Traditional smoking has fallen out of favor.
The increased taxation on tobacco as the government seeks to gouge smokers have kept most away for financial reasons.
Which should mean the end of the smoking jacket, but the opposite is true.
via retrospectivemodernism.wordpress.com
Even as cigarettes are being maligned, cigars and marijuana smoking are rapidly increasing.
Thats why weve compiled this easy guide to wearing a smoking jacket.
Origin Story of The Smoking Jacket
The naval trade boom of the 1600s shrank the world.
Everyone wanted to be continental, or at least seem so at home.
The advent of mass production, automation, and the assembly line during the industrial revolution helped change that.
Dripping with wealth and women, Hefs ever-present pajamas and signature jacket became the standard to which men aspired.
The combination of availability and a middle-class Renaissance turned jackets into household items.
Theyre often used as costuming, worn more for amusement than any real utility.
They refer to a tuxedo jacket as a Smoking jacket, and the two are indistinguishable from one another.
For anyone hoping to buy a well-made jacket, looking overseas is often the best path.
France, naturally, has many premier brands that can provide.
Smoking Jacket Design
The smoking jacket is much like art.
Pure smoking jackets are made of velvet and have a quilted satin collar and lapels draping down the front.
Theyre made with little structure, operating like a robe or gown, and draping over your frame.
This is because its expected that you already be wearing your structured clothing underneath.
Putting a rigid jacket over another is a terrible faux pas.
The point is to protect what is underneath, so they are intended to be oversized and blousy.
Again, its a matter of covering your clothes, letting the jacket itself do the talking.
The simplest answer is: These are meant to protect your clothes and keep you comfortable.
So, if those are things youre trying to do, put it on.
