Blazers can be worn formally or casually, and come in many patterns, materials, and colors. You may prefer an understated tone like navy blue or gray. Or perhaps you’d rather dress in a bold plaid, or a bright orange like Jim Carrey’s character from the movie Dumb & Dumber. The possibilities are virtually endless today — but the first garment that was called a blazer designated a group membership and association with a certain sport in 19th-century England.
Jack Carlson, author of Rowing Blazers, discussed the sartorial history and name origin of these jackets during a 2015 speech to the National Arts Club. He spoke on the athletic qualities of the jacket’s origin, explaining, “The first blazers were meant to be worn in boats by rowers at Oxford and Cambridge … They were very loose-fitting, sort of the equivalent of a modern day windbreaker, and were meant to keep rowers warm during chilly training sessions and races on early mornings.”
These jackets were worn at various English rowing clubs, but the term “blazer” was coined in reference to those worn by members of the Lady Margaret Boat Club at St. John’s College. These particular garments were recognizable for their bright scarlet hue, and the name “blazer” was chosen for its association with fire and brilliance. Most teams had jackets in various bright shades or stripes to allow spectators to identify their favorite athletes.
The rowers took to wearing their jackets on dry land as a status symbol, much in the way of a football letterman’s jacket. Soon other athletic clubs, including those for croquet, rugby, and soccer (they would call it “football”), wanted their own jackets — and according to Carlson, by the 1890s, jackets in any color or pattern were being called blazers.
The style jumped across the pond to Ivy League schools around the turn of the 20th century, and loose-fitting flannel jackets called “blazers” were spotted all over Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Cornell campuses. The exact cut and style of blazers shift slightly with trends, but the word itself remains widely used, even as the fashion evolves.
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