From Rowing to Symbol of Female Empowerment, YSl’s Dinner Jacket in Today’s Oxy Blazer
In recent years we have seen it Boxy Blazer to star with the Alexa Chung, Kaia Gerber and Kendall Jenner to combine it with every appearance.
The modern Boxy Blazer, has a straight, unfitted back, gives the feeling of hanging loosely on the shoulders and over the decades evolved from a heavy coat to a status symbol of the 80s. Since then it has become a wardrobe staple and has been adopted by many politicians and high-status women.
Its androgynous shape has been championed by minimalist designers The Row, Demna Gvasalia, Gabriela Hearst and is the most spacious, oversized and adaptable piece in our wardrobe.
But how did the classic, strict blazer, the boxy blazer enter our lives and is firmly the connecting link between women’s and men’s wardrobes?
The origin
There are various origin stories for the blazer we’ve come to love so much. An early and dominant version states that the sturdy, elegant coat was not only intended for the military, but in Great Britain during the second half of the 1800s, rowing was a popular sport among students at Oxford and Cambridge and to keep the rowers warm during training sessions, they wore loose, flannel sports jackets.
They functioned as modern windbreaks, being the sign of belonging to a rowing team. The blazers they wore were a bright red shade of fire – hence the term ‘blazer’ comes from blaze – and refers to their bright colour.
During the 19th century, rowers began to wear their jackets outside of training, referring to them as blazers, with golf, croquet, rugby, soccer clubs wanting to adopt them in their appearance.
By 1890 all flannel, loose jackets became known as blazers and at the beginning of the 20th century they crossed the Atlantic with Yale, Harvard, Princeton students starting to prefer them.
The second version claims that the blazer originated in 1837, when the captain of HMS Blazer dressed his crew in navy-blue jackets, decorated with Royal Navy brass buttons, to welcome Queen Victoria on board. In contrast, with the third version which claims that it got its name from the blaze/stripes of the country club members’ jackets in 1870.
The Vogue report
The first appearance of the blazer in a fashion magazine was in June 1893 in Vogue with the 20th century including it in the wardrobe of the “new woman”, while it was a proposal to be worn with a shirt and a skirt.
Then, as athleisure and leisurewear became acceptable for women, blazers were briefly abandoned for cardigans and sweaters.
The need to create for women’s suit
The rise of the automobile industry, the abandonment of the corset and the First World War created the need to create the suit, which was a sign of women’s liberation and revolution with a more boyish silhouette, with tailoring serving the demand for equality in a patriarchal environment .
In addition, during World War II, women borrowed the clothes of their husbands who had gone to war, while in 1939 there was a scandal when Hollywood stars appeared in loose, masculine cuts in their clothes.
The evolution through the decades
With the end of the war, in 1947 Christian Dior will make history with the New Look (the unsurpassed mid-length blazer with the pleated skirt-“Bar suit”) and aesthetics will once again come before practicality.
In the 50’s Chanel will oppose the idea of Dior and create an elegant tweed blazer with trousers for the well-to-do and active woman of the post-war period.
In the 1960s the blazer evolved, becoming a sign of female empowerment, with Yves Saint Laurent creating the dinner jacket (the iconic black tuxedo blazer that topped the famous ‘Le Smoking’) and the British Mods and Teddy Boys movements adopting the blazer as a staple of their culture.
From 1975 onwards, the blazer caught the attention of designers, with Giorgio Armani introducing the men’s blazer for the first time in his collection, with its unstructured and sweat-wicking line – close to today’s boxy version – making it the least formal garment, but equally smart and professional. “American Gigolo” Richard Gere was declared king of the blazer in 1980 wearing Armani clothes.
In the 80’s traditional gender roles began to decline, the blazer to be reshaped, to acquire color, prints and quilts and outline the working, ambitious, elegant woman.
It wasn’t until 1990 that the blazer became established with its boxy structure and began to be combined with other pieces besides matching suit trousers.
In the 2000s it morphed into the statement unfitted piece it is today, and became popular during Christophe Decarnin’s tenure at Balmain, even paired with evening gowns.
And since there is definitely at least one in your collection, do you prefer it with a casual t-shrt and jeans or with a slip dress and heels?
Find the style that suits you below:
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Source :Skai
I am Frederick Tuttle, who works in 247 News Agency as an author and mostly cover entertainment news. I have worked in this industry for 10 years and have gained a lot of experience. I am a very hard worker and always strive to get the best out of my work. I am also very passionate about my work and always try to keep up with the latest news and trends.
