Contemporary British-Made Men's Blazers, Sports Coats & Jackets — Voted by the Community

Blazers, tailored jackets and sports coats grew out of British sporting and country clothing. The word "blazer" comes from rowing at Cambridge. The Lady Margaret Boat Club, the rowing club of St John's College, was founded in 1825, and its members wore bright red flannel jackets that became known as blazers, from the way the colour seemed to blaze. By 1889 a London writer noted that the word had spread to coloured flannel jackets worn for cricket, tennis, boating and the seaside. A popular story links the name to the crew of HMS Blazer in 1837, but contemporary sources do not support it. The sports jacket has roots in country pursuits such as shooting. The best-known early example is the Norfolk jacket, a belted tweed jacket with box pleats that let the wearer raise his arms freely. According to the V&A, the style was first worn by volunteer rifle corps in 1859 and 1860 and adapted for shooting during the 1860s. By the 1870s and 1880s it was acceptable for any outdoor exercise. Over the twentieth century, blazers and sports coats moved from club and country wear into everyday menswear.