If there’s one item of clothing that seems eternally popular it’s the jacket. Be it a little Chanel or Dior tailored number, an unstructured linen cover up, the hip biker jacket or of course, denim – which isn’t limited to the blue variety these days. Both Jode’s and Vicki have a weakness for a funky jacket, so you will always find a good selection here in eclectica.
The right jacket can make your look – change the entire feel of your outfit from a simple, casual jeans and Tee day to ultra stylish & cool. You can get so much more from the clothes in your closet with just one or two key jackets or coats! Summer floaty skirts can be worn through to cooler days when paired the right jacket and over a dress during a church wedding, a jacket or coat can stop you from freezing brass monkeys on an English summer’s day!
Desigual Denim Embroidered Trucker Jacket
We’re still wearing jackets for the same practical reasons we always did and have so much freedom and choice nowadays in terms of style and fabric. Just think how many different jacket fashions there have been in just the last recent few years…Barbour, Puffa, Parka, Sports/Ski, Blazer, Donkey!
Mousqueton Hiliz Button Canvas Jacket
Guys have worn jackets since…well, ages and ages ago and the suit – of trousers and jacket was traditionally a male outfit. Interestingly, especially as we’re celebrating 100 years of women’s emancipation; in 1910, the American Ladies’ Tailors’ Association came up with the ‘Suffragette Suit‘. This was a skirt & jacket two piece designed in response to the hobble skirt – a skirt so tightly hemmed at the the ankles women couldn’t step properly. The jacket allowed more natural movement and was designed to combat legislation which was trying to enforce the wearing of corsets.
In 1925, Coco Chanel‘s menswear inspired cardigan style jacket was again styled to pooh-pooh corset wear & allow a more natural freedom of movement and in 1932, French designer, Marcel Rochas came up with a women’s pantsuit.
Women were wearing the trousers now (quite literally) both socially and in the ever growing female inhabited workplace.
Graphic from: UNC: Kenan-Flagler Business School
Things went back to basics with the Wartime Silhouette, military inspired styling and fabrics in the 1940s, where affordability & practicality became paramount for the vast majority of women. Thankfully, the war (& austerity) didn’t last forever and in 1947 Christian Dior came up with the ‘New Look’. A Bar Suit, styled with a fit and flare look – deliberately moving away from the gender-less military style and celebrating and accentuating women’s shape.
Fashion-wise we seem to have flitted between two poles since then: We’ve worn striped Boating Blazers, echoing back to men’s styles at the turn of the twentieth century through to 1980s Power suits – Heck! Remember those bad boys? Those shoulder pads disguised women’s figures and deliberately disguised gender – something we felt we needed in the workplace (& Dynasty!) in the Eighties…
We may feel less pressurised to ‘boot & suit’ to assert ourselves nowadays (thankfully!) and the jackets we choose to wear are chosen more likely for their aesthetic appeal and suitability for an occasion than for exhibiting our power.
We’ve selected a few jackets for the shop this season based on our fab eclecticats requests for arm cover ups, versatility and also for the sheer love of the design.
L-R: Orientique Santorini Jacket & Pink Linen Jacket
These two Orientique jackets (above) are great examples of solid, wear time-and-time again wardrobe staples. They’re simple, unstructured, unlined & lightweight. Both will serve as a more formal option with casual trousers than a cardigan and also work equally brilliantly over a dress for arm cover & protection from our erratic British Summer weather!
Whether you’re looking for a chuck-on with jeans, or something tad more snazzy for a do -that you can wear again we’ve got you covered! (puns always intended!) So come and check ’em out! Available int’shop and online: shop.eclecticaofludlow.co.uk
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