The True Story of the Blazer

On April 14, 1931, the Spanish Republic, commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic, was proclaimed from the balconies of Palacio de Cibeles (Madrid City Hall). King Alfonso XIII of Spain discreetly left the royal palace shortly after nightfall, taking a chauffeured automobile to Cartagena. From there, he would board a Spanish cruiser bound for Marseille and then entrain to Paris. Thus King Alfonso began his indefinite exile, but he and his wife Queen Victoria Eugenia, who was born at Balmoral Castle, frequently resided at Brown's hotel in London, just four streets away from Savile Row. Henry Poole & Co., amongst other enthroned tailoring houses, would regularly add to King Alfonso’s order ledgers, and even today Henry Poole & Co., are memorialising their immaculately dressed royal customer with the burgundy Alfonso XIII tie, a woven silk design made to complement hunting attire, a ground sport in which he would avidly partake.  

Born in Barcelona in 1920 to a wealthy Catalan family, in his youth Juan Antonio Samaranch was part of the Spanish roller hockey team that won the 1951 World Championships. Along with his business acumen, this garnered a pathway in which General Francisco Franco would in 1967 appoint him as Government Secretary for Sports. In September 1936, Franco had become the Spanish Caudillo, in a military dictatorship that would last until 1975. However, in 1969, when debilitated by illness, he decided to restore the monarchy in future and recognise Juan Carlos, grandson of Alfonso XIII, as his successor as king and head of state. Upon Franco's death in 1975, Samaranch initially believed that his political aspirations would be nullified; however, his friendship with King Juan Carlos I not only sustained his influence but it traversed into more diplomatic arenas, including stints as the first Spanish Ambassador to the Soviet Union and to Mongolia. 

Two decades earlier Samaranch had sat on the Spanish Olympic Committee, and so when he became president elect in 1980 at the 83rd IOC sessions held in Moscow, incidentally where he was stationed prior to that year’s Games in the capital, he would not only take the highest office in sport after the Games, which had been totalled by the US-led Western boycott, but the IOC was effectively bankrupt. His predecessor, Lord Killanin, drew criticism for his restricted diplomacy, and so when in 1984 the Soviet Union announced a boycott of retribution against the United States for the Los Angeles Olympics, there couldn’t really be a better steward to be tested. Following Peter Ueberroth for a last minute tour of the Los Angeles Museum Coliseum, flanked on one side by the magnificent Peristyle plaza entrance, he would sport his trademark aviators and navy single-breasted 2-button blazer featuring patch pockets, which although simple is the ultimate blazer silhouette for less formal surroundings. 

It’s hard to think of a sporting spectacle that induces such intense emotion, and reaches every corner of the globe, as the Olympic Games. Even though I wasn't alive in 1984, watching footage of the closing ceremony, where South Korean athletes walked along the track wearing pale blue blazers paired with white trousers and burgundy ties and carried banners reading 'Bravo L.A. Olympics' and 'See You Again in Seoul 1988', filled me with a sense of hope and joy. On September 17, 1988, Samaranch, now dressed in a dark navy double-breasted blazer with gold brass buttons in a 6x2 arrangement and flap pockets, paired with dark grey trousers that, when delivering a speech in the Jamsil Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Seoul Olympics, impart the right formality for an occasion of such magnitude, and would set the template for arguably the most exhilarating games on the track. 

Yves Saint Laurent was an iconoclastic designer, and he was a known proponent for women wearing the blazer for its unparalleled functional attributes. For Seoul 1988, Infanta Christina, the daughter of King Juan Carlos I, was the Royal flag-bearer for Spain, and during the ceremony she sported a baby blue blazer, skirt, loafers and a panama hat, and looked totally at ease. Christina was part of the Spanish sailing team, a position her brother Prince Filipe would take in 1992.  Since 1900, Spanish athletes had earned 26 medals at 16 summer Olympic games. Then, in 1992, at the Barcelona Olympics, thanks in large part to its chimerical president Samaranch, who donned a navy double-breasted blazer during his speech at the opening ceremony, Spanish athletes not only shattered the previous woeful record with 13 gold, 7 silver and 2 bronze medals, but they also transformed the political landscape to an unlikely yet positive space.   

A known client of Camisería Burgos, the heritage shirtmakers based in Madrid, it was then Prince, now King Felipe VI who would be the flagbearer for the team and would light up the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc, leading the team in a navy single-breasted 2-button blazer featuring an embroidered Barcelona Olympic crest on the chest pocket. And when combined with cream pants emanating the famed Armani 1980s fluid silhouette, the black loafers, white shirt, and accompanied with the red and yellow striped tie and panama hat, it blended beautifully with the women who followed wearing red blazers and red and yellow skirts and, to top it off, they were waving the panama hats to the audience as they walked by.

But back in Seoul, the 100-metre race for both men and women was the most eagerly anticipated event. Not only had the Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson broken the world record in Rome the previous year, and American Florence Griffith Joyner earlier in 1988, but they were both eye-catchingly stylish on the track. It's impossible not to delve deeper into Flo-Jo's free-spirited personality and mercurial dress sense. Remarkably, her world records for the 100m and 200m still stand today, but in setting them, she galvanised the image of the sport and left a mark on how to live life. Her lustrous, one-legged leotards, which she called 'athletic negligees' and designed herself, as well as the patriotic red and white patterned hooded speed skating suit she wore in Seoul, were only amplified by her vibrant six and a half-inch acrylic nails, sensuous make-up, and flowing hair. It was the 1980s, when pastel colours were the verve, and you also had the eventual winner and record holder Carl Lewis sporting a flattop haircut, and then there was the outspoken yet cool British sprinter Linford Christie, who himself at award functions wasn’t averse to sporting a navy high three-button stance blazer. 

Even though Prince Albert of Monaco's 2-button red blazer at this summer's Olympics in Paris emphasised the blazer's significance to the Games, the garment's origins don't directly stem from the Pierre de Coubertin-founded event. In 1825, twelve members of St. John's College founded the first college boat club in Cambridge, naming it the Lady Margaret Club in honour of the eponymous benefactor. The members wore red flannel jackets in regattas, and because the red cloth was bright and distinctive, they were said to 'blaze'. But it would take until 1889 for the term to be officially mooted to describe a jacket, and it was found in an article in the London Daily News. However, as with other origin stories, the blazer’s isn’t confined to one tale. In 1837, the captain of H.M.S. Blazer outfitted his crew in navy blue, double-breasted jackets, adorned with distinctive Royal Navy brass buttons, to greet Queen Victoria, who was visiting to inspect the vessel. It is worth pointing out that in those days standard uniforms for sailors in the Royal Navy didn’t exist; they only became standardised in 1857. It's also possible that the "blazes," or stripes, on country club jackets in the 1870s gave rise to the jacket's name. 

Whatever its true origin, the term has extended beyond the sea to the shore, where it has become synonymous with a host of sports clubs, notably rowing, golf, cricket tennis and equestrian. For nearly two decades, Ralph Lauren has been the official outfitter of the Wimbledon Championships, in partnership with the All England Lawn Tennis Club. For two weeks in July the umpires, ball girls and ball boys will all be sporting the navy blue blazers with the Wimbledon’s logo. In 2021 The Duke of Kent stepped down as the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club after more than 50 years. During that time his brother Prince Michael of Kent has been a regular supporter, and always dressed immaculately, especially in a dark navy double-breasted 6x2 button blazer.

In addition to being adopted by different sports, the colourways have expanded. For golf enthusiasts, without a doubt the green jacket presented at Augusta National Golf Club for the winner of the Masters is the most esteemed memento. It is effectively a blazer and is a single-breasted, 2-button, single-vented design, featuring flap pockets and decorated with gold brass buttons and the crest of the PGA golf logo.

Last month at the Paris Olympics, Tom George and Oliver Wynne-Griffith won a silver medal in the rowing pairs for Great Britain. It is true that every competitor on the podium has their own fascinating story, but if examining the result with a sartorial lens, it does unearth an interesting trail of the boating blazer or rowing blazers, the latter also being the name of the popular clothing brand created by the former USA national team oarsman Jack Carlson, whose designs can be seen in features in The Rake magazine. In 1931, The Cambridge University rowing crew were pictured wearing a beige single-breasted 3-button blazer featuring two hip patch pockets and one breast patch pocket, and it was ventless and trimmed with the club colours. Aside from a crest, the design is a classic example of a boating blazer. Standing in the middle, but behind the cox, was Harold Rickett who competed in the following year’s Olympics in Los Angeles. Rickett, a stylish man, and incidentally the great- grandfather of  Wynne-Griffith, later held the post of chairman of the heralded Henley Royal Regatta, which is marginally younger than The Boat Race and is undoubtedly the epicentre to witness the upper-echelon’s versions of the boating blazer. 

Nowadays, it's quite uncommon to see people wearing boater hats, but Henley offers an abundance of stunning designs. If you're considering investing, Lock & Co. and Hat of Cain should be your first ports of call. Returning to blazers, you'll notice a variety of styles, particularly the striped designs. They should always cover your seat, and are usually made of cotton, linen, or occasionally woollen. If you require custom-made solid brass buttons, you should not hesitate to enquire with Tyler & Tyler of Birmingham, who have crafted exquisite buttons since 1969. Adopted by preppies and mods, the latter by which Oasis are influenced, it’s a poignant moment to mention that Liam Gallagher has been seen rocking a navy, red and white striped boating blazer from Pretty Green Black Label!

But reverting back to the sea, it wouldn’t be right to delve into the blazer’s association with the Royal Navy without citing Lord Mountbatten and Prince Philip. Lord Mountbatten was Philip's maternal uncle, and when in service, they relished sporting the uniform, which often included a blazer. Military designs are usually much more structured and crisp. During Prince Philip’s honeymoon with the Queen, they stayed at his army residence, the magnificent Villa Guardamangia in Malta, and he would often sport full naval uniform which was a fantastic example of the naval blazer construction. 

It is true that the history of this humble garment is vast; however, if you were to narrow down the ultimate portrayal, it would be Prince Philip. The dark navy double-breasted 8-button, ventless, jetted pocket blazer was consistently paired with a white shirt, a regimental tie, a pocket square, and a darker shade of grey trousers with turn-ups, was concluded by a pair of brown loafers, probably made by John Lobb. 

The most classic fabrics for the blazer is serge and hopsack, however for more tropical weather fresco and linen is used. For the latter mentioned cloth, it’s best to turn to the Neapolitan school of tailoring where blazers can arrive completely unstructured. 

From Michael Caine sporting a navy worsted serge double-breasted blazer in Alfie (1966) to the red blazer worn by the Japanese team at the opening ceremony of the 1964 Olympics held in Tokyo, there’s not a garment that has transcended such a wide range of cultures as the blazer, and it’s unlikely it will ever be defeated.