Make no mistake about it, all Preppies have at least one in their wardrobe.
The blazer itself is generally distinguised from a sports jacket as a more formal garment and tailored from solid color fabrics. Blazers are often made with naval-style metal buttons, reflecting their historic boating club association, but this is not a defining feature.
Let's face it. We here in America owe much of our classic threads to our brethren across Ye Old Pond; and the blazer is no exception. The sartorial term blazer originated with the red 'blazers' of the Lady Margaret Boat Club (1825), the rowing club of St. John's College, Cambridge. The Lady Margaret club jackets were termed blazers because of the bright red cloth; the term survived the original red coat.
The blazer is the most common jacket in England. Blazers are worn as part of school uniform by many schools across the Commonwealth, and in a wide range of colours is still daily wear for most uniformed pupils in Britain and Australia.
These are blazers in the traditional sense, single breasted often of bright colours or with piping. This style is also worn by some boat clubs, such as those in Cambridge or Oxford, with the piped version only on special occasions such as a boat club dinner. In this case, the piping is in college colours, and college buttons are worn.
This is the style that was adopted by many American Institutions, without the piping of course.
Blazers, once commonly worn playing or attending traditional 'gentlemen's sports', persist in only some games now, such as occasional use by tennis players, or cricket, where in professional matches, such as international test matches, it is considered customary for the captain to wear a blazer with the team's logo or national coat of arms on the breast pocket, at least during the coin toss at the beginning of the match.
Two sporting events where blazers signify victory are the Congressional Cup Regatta at the Long Beach Yacht Club, and the Masters Golf tournament, held in Augusta, Georgia.
The former event awards a crimson blazer to the winner of several flights of match race sailing of the highest international caliber, while the latter awards a green blazer to the top masters golfer in the USA.
Why is the blazer so important to the Prep? It is simple, the blazer IS tradition. It is dignified. It is the garment of our grandparents, parents, offsprings and friends. In that sense the blazer is very much our honor.
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