Prep Essentials: Navy Blue Blazer

This is the first post in a series I'm planning on doing entitled "Prep Essentials." The gist of the idea is to take a look at something that is essential to prepdom.

The blazer starts out as a prep staple early on: it is the standard uniform for pretty much all prep boarding schools--with the exception of those bohemian ones, but that's a different post for a different day. After prep school, the blazer remains a staple, as many preppies join fraternities in college, and the blazer becomes the standard uniform for formal functions, composite pictures, and--if you're in the SEC--football games. While most people are familiar with the uses of blazers today, the history of the blazer is not so well-known. At least, it wasn't to me. So, after a quick Wikipedia search (that counts as citing a source, right?), I am able to pass on a brief history of the blazer to you.

The term 'blazer' started with the 'red blazers' of the Lady Margaret Boat Club, which was the rowing club of St. John's College in Cambridge, in 1825. The jackets were termed blazers because of their bright red cloth. Other sources report that crew members of the HMS Blazer wore striped navy and white jackets as part of their uniform in the Royal Navy.

Looking at the origins of the blazer it becomes very obvious as to why this uniform was adopted into the prep world. Sailing and crew are both preppy past times so it only makes sense that the uniform of sailors and rowers would show up in the uniform of preps later on.

Blazers now are usually of a solid color, and quite often have naval-style metal buttons, which reflect the jacket's origins in boating clubs.

If you don't already have a blazer, or your prep school blazer has become too small for you--go get one. While Blazers from Brooks Brothers and Vineyard Vines may run around $500, it is possible to find a nice, well-fitting blazer for around $100. I recommend you check out Men's Wearhouse for that, as they offer free tailoring with your purchase.