Figure 1.--Here we see two brothers about 7-12 years old with their parents. They are standing in front of their home, probably the one on the left. Tge biys are weasring leather jackets, probably about 1930. These are longer than thevleather jackets I recall perhaops two decades later. his is because the waist-length World War II jackets had become standard. We do not know what they were called at the time.

Americans commonly use the terms 'coat' and 'jacket' interchangably. One defitition of coat is, "an outer garment worn outdoors, having sleeves and typically extending below the hips: a winter coat." A definition of jacket is, "A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves, and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which is outerwear." while the terms are commonly used interchangable especially when used for a suit coat/jacket. Here both fashions nd perceotions have changed over time. For example, a jacket hss been seen as aighter garment, but in recent years were see ski jackers which are not light garments. Formality is another matter. Clothing has become much more informal. Children no longer wear overcoats, meaning long, formal coats. we are going to use the destintion that coatswere liber nd more forml and tht jsckets re shorter and more informal.

Created: 4:16 AM 9/18/2022
Last updated: 4:16 AM 9/18/2022