Harrington jacket

James Dean from the film Rebel Without a Cause wearing a Harrington jacket.

A Harrington jacket (originally known only as a Baracuta jacket or a G9) is a lightweight, waist-length jacket made of cotton, polyester, wool or suede. Designs often incorporate traditional Fraser tartan or checkerboard-patterned lining.[1]

History

1950s Harrington jacket designed as workwear for truckers. Note the external pockets similar to an ike jacket.

The first Harrington-style jackets were made in the 1930s by the clothing company, Baracuta.[1][2] Baracuta's original design, the G9, is still in production.[3]

Elvis Presley popularized the Baracuta G9 in his 1958 movie King Creole. The jacket got the nickname "Harrington" from a character in the 1960s prime time soap opera, Peyton Place.[2] The character in question, Rodney Harrington (played by Ryan O'Neal), is often depicted in a Harrington jacket. Steve McQueen and Frank Sinatra were photographed wearing Harrington-style jackets in films and their personal lives.

The jacket became fashionable in the United Kingdom in the 1960s among mods and skinheads.[4] They enjoyed a resurgence in the late 1970s and early 1980s with skinhead and mod revivalists, as well as old and new fans of Northern soul and scooterboys. Within those subcultures, Harringtons are often worn with Fred Perry or Ben Sherman shirts.[2]

In France, HARRINGTON has been a registered trademark since 1985.[5]

In 2007, Baracuta released three special edition G9 jackets with quotes by Presley, McQueen, and Sinatra printed on the lining to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the brand.[6]

In Canada and the USA, this style and fabric type of lightweight jacket has traditionally been referred to for well over half a century by most shoppers as the quintessential "spring jacket", and it has thusly been marketed by mass retailers like K-Mart, Bi-Way, Target, Zellers, Eatons, Sears and their contemporaries as simply "the spring jacket".

References

  1. 1 2 "Harrington Jacket & Baracuta G9 Guide". Gentleman's Gazette. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Baracuta G9 Harrington : Guide to Baracuta Jackets". Atom Retro. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  3. ↑ Evans, Jonathan (25 September 2015). "One of the Most Iconic Jackets of the 20th Century Is Now Available in Leather". Esquire.
  4. ↑ D'Annibale, A. "The "Harrington" Jacket". Storify. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "Service de recherche marques" [Brand Research Service]. INPI (in French). Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  6. ↑ "Ultimate Cool: the Baracuta G9 Harrington jacket". Bond Lifestyle. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2017.

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