Figure 1.--The English school blazer was not just a colorful suit jacket. The blazer had several destinctive construction characteristics that diferentiated it from a suit jacket. There were variations of course, but they were not very common.

The English school blazer was not just a colorful suit jacket. The blazer had several destinctive construction characteristics that diferentiated it from a suit jacket. There were variations of course, but they were not very common. Blazers were made with lapels. The lapels were important because a variety of pins issued by the school were pinned on here. These could be house pins or position pins like prefect, librarian, and many others. Blazers generally had three buttons, alythough we have seen some with two buttons. Some schools enforced rules about how the blazer should be worn concerning the buttons. A patch pocket was popular and provided a convenient place to sew on the school badge or crest. There tended to be two side pockets. These were also commonly patch pockets and usually unlike suits did not have flaps. Another important characteristic is the absence of a back vent. Suit jackets had these vents, but blazers did not. With the front buttons buttoned this could make for a tight fit.

Lapels

Blazers were made with lapels. The lapels could vary in width, but generally speaking school uniform garments did not vary as much as regular clothing did. The lapels were important because a variety of pins issued by the school were pinned on here. These could be house pins or posuition pins like prefect, librarian, and many others.

Buttons

Blazers generally had three buttons, although we have seen some with two buttons. Hopefully some of our British readers will tell us more about buttons. They were in the 1980s mostly plastic buttons done to match the color of the blazers. We're less sure about earlier periods. Some schools enforced rules about how the blazer should be worn concerning the buttons. Through the 1950s this was still very common. Schools tended to want the boys to button all their buttons. It was generally the view that the boys looked smarter with their buttons buttoned. While there was some lattitude here, it was virtually aequirement that the middkd button be buttoned. A reader tells us, "I recall that, in the 1950s, we were encouraged to do up all three buttons until the age of 13 and that the middle button at least was done up as an absolute requirement. Failure to do so was met with punishment. Being buttoned up like that did restrict movement and of course, in those days there were fewer opportunities to remove jackets during the course of a day at school. Anoter reader writes, "For younger children school clothes tended not to follow fashion that closely so, while teenagers might expect looser jackets and a single vent or double vents by the post-war era, the very buttoned up look for them continued. Those pictures seemed to illustrate how they were tightly fitted."

Breast Pocket

A patch pocket was popular and provided a convenient place to sew on the school badge or crest. This was a very important part of the school uniform. A breast patch pocket was virtually a requirement for a school blazer.

Side Pocktets

There tended to be two side pockets. These were also commonly patch pockets and usually unlike suits did not have flaps. Boys being boys, these pockets tended to give a lot more use than suit jackets normally do. Some boys cramed themn full of an endlessly variable asortment of items.

Back

Another important characteric of an English school blazer is the absence of a back vent. Suit jackets had these vents, but blazers did not. With the front burrons buttoned this could make for a tight fit. A reader writes, "Your recent postings about prep school blazers reminded me of how the style must have emerged. The lack of a vent at the rear would seem to be a hangover from the Edwardian era, when jackets fitted very closely round the backside and were buttoned up with numerous buttons. Whilst the blazers (like the jackets of the grey flannel suits I had at school) had only the three buttons, the hem arrangements remained."

Created: 4:53 PM 7/8/2008
Last updated: 5:22 AM 7/9/2008