anything more than airing out anyway.

Choosing the right size

The size system includes the user height, chest circumference, and waist in centimeters. Don’t try to be careful and take one size bigger unless you like wearing tents. When you choose your size, you will fit a thick sweater underneath. If you don’t need anything thicker and want a more form-fitting jacket, you can go at least one size smaller. Check out the pics for info on the model's size/coat size for reference.

The chest to waist -ratio (aka. drop) may vary. Ordinary men's waists are 10-12 cm (4"-5") smaller than the chest. In some cases, the difference is smaller to account for the officer's belly.

If the number you've looking for isn't listed, centimeters divided by 2.54 will be your inches.

Condition

Polish unissued military surplus. Most of these seem to come in a plastic bag and with a coat hanger and the size tag with a bar code. They can have some warehouse dust because naturally, the plastic bag isn’t big enough to cover the whole coat.

Having been stored in an army warehouse, these might smell a bit of moth repellant. In case you don’t find that appealing, you can air it out. It isn’t that bad but some folks are a bit more delicate than others.