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Varsity Jackets
Varsity Jackets were first spotted in America in the 1950’s when kids came into their own and started breaking away from the social norm.
The premise of this type of jacket was for the high school sports to have a jacket for the players of the American football or baseball team to wear, to show they were a member of an elite group of athletes.
The sports team, high school or college that made them for their players would have the logo of the team stitched onto it.
It only seemed that ‘jocks’ would wear these types of coats to promote the sports team they played for.
In the 90’s in America they became more of a mainstream fashion item that people would wear even if they weren’t involved in any sports socials.
Now they have made their way over the Atlantic and have been spotted on celebrities in the UK.
They are a good coat to wear, but they only work with a certain sporty style. They wouldn’t be a good choice of coat to wear to a job interview in London although a duffle coat or pea coat would be. But they are very stylish and can come in many different designs.
Some high street stores and fashion designers have been found to sell their jackets for over £500, saying that they are one of the ‘best looking’ coats on the high street.
But whereas duffle and pea coats usually are trendy for certain winter and autumn seasons, it seems like the varsity jacket was purposely made for more of the spring and summers months. As mentioned before they were made for sports teams including baseball, it means they had to be light and not over heat the athlete especially when baseball is a summer sport.
One of the most popular items you can buy in America for your favourite sports team is a varsity styled jacket that has their logo incrusted on it.
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The Best Xmas Present
It comes to Christmas day and most men are eager to rip of the wrapping from their presents. They want to find an xbox or a playstation that come with many games, but sometimes they may get the shock surprise of opening up their present to find a Christmas jumper.
At Dufflecoatsuk.co.uk we love Christmas Jumpers and wear ours with pride!
But Christmas jumpers are a great way to keep the men you care about warm during this winter. Even though some may have funny designs imprinted into their wool, they are a fun item to wear to go Christmas gatherings and parties.
The style of designs you can get on a Christmas jumper may range from something that you could get away with wearing even after Christmas day and new year is over, to the outright ridiculous that only can be worn a few days leading up towards Christmas.
But these jumpers are a great way to get yourself into the Christmas spirit and spread cheer and joyousness around to everyone you come in contact with.
They should be taken with a pinch of salt, people usually wear them just to get themselves in the mood for the season of good will and love, it’s not supposed to be a fashion statement when people wear them.
Jumpers which were only noticed on people of the older generation have now been spotted on people in their younger years. It once used to be a jumper that only older people were spotted in, but as fashion dictates they sometimes take the most unconventional piece of clothing and make it into a big issue for people to go out and buy. Giving the reason to more prolific designs and styles that people can go out and buy for either them or for a loved one.
So get into Christmas cheer and wear a xmas style jumper, more importantly hone up on your acting skills just in case you open your present and you have been given one. “Ohh I’ve always wanted one of these!”
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Hooded not hoodie
Just before the 1900’s a white Christmas hit London and the UK was covered in a blanket of snow. From the highlands of Scotland, to the beaches of Portsmouth, everywhere was covered and you couldn’t spot a piece of grass for miles.
At this point came a revolutionary addition to normal coats, the hood. The hood was taken from the cape and re-styled to be place on a parka, duffle coat or jacket so it looked good and provided protection to the hair and face in the harshest of weather conditions.
Back during these times, the only hat that was worn were either flat caps, bonnet for the ladies or bowler hats, depending on your which class you belonged in. There were no beanie or woolly hats to keep your ears and head worn. Another reason why tailors placed a hood on certain coats was that it helped keep your head, ears, neck and part of your face warm as well has helping your vision during a snow fall or when it was raining.
Through the years, different coats started adding the hood and then the hooded jacket came about as fashion was moving on. During the 1990’s the hooded jumper and t-shirt were fashionable, with many people wearing a hooded jumper during the summer months as it looked trendy and was a light version of a heavy jacket.
In 2006 parliament passed a law on ‘hoodies’ which was a collective noun on youths that were misbehaving and acting against the law. Now the word ‘hoodie’ can have terrible connotations, that has created a culture where people avoid wearing their own hoods.
The reason that MP’s used the word ‘hoodie’ to describe unlawful youths was due to the common fashion, they felt that kids that wore their hoods up over their faces, used it to hide their identity whilst they were breaking the law.
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Winter Wedding Coats
It’s nearly here, the Duffle Coats UK team is getting in the spirit of things. One of the team is attending a Winter Wedding on Boxing day and was having a little trouble deciding what to wear, so we thought we would look at the best Winter Wedding Coats and other styles of coat or jacket that are suitable for weddings.
Starting with the most important person on the Wedding day, the bride. There are some incredibly beautiful coats and jackets that enhance and match the bridal gown. From fitted Victorian style which splay out from the waist area, to cropped jackets which are more favourable in the summer months but provide coverage for those who want to cover arms and show off a beautiful sweetheart neck line. Capes are very popular and offer a completely different look to a dress. One of our favourite picks for winter is a fur coat or bolero, they look so glamorous and surround the bride with soft warm fur. These are the perfect pick for the bride on a cold winter day.
There are a number of options for mens wedding coats. You can opt for the more formal look with tail coats or something a little more casual with a suit jacket.
Something that looks incredible for men is a waistcoat which can match with the colour theme of the wedding. Bridesmaid dresses can match the waistcoats and cravats worn by the men, which makes a real nice focal point.
For wedding attendees there are numerous coats and jackets for winter weddings. For women, fur coats always look very glamorous and in a simple colour can really enhance an outfit. Men can opt for smart blazers and Pea Coats. A word to the wise, it may look fantastic but a thin winter coat will not keep you warm in a cold church or when the photos are being taken!
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Its all in the name
Ever wondered where Duffle Coats got their name or why a Bikini is called so? Today the Duffle Coats UK will enlighten you.
Firstly and most importantly lets start with the Duffle Coat. Named after the town Duffel in Belgium where the heavy woollen cloth was originally produced to make overcoats for the military. The town spells its name Duffel although it is sometimes changed to Duffle when it comes to coats and bags.
Other products that lend their names to the places they were created and produced include Bayonet, from the French town Bayonne, where the sharp knives were originally made.
The Bikini is an interesting one, launched a few days after the testing of atomic bombs, it was aptly named due to the fact it looked like it had “been split like an atom”.
Another quirky name comes from a surfer who would regularly drink a mix of vodka, Galliano and orange juice, when he’d had quite enough he would go around banging on the walls of the bar in LA, hence a Harvey Wall Banger cocktail.
We love all these incredible facts and the great thing is you can find out more with a fantastic book that has been released just in time for the Festive Season. It’s called Harvey Wallbangers and Tam O’Shanters and lists all the products, places and facts about why name things a certain way and what the origins of the name are.
So if you are curious why Mount Everest is named so and how Bluetooth came about, invest in this fantastic book.
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A new dawn for Duffle
A new line of Duffle coats is soon to be released. These coats are specially made to keep women warm and protected whatever the occasion. The collections of new duffle coats are set to hit the fashion market in early January ready for when the New Year’s sales begin.
The mantra for these styles of duffle coats is that ‘excellent fit is important’, making sure that their plus size coats for plus size women always make them feel comfortable and secure about how they look, they have been fitting on real women to take any concerns so they can modify the duffle coat to make them feel more flattered in what they’re wearing. With two pockets located underneath the hips, they have a slimming effect as it draws attention to the hips and creates and hour-glass shape of the wearer.
Available in sizes ranging from 14-32, the new range is available in different styles of red, printed and camel colours as well as the traditional black and grey. If you are a girl who likes to make an entrance, a red shaded coat is the best for you to choose.
There is also a hooded faux fur duffle coat that you can purchase in this new collection. All of these coats are created to make women look luxurious and feel great, in whatever clothing they might be wearing. All of the different makes of duffle coats can be made to look fabulous on any person, by modifying what you wear with it, they never seem to juxtapose and contradict any other piece of clothing as they work well with everything.
If you are looking for warm garment after the Christmas spell and through the new year, duffle coats are the best way to keep warm throughout the winter season heading into spring.
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The Muppets Revival
Recently, an influx of The Muppets and Sesame Street has influenced fashion designers to make coats, jackets, shoes and dresses, which have been paraded on the cat walk.
Many of the fur coats have been re-styled in the fashion of the cookie monster, along with Kermit the frog and many other popular characters.
Lady Gaga was actually interview whilst wearing a Kermit the Frog styled dress, that had the interviewer and camera men bewildered, although it’s the kind of this you expect when Lady Gaga is about.
With this little rush of designer clothes based on characters and puppets from these kids TV shows, you have to feel that the models are taking it with a pinch of salt. It seems cute and funny that they are usually fashioning the best dresses in Milan, but now they have been spotted wearing something that looks like the cookie monster. It makes you feel that they don’t take themselves too seriously and if they can pull the look off, you should be able to as well.
Currently the weather seems cold, I believe it could get colder the deeper we go into December and when the New Year comes around. I would love to be wearing the cookie monster coat around London and then just pop into a coffee shop, get a nice cup of hot coco and buy and cookie to eat. I’m sure people will appreciate what I was doing and possibly find it funny.
With the new Muppet movie soon to be released, I’m sure this will give a fashion boom to these styles of coats, jackets, hats, shoes and many other clothing items and accessories. Who knows, people might start turning up to movie premier in Leicester Square with an authentic Kermit dress on with a Miss Piggy styled handbag. -
Romancing the coat
Christmas is not only the time for giving, celebrating and maybe eating and drinking a little too much, but as part of the celebrations all our favourite films flood onto our screens.
Feel good movies make us feel lovely and warm, maybe a little weepy, but its weird how we aspire to the plots and characters in the films, we want what they have, and that even goes down to their wardrobes.
Take Bridget Jones for instance, this slightly clumsy but lovable character gets her man, despite having to go through hell to get him, and in the first movie when we see Colin Firth as Mark Darcy popping out to purchase a new diary for Bridget and they are stood in the snow, then he wraps his gorgeous long woolen coat around her, it makes us want to melt.
So not everyone of our men is a Mr Mark Darcy and neither are we all Bridget’s, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to go without what they have.
There are some gorgeous coats on the market.
Escape back to the Victorian period, with a gorgeous fitted Victorian style coat. These beautiful pieces tend to button right down the front of the coat and the lower skirt flares out. This can be a short cropped coat or a longer knee length or calf length versions. You could have visions of you twirling around in the snow, into the arms of your hearts desire.
Maybe its all a bit much, but the festive season is such a romantic period, and clothing can make you feel incredible, especially if you have compliments about your winter coat!
So don’t sit starring wanting to be just like Bridget, get down the shops and buy a new coat, random idea, but at least it will take your mind away from the fact we’re not all movie stars!