THE TIMELESS SERIES – EDITION ONE
a moment of appreciation for double breasted jackets
The year is 2022 and double-breasted jackets are having another moment in men’s fashion.
I, for one, am not complaining.
I love the item defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “a jacket which has two sets of buttons and two wide parts at the front, one of which covers the others when the button is fastened”.
I’ve always had a special affinity for double-breasted jackets, even though I live in Australia where their elegance and versatility is sadly underestimated and underutilised.
Nonetheless, I find them indispensable because of their ability to elevate a look.
It doesn’t matter if you’re heading to a formal affair or a friend’s wedding, a double-breasted jacket just works.
But that wasn’t always the case.
The story behind double-breasted jackets stretches back over 100 years, during which they’ve experienced peaks and troughs in popularity.
Originally, in the early 1900’s, they were casual attire.
Worn at sports events or in the countryside, the Duke of Windsor played a major role in formalising double-breasted jackets by wearing them to official engagements.
And just like when today’s Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton dazzles in a new outfit, the garment soon caught on with members of high society and those with aristocratic lineage.
Yet over the subsequent decades, double-breasted jackets managed to fall out of favour as single-breasted jackets gained universal fanfare.
Some attribute the decline in admiration to the fact that they were oversized, incorporated large peak lapels and were worn in conjunction with wide-leg trousers.
However, with modern fashion paying a particular emphasis on tailoring so that clothes are perfectly fitted, the resurgence of the double-breasted jacket couldn’t be more noticeable.
From trendy blogs to the red carpet, David Beckham to Idris Elba, they’re all the rage again.
Long may it continue.
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