![]() ![]() A Baracuta Harrington jacket is at its best in a simple, timeless color, like stone or navy. It’s the original, thus it’s hard to beat. Unsurprisingly, later Baracuta would issue special editions of the jackets worn by the three men who helped make their jacket a wardrobe staple. In 1963, McQueen appeared on the cover of Life, then one of the world’s biggest magazines. Elvis Presley wore a Harrington jacket in King Creole (1958) and on the cover of 1968’s ‘A Little Less Conversation’ sleeve Frank Sinatra wore one in Assault on a Queen (1966) and many other movies.īut, arguably, it was Steve McQueen who put the Harrington jacket on the global stage. The style was first exported in 1950 to America, where imitators quickly produced more local versions. Before then – and to aficionados now – what became a generic style was known as the G9, the model code British garment manufacturers John and Isaac Miller gave to the jacket when they first launched it under the Baracuta brand in 1937. ![]() Indeed, this perhaps suggests that the Harrington’s origins are British, despite coming to be nicknamed after an American: Rodney Harrington, a character played by Ryan O’Neal in 1960s TV drama Peyton Place, who also favored the style. But they both appreciated the simplicity of a garment still replete with useful detailing: lightweight, waterproof, comfortable, and able to be dressed up or down. But it was also the very same style of jacket that was favored by the original skinheads – back before Neo-Nazis co-opted what was an iconic Ska-loving style tribe.ĭean wore his collar turned up and zipped just at the waist – it’s all attitude the skinheads sometimes wore theirs inside out, showing off the traditional tartan checked lining. It was the kind of thing being worn – in bright red – by James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause. Quiz time: what has 1950s Americana and 1970s British inner city life got in common? The Harrington jacket. What is a Harrington Jacket? A Brief HistoryĪ Harrington jacket is a generous, cropped, raglan-sleeved blouson, with a couple of slanted slit or flap pockets, knitted cuffs, fabric side-adjusters, zip-fastening with a double-button, funnel-neck tab collar. Just as easy to wear now as it was then, a Harrington jacket is lightweight, adaptable and suits a range of body types and personal styles – plus, it may just be the ultimate trans-seasonal piece of outerwear, one of the few cool jackets you can wear year round. That will explain why Harrington jackets became a staple of not one but four seminal style cultures, and why the latest versions still look as fresh as the first one did more than 80 years ago. ![]() Once a Harrington jacket is on, it almost always wins a new fan – for its carefully considered detailing, its simplicity, versatility and, let’s face it, for its super cool. Never mind even that Steve McQueen wore one. Never mind that it’s not much to look at on a hanger. ![]()
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