Just like many men's clothing retailers use the term sports jacket, suit jacket and blazers interchangeably, even many men, do use these terms reciprocatively. As a result, the rationale, linking all these three classic menswear ends up being a great mystery. Here in this article, we will be discussing about the history of sports jacket and how people perceived the velvet sports jacket together with some interesting details that will add up to the fashion detail of the coat.

Sports jacket history

A new type of jacket was designed during the primitive days specifically for men who were occupied in active pursuits. Over time, it has received great recognition. Coined as the Norfolk jacket, it was easily identifiable because of the variety of the fabric and build. Made from a material that's very thick, it was distinctive from all others, having a belt with a fastening buckle around the waist area, the main reason that provision was to elevate the comfort zone of men taking part in the sport of shooting.

Not until the 1920's, the sports jacket we now know it came to be, not considering the belt and buckle around the centre bout area; it had many resemblance to the Norfolk jacket. Initially, these jackets were viewed as a lavish item in a gentleman's wardrobe, over a period of time, it became common as clothing was more affordable and it was used as a staple of sharp and casual style.

As aforesaid, people interchangeably use the terms sports jacket, suit jacket and blazers which has led to the confusion of querying whether they are same! And it comes as no surprise that all are different, so what sets sports jacket to one side? Made available in a wide variety of patterns and colors, in general, they are distinguished by their looser fit, moreover they aren't as formal and structured as blazers or suit jackets. Logically speaking, compared to other jackets, a sports jacket should allow you to layer a pullover beneath and perhaps slot in, more jagged pursuits to some fair extent. Serving some functional purpose, it did have some elbow patches on the arms, as well as a slit and pleats in the back. This was because; the patches sheltered the elbows from becoming worn out, on the other hand, the sporting gentleman tramped through the landscape, while the pleats acted as a provision for greater mobility. However, today they no longer serve that purpose, but it is considered as style statements.

How to identify a sports jacket easily?

The material of the jacket acts as the identification tag, made out by its thick use of material, they are much thicker when compared to all other jacket types, despite only light weight material is used. The main reason for the thick material is because; it helped the wearer to protect from the harsh external elements, given that, only men engaged in active pursuits like hunting and shooting used these jackets. However, this is not the case anymore, fashion hipsters prefer sports jackets.

What to pair with?

There is nothing as versatile as a sports jacket, they go well with almost all casual trousers, be it jeans or the one that's made from corduroy, moleskin, and the eternally trendy grey flannel. With Italian design evolution, these jackets are available in a much more lightweight form than it used to be.

Material used for the coat can partly cover the blazer while having some common characteristics, including suit jackets. Nevertheless, there are a lot of things that are exclusive and have distinctive patterns.

Velvet:

Offshoot of its name the sports jacket was the attire worn by a sporting man, in the beginning. The importance of having a sport jacket in the wardrobe was greatly identified by people and then they started to bring it out by coming up with different designs and lately, even velvet sport jackets were made available by several manufacturers. Talking about the material of velvet, it will feature a great classy look, the best part about the coat is that they can be worn anywhere, including office to a night out.

Even though, they are not completely different from each other, each of the jackets offers enough subtle differences to set them to one side. Depending on the need and the occasion, you can opt for these jackets. With that said, there is no one jacket that is better than the other, each has its own advantages that will help you look smart and sharp depending on the atmosphere you are in.

Available in a variety of patterns, colors and fabric types, velvet sports jackets are something that will best display your stylish guise. With all that said, when you are heading out to purchase the sport jacket, make sure that you know the difference between these three iconic jacket types, for the reason that, they can have a place in your wardrobe meaningfully.