New Billy Reid coats aren't 100% wool.

Batman007 · July 2013

I just received mine today! I am so happy to finally have this coat in my possession. It's a beautiful article of clothing.

I was however, a bit disappointed that it wasn't the 100% wool I thought that it was going to be. Just a heads up for anyone looking to buy their own. It's updated on the website, too.

Returningson · July 2013

That's dirty. For that money, 100% wool is the only way to go. Not surprised though. They really haven't been faithful to any of their "limited edition" statements (I don't want to open another can of worms, just sayin). That's a bummer for those who ordered.

bassopotamus · July 2013

Just got mine in today too, and was surprised to see the 80% wool/20% nylon tag. was a bit disappointed considering the price tag, and the fact they changed the description on the website just today.

a quality peacoat nonetheless, & it doesn't make me love it any less. after comparing it to my budget kohl's peacoat, I'll take an only 80% wool billy reid peacoat over that any day.

definitely think the price should be lowered though.

Batman007 · July 2013

It's a shame. And I do agree the price should be lowered for using inferior materials.

However, I still will enjoy the ever loving **** out of it because for everyone and their mother that has a pea coat, I will have the James Bond pea coat. Hah!

Polynikes · July 2013

I had a 100 percent wool one before getting a new one in the correct size. It's not as soft but I expect the nylon blend will be more durable.

Peppermill · July 2013

$700,- for an 80% wool coat.... wow, that is quite a lot. I'd think that quality was something that Billy Reid was keen on. However, the smell of even more dollars has a strange effect on people. I'm very happy with my vintage (100% wool) peacoat from 1952. Still looks, feels and fits great.

96mn12 · July 2013

I have two 100%, a choco and black one. Never got the blue one. I spoke with Graham, his response was that material was exhausted and no longer manufactured. So they went with 80/20 Nylon. He also said that it costs them more to source and manufacture with the new blend, and it makes the coat more resistant and, he claims, makes it look and feel as good as the 100% wool.

Im on the fence but I know i'll be springing for one this fall. Anyone else have the new 80/20 blend that you can comment on?

richmenstoys · July 2013

do you sell one coat? 8-)

96mn12 wrote:

I have two 100%, a choco and black one. Never got the blue one. I spoke with Graham, his response was that material was exhausted and no longer manufactured. So they went with 80/20 Nylon. He also said that it costs them more to source and manufacture with the new blend, and it makes the coat more resistant and, he claims, makes it look and feel as good as the 100% wool.

Im on the fence but I know i'll be springing for one this fall. Anyone else have the new 80/20 blend that you can comment on?

96mn12 · July 2013

richmenstoys wrote:

do you sell one coat? 8-)

?

It was merely a comment that those two are 100% wool and even then, the choco being older is a finer wool. I would like to compare them to the new 80/20 blend

bassopotamus · July 2013

96mn12 wrote:

I have two 100%, a choco and black one. Never got the blue one. I spoke with Graham, his response was that material was exhausted and no longer manufactured. So they went with 80/20 Nylon. He also said that it costs them more to source and manufacture with the new blend, and it makes the coat more resistant and, he claims, makes it look and feel as good as the 100% wool.

Im on the fence but I know i'll be springing for one this fall. Anyone else have the new 80/20 blend that you can comment on?

I never had the 100% wool version but I did have a 100% wool WWII overcoat and the BR blend feels just as thick and as durable as that. I honestly don't think you're going to notice a difference between the look or feel of the 100% wool version and this new wool blend version. I think it's just something that messes with your head. They could have easily put a tag on these new ones that read "100% wool" & probably not a single person would take notice to any difference.

kadd · July 2013

bassopotamus wrote:

96mn12 wrote:

I have two 100%, a choco and black one. Never got the blue one. I spoke with Graham, his response was that material was exhausted and no longer manufactured. So they went with 80/20 Nylon. He also said that it costs them more to source and manufacture with the new blend, and it makes the coat more resistant and, he claims, makes it look and feel as good as the 100% wool.

Im on the fence but I know i'll be springing for one this fall. Anyone else have the new 80/20 blend that you can comment on?

I never had the 100% wool version but I did have a 100% wool WWII overcoat and the BR blend feels just as thick and as durable as that. I honestly don't think you're going to notice a difference between the look or feel of the 100% wool version and this new wool blend version. I think it's just something that messes with your head. They could have easily put a tag on these new ones that read "100% wool" & probably not a single person would take notice to any difference.

Thanks for the insight. I take it the colour and details like the leather trim etc all look the same as pics of the original (as you didn't have the 100% wool version).

I ask as I've been tossing up getting one.

welshboy78 · July 2013

The leather trim is now slightly darker then the SA version

They even used the same pictures on the website as the original run but used a filter to darken the leather to look like / match the reissue

The Bond Experience · July 2013

From Graham:

"We knew we might get some questions about this but I think you’ll be agreeable with the answer.

The primary reason for the slight change was fabric availability. Meaning we couldn’t get more of the 100% wool.

As to pricing, the 80/20 blend actually costs us MORE to produce……. I know you’re thinking “Nylon? Really?” but the material is, in my opinion, as nice if not nicer than the 100%. It has a very sturdy feel to it. I liked it so much I bought one.

There is a charcoal grey version we just got in as well that is 100% wool (but different material from the one I believe you have) that is similar to the 80/20 blend that’s so sturdy. I’ll send you a picture if you want.

We’re also doing a muted navy cotton version for this upcoming Spring.

Thanks and let me know if have any other questions."

Graham Heard
Billy Reid, Inc.

bassopotamus · July 2013

kadd wrote:

bassopotamus wrote:

96mn12 wrote:

I have two 100%, a choco and black one. Never got the blue one. I spoke with Graham, his response was that material was exhausted and no longer manufactured. So they went with 80/20 Nylon. He also said that it costs them more to source and manufacture with the new blend, and it makes the coat more resistant and, he claims, makes it look and feel as good as the 100% wool.

Im on the fence but I know i'll be springing for one this fall. Anyone else have the new 80/20 blend that you can comment on?

I never had the 100% wool version but I did have a 100% wool WWII overcoat and the BR blend feels just as thick and as durable as that. I honestly don't think you're going to notice a difference between the look or feel of the 100% wool version and this new wool blend version. I think it's just something that messes with your head. They could have easily put a tag on these new ones that read "100% wool" & probably not a single person would take notice to any difference.

Thanks for the insight. I take it the colour and details like the leather trim etc all look the same as pics of the original (as you didn't have the 100% wool version).

I ask as I've been tossing up getting one.

the color and small details all look the same to me as all the pictures I've seen of everyone else's coats and the one in skyfall. like I said, you're not going to find any differences except for the tag stating the wool blend. It feels and looks like a quality coat. and though I've never had the original, I find it hard to believe they darkened the leather trim as welshboy stated. It's going to look different in different lighting and I honestly can't believe it's something anyone can notice with their naked eye. I'm sure there's some slight variation in color between coats but something that is noticeable? doubt it. It's black leather. that's all there is to it. getting into nitpicking stuff like that is just too much for me. your peacoat is still going to look like daniel craig's.

anyways, cool to hear that they're coming out with some different colors and a cotton version.

welshboy78 · July 2013

Well like it or not the leather trim on the Billy Reid website did actually change (same exact pics but they darkened the leather part of the picture to mathc the reissue colour)

Quite a few of us noticed it back then, personally I could care less as I have the original but it has changed

bassopotamus · July 2013

welshboy78 wrote:

Well like it or not the leather trim on the Billy Reid website did actually change (same exact pics but they darkened the leather)

Quite a few of us noticed it back then, personally I could care less but it has changed

Didn't it change from a dark brown to black? cause on that one picture on the BR site of the pocket flap you can still see the brown trim because they never updated that picture. I don't think it went from black to a darker black...cause I remember seeing this in the other BR peacoat thread and everyone debated whether or not the one in the movie was black or brown. turned out to be black, and then BR started making all the coats with black trim. right?

but like you, I don't care either. It's black and I like that a lot better than the brown it was.

welshboy78 · July 2013

The first ever run of the Peacoat (as used in Skyfall) has a brown trim

I was lucky enough to get one of the originals before they started remaking it.

Small / minor difference and it is imposs to tell in the movie anyhow

bassopotamus · July 2013

welshboy78 wrote:

The first ever run of the Peacoat (as used in Skyfall) has a brown trim

I was lucky enough to get one of the originals before they started remaking it.

Small / minor difference and it is imposs to tell in the movie anyhow

ah, I see. I knew the leather used to be brown but wasn't sure if it was brown in the movie. minor difference indeed, I'm fine with either color. the brown looks more casual while the black looks a little more sleek and formal. either way, it's leather trim and it looks awesome.

The Bond Experience · July 2013

Slight variances have occurred. But welsh is absolutely correct that SkyFall used the one with the dark brown trim.

bassopotamus · August 2013

The Mantis wrote:

Slight variances have occurred. But welsh is absolutely correct that SkyFall used the one with the dark brown trim.

ok that makes sense considering the first run of the coats had dark brown trim. at first I thought he meant they changed it from black to a darker black but that didn't make much sense to me. haha. not that it really matters much at this point, but do you know why they ended up changing it to black leather?

Peppermill · August 2013

They don't make wool anymore? What happened to all the sheeps? Turned into kebab?

richmenstoys · August 2013

)

Peppermill wrote:

They don't make wool anymore? What happened to all the sheeps? Turned into kebab?

The Bond Experience · August 2013

Smalls and XXLs sold out thanks to AJB members!

alove189 · August 2013

Dang! That was fast, I was going to pull the trigger tonight on a small.

kadd · August 2013

Now I'm stressing a bit. Was hoping to make a trip to NYC in Sept and grab one while there. Now that seems so far away with sizes selling out!

Dont really like those taxes getting it delivered to the UK

jared_nomak · August 2013

I needed a small Billy Reid but fed up with poor quality and unannounced changes, the colour was different on each batch from dark navy to faded grey, then thy change from 100% wool to 80% wool.
Think it's just a rip off now, I bought two from the first batch one was faulty and never should have been sent and two from the 2nd batch and they were a faded grey, never kept either.
Just seriously dissappointed

96mn12 · August 2013

Graham sent me two of their "new" coats, a blue and charcoal gray that's coming up shortly. I'll let you guys know how they compare against the original coats.

Asp9mm · August 2013

Have to say, I've never bitten the bullet on the B Reid as the quality of the two I've seen has been less than you'd expect for a £80 High Street brand. And both of those jackets after being worn for a few months look even worse now with piling of the fibre where it rubs, and saggy pockets. And it doesn't even have a lining

96mn12 · August 2013

I received the new blue and charcoal gray peacoats. The material is much more sturdy as expected because of the nylon. Having said that, the suppleness and flexibility or the 100% wool is lost. The new ones feel stiffer, they don't bead (water) as nicely as with pure wool and they are not as refined. They do not feel as soft (to me at least) as the pure wool.

I am disappointed in the inclusion of the nylon, but as Graham said, its because their suppliers exhausted the wool. I also brought up the argument "well wool is wool, are there no more sheep" (paraphrasing). Short answer is, its a supply-chain management thing.

So for those of you who were lucky/patient enough to get the pure wool, kudos. You made a great decision.

The charcoal is very nice looking, has a great tone to it although it has the same shortcomings of the 80/20 blend.

Westward_Drift · August 2013

I look forward to seeing pictures of the charcoal coat, 96mn12. Please post some.

I'm of two minds about the 80/20 switch. I've seen multi-thousand dollar peacoats and topcoats use wool/poly blends so that by itself isn't an issue. Plus the fabric should be more resiliant to pilling and the threat of moths. But there is a different feel to the fabrics, and it was a rotton decision by Billy Reid to not inform everyone who ordered the coat about the change and allow for cancellation of the item.

Now the issues some have had with the quality and durability of the coats is enough to give one pause. I'm just sorry TOJ is closing up shop before bringing their admiral's peacoat to market.

96mn12 · August 2013

Westward_Drift wrote:

I look forward to seeing pictures of the charcoal coat, 96mn12. Please post some.

I'm of two minds about the 80/20 switch. I've seen multi-thousand dollar peacoats and topcoats use wool/poly blends so that by itself isn't an issue. Plus the fabric should be more resiliant to pilling and the threat of moths. But there is a different feel to the fabrics, and it was a rotton decision by Billy Reid to not inform everyone who ordered the coat about the change and allow for cancellation of the item.

Now the issues some have had with the quality and durability of the coats is enough to give one pause. I'm just sorry TOJ is closing up shop before bringing their admiral's peacoat to market.

Pics as requested

New Billy Reid coats aren't 100% wool.

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