Jackets Come In A lot Of Styles

Eight Categories of Jacket

I came up with my own definition of the word jacket after reading various web sites including dictionaries and wikipedia: A jacket is an item of clothing worn on the upper area body. A jacket is generally hip or waist length and the jacket generally is sleeved. Jackets can be confused with coats but note that in general a coat is longer - an example is the 'coat like' three quarter length jacket worn by Neo in the Matrix.

Different types of jacket can be grouped into different categories:

- Stylish jackets

- Jackets that are for safety

Vogue Jackets

Blazer

The blazer has a resemblance to the jacket component of a suit. Typically blazers include metallic front and cuff buttons and a breast pocket. So it is quite often worn as smart casual wear. In style and cut the boating jacket and sporting jacket are similar to the blazer. All the same the blazer tends to be of a more traditional color, 'navy' for example is a popular blazer color, as is black. Blazers are typically used as the basis of a uniform, e.g. for school kids and airline stewards or as part of the attire for a club.

Leather Jackets

Leather jackets were to become specially fashionable immediately after World War Two. The 'bomber jacket' style, so called due to the fact it was worn by the pilots of bomber airplanes, was particularly fashionable. The leather jacket has always been associated with rebellion. Actors such as James Dean and Marlon Brando re-enforced this feeling. Nonetheless, although leather jackets remain identifiable with rock-and-roll and motorbikers, they are a significant aspect of popular fashion. A present day example of this jacket type is the Superdry leather jacket.

Denim Jackets

The word 'denim' comes from the phrase 'serge de Nimes'. 'Serge' is a cloth and was initially cultivated in the Nimes region of France. So 'serge de nimes' grew to become 'denim'. Denim had a similar fashion route to leather: Initially denim was practical, worn by those who worked in challenging environments. Later it became incorporated into fashion lines and became hugely fashionable in the 1960s and 1970s.

Many well known design brands create jackets, for example Wrangler, Nike, G Star and Lacoste. G Star jackets are a relative newcomer in contrast to the other better established players. However the lacoste jacket uk is much better known.

Jackets That Offer Protection

The Donkey Jacket

From Wikipedia: "A Donkey jacket is a short buttoned coat, typically made of unlined black or dark blue woolen material; originally worn as a work jacket in the United Kingdom. It is derived from the wool sack coat worn by workers in the 19th century, and the OED references the term as first used in 1929: "one with leather shoulders and back".

Flak Jacket

'Flak' describes the debrie from bombs, i.e. shards of metal. A 'flak jacket' protects the wearer from flak. It does this by having a lining of strong protective material such as steel or titanium. These types of jackets are worn by soldiers and police forces in the majority of countries. In this scenario they defend the wearer from weapons, knives, bullets etc.

The Chef Jacket

Not only is the white chef jacket particularly recognisable, it is also very protective and highly practical. For example the chef can quickly hide stains by instantly turning it inside out!

Other Jackets

An example of a jacket which does not readily fit the categories above is the Eisenhower Jacket, or 'Ike jacket'. Its blouson layout was purposely designed to create a very strong statement in order to individualize its wearer.

Athletic shoes - Our Short Historic Review

A Fast paced Historic Review of Trainers

This article presents a time-line pertaining to the creation and background of training shoes.

The difference between what we see today, for example the Lacoste womens trainer and the shoes we saw in the past is huge. However it has take a lot of time to arrive at where we are today.

Trainers are a physical games footwear which are these days additionally worn as a clothing fashion accessory. The word used to describe them will certainly vary from country to country, e.g.

• Trainers - The UK


• Gym boots - Australia


• Running shoes - Canada and Australia


• Tennis shoes and sneakers - USA, Australia


• Gym shoes - Australia, South Africa

The birth-date of the trainer can be tracked to 1850s and the development of vulcunised rubber. This furnished the raw material used in the soul of the shoe.

The milestones from the history of the training shoe are as follows:

1890s - The company which went on to become Reebok was formed in England by J.W.Foster & Sons.

1900 - 1909 - Sports shoes developed for basketball teams by the Spalding company.

1917 - The development of the Converse All Stars Basketball shoe. German Adi Dassler forms Adidas after World War One.

The 1920-30s period - The decade after the World War One period saw a massive development in the marketing of sports shoes.

1936 - Spring Court a French company, announces a tennis shoe with eight ventilation holes.

Post World War Two - Puma is formed by Rudi Dassler, the brother of Adidas founder Adi, after a family feud.

1960s - Japanese sports sneakers are imported into the US by the Nike company founders. Adidas sells the first all-leather tennis shoe in 1964. The Puma suede trainer is unveiled in 1968.

1970s - Marketing pushes the development of sneakers into many niche categories. Shoes for individual sports activities are highly focused..

1980s - Sneakers are entrenched as an every-day item of relaxed clothing. Enormous brand names are established including Nike and Reebok. Specific markets develop, lacoste kids trainers, lacoste womens trainers and lacoste mens trainers.

A Very Brief Guide of Women's Clothes From the Beginning to the mid-Twentieth Century

There have been radical changes in design over the last 100 years. Styles, the materials available and vastly lowered production costs have all made their impact. Modern womens labels such as G Star womens clothes would have been unthinkable in say 1920.

1900 was the period of long dresses that covered the legs.

The Hobble Skirt arrived in 1910. When looking at the Hobble Skirt it is easy to see why it had that name - it was very difficult to walk in.

A milestone occurred in 1913 when Mary Crosby invented a support for breasts. It was made from two handkerchiefs laced with ribbon. It was the world's first bra.

1915 saw the earliest turn of a lipstick tube.

The length of womens' knickers shortened during the 1920s, making their way steadily from below to above the knee.

The 1920s witnessed a change in fashion from a feminine look toward a somewhat boy-like designs around the middle of the decade. The leather alternate vinyl was developed in 1924 and integrated into styles and designs.

A more feminine and somewhat conservative look returned in the 1930s.

It was during the 1930s that Nylon was invented by Wallace Carothers. This {brought new design ideas|enabled a whole range of new clothing ideas.
Nylon was invented in the mid-1930, making new styles more availablebringing new design ideas.

Skirts were to become shorter through World War 2 since, well, material for clothing was not available: textiles, just like everything else including food was rationed.

A fresh wave of design occurred during the second half of the 1940s. 1946 saw the arrival of the bikini. The hour glass figure was squeezed into our consciousness in 1947.

In 1946 the bikini was revealed to the world. In 1947 the 'New Look' from Christian Dior was launched bringing long skirts and narrow waists - the hour glass figure had been born. The post-war 1940s years were a time of fashion invention.

The 1950s saw the introduction of fuller, longer skirts and an over-all more feminine look.

The 1960s were a mix of many styles but Mary Quant's mini skirt is a particular icon.

A Brief History of the Sweatshirt

The sweatshirt (or simply 'sweat') was invented by Benjamin Russell in 1926. The Russel Corporation was founded in Alabama in 1902. The business started life by producing undergarments for men and women.

The founder of the company, Benjamin Russell had a son, Bertie, who liked playing football and who in time played for the Alabama University team. Bertie complained to his father about the lack of comfort of the woolen football jerseys worn by players of the time.

Bertie came-up with the idea of using the underwear garment material as football shirts. Being familiar with the garments made at his father's factory Bertie told his father that this would make excellent football shirts. Benjamin decided to give it a go and history was in the making.

Football players loved the new material - it had many benefits for them, not least of which was comfort. Bertie sold the concept to other clubs and the new shirts quickly became very popular.

The firm increased production and moved into new markets selling the product to baseball teams and athletics organisations.

{The Russell company graduallybecame the established shirt company by forming Russell Athletic in 1932.|This success led to Russell to form Russell Athletic, an athletics association in 1932 which established the Russell brand in a wide range of sports markets.

The sweatshirt stepped beyond the world of track teams and baseball clubs establishing itself as an ubiquitous high-street clothing item with attention from major design labels such as G Star Sweat.