# Letterman/Varsity Jackets



## hookem12387 (Dec 29, 2009)

I'm curious what other people's takes on these are. I tend to think that they belong in HS or with ACTUAL letterman, but I do admit they can be pulled off well. I think of them as more preppy than trad, I suppose, but they still fit here, I think.


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## fiddler (Apr 19, 2010)

It's one of those things I wish I could wear. I think it's best to leave them to actual high school/college athletes. It looks particularly silly on skinny hipsters.


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## Epaminondas (Oct 19, 2009)

If you're not (a) actually in HS or college, and (b) currently on the varsity sports team that actually awarded the jacket (or allowed you to wear it) then it's just sad - makes you look like a wannabe. We gave grief to a guy who, as a freshman in college, continued to wear his HS letterman jacket (he stopped shortly thereafter). Wearing one post-collegiate is utterly ridiculous. 

Dressing like that in HS or college with a faux letterman is, at best, likely to draw deserved savage mockery (e.g., "What'd you letter in - Onanism?").

This look should be avoided unless you're acutally on a team and still in school.


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## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

I was a letterman and I have one from HS...never wear it now though. The only place I'd wear it would be to a sporting event at my old HS. Otherwise I don't think I could pull it off without looking like a poseur.


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

Disagree. I like them.


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## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

I am not saying other people cannot pull it off, I just mean that 'I' can't. To those who can...more power to you.


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## Peak and Pine (Sep 12, 2007)

But, Danny, I'm not getting it: what is there to_ pull off_?


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## hookem12387 (Dec 29, 2009)

I tend to think I'd feel like I were trying to relive HS glory days, as well. Though our all green letter jackets were comparatively hideous. I guess it's kind of moot, since I'm not buying a $400 letterjacket, but I was curious to get other people's opinions. I do think it looks great on Fred (in the picture). Maybe one day.


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## Sartre (Mar 25, 2008)

hookem12387 said:


> ...I think of them as more preppy than trad, I suppose, but they still fit here, I think.


I do not think they can be called preppy, as they were not widely worn in prep schools and were more a feature of public high schools.


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## Master-Classter (Jan 22, 2009)

I wouldn't wear one past the age of 25. But on the bright side you can start wearing stuff that you couldn't before that age, like tassled loafers. and you can adopt new phrases like "get off my lawn", plus the ever popular "I blame the rap music"


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## statboy (Sep 1, 2010)

I agree with the consensus so far. I think they're great, but just couldn't wear it myself.

Side note: I came across that picture recently on the Unabashadly Prep site. While I usually like the actual clothes/shoes shown on the site....the looks all seem too much. Feels way too trendy and unnatural.


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## MidWestTrad (Aug 14, 2010)

Haven't worn mine since high school.


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## chilton (Jul 16, 2008)

Sartre said:


> I do not think they can be called preppy, as they were not widely worn in prep schools and were more a feature of public high schools.


For prep school, it's the Boatman...


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## Starch (Jun 28, 2010)

Epaminondas' post is harsh, but right.

Yes: actual high school student (while he's still in high school); actual school; actual letter.

Beyond that, and it's questionable, at best.

Right out: anybody who's old enough to be out of college. Even worse: fictional letters and fictional schools. (With, however, the customary allowance for Hallowe'en costumes, and actors appearing in a production of "Grease" or some such falderal).

College letters on college students ... I guess. My college didn't have letter jackets in that form. I _think_ the same is true of some other colleges, but I guess not all. In any event, the standard style letter jacket screams "High School" to my eye.

It doesn't strike me as preppy, so much as middle-America-suburban-white-breadish ... which is socioeconomically in somewhat the same direction, but not the same thing.


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

Agreed.



Sartre said:


> I do not think they can be called preppy, as they were not widely worn in prep schools and were more a feature of public high schools.


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## Starch (Jun 28, 2010)

A fair number of them pop up in "Take Ivy," which I suppose makes them trad, according to some definition. It doesn't make them okay, though.


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## Epaminondas (Oct 19, 2009)

Starch said:


> College letters on college students ... I guess. My college didn't have letter jackets in that form. I _think_ the same is true of some other colleges, but I guess not all. In any event, the standard style letter jacket screams "High School" to my eye.


It's been 20 years since I graduated, but some football players at W&L back then still wore traditional styled letterman jackets. All other varsity sports (including some/most football) wore a lightly insulated nylon pullover in school colors similar in style to the Boatman above, but with a hood, I think.


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## straw sandals (Apr 14, 2010)

I've still got my old crew pullover (Rutgers Heavyweight Crew 1995-96), but I usually only wear it when I go running. I certainly wouldn't wear it with flood walkers and tasseled loafers like the gent above!


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

You can go the Japanese route with a J. Press letterman... :icon_smile_big:










On the other hand, if you're simply looking for a warm casual jacket with a stretch collar and cuffs, why not consider a tanker jacket?









(1979)









(1984)

Brooks has sold tanker knock-offs before, and you can still find U.S. made ones without too much effort.









even does one by chest size.


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## Bradford (Dec 10, 2004)

We had letter jackets at the private (parochial) high school I attended in the mid-80's but I agree, I wouldn't wear one after leaving high school.

Plus, I'd argue that letter sweaters are a lot more trad than letter jackets anyway so if you want to go for this style, why not a nice cardigan?


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## Thom Browne's Schooldays (Jul 29, 2007)

In my day (early 00s), it was considered a bit wrong to wear one while in high school.

Mostly because due to helicopter-parenting, ultra-involved kids and a rush to do as much as possible to fill a college application I think it was harder _not_ to get a letter.


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## dshell (Mar 17, 2007)

I have a letterman and I wear it... Mind you, I'm neither american nor did I attend a US high school. I like it because I'd never seen one in person before I came to the US, and the one I have seems to be well made, and the leather sleeves are super durable. I tend to swap it out with my harrington-style coat when the weather is a bit chillier and the colours add interest. 

I'll admit: it partly warms the cockles of my heart to think that my wearing it is something akin to the adoption/adaptation of English club/school stripes by Brooks Brothers.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Personally, I think I would look to be a bit of an idiot wearing a 47/48 year old varsity jacket (even if it still fit, which BTW, it does not!) but, back in the mid to late 1990's I wore and still do occasionally wear a Harley Davidson riding jacket, crafted in the varsity design. I've received a whole lot of very positive comments wearing that jacket...mostly from members of the fairer sex. For those of us enjoying perhaps the more advanced states of maturity, the fatal flaw in this situation is not wearing jackets of the varsity design but rather, in wearing jackets reflecting a long past affiliation with a high school or college!


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

When I was in high school in the mid-60's we called them school jackets and everybody wore them, not just guys with letters. They were sold in all of the local clothing stores in all of the local school colors. In addition you could have the school name on the back of the jacket, but you had to pay extra for that.

For example, here is a picture taken in 1961 of some friends and me boarding the school bus. All three of the people wearing the school jackets are 8th graders and we were wearing the jacket of the high school that we were going to attend in the coming years. Like I said, everyone had one of these jackets whether they had a letter or not. Even girls wore them as can be seen in the picture.










Cruiser


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

We had very nice HS and College Band jackets like those.

I wouldn't wear one now because I prefer to have my dupa covered and warm.


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## Peak and Pine (Sep 12, 2007)

Cruiser said:


> Cruiser


Did the bus arrive each morning with the name of the county blacked out like that and when the door closed were there eerie sounds and did it take off straight up and did the girls all shriek when it did and did you ever return? I guess you must have since you're posting.


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

What I don't understand is, why it is OK to wear a letterman-style jacket but not the real McCoy? I have two, one all black that I bought new, the other blue with yellow sleeves that I thrifted. Both coats are warm and well-made in the United States. Neither has had letters or anything else stitched on.

I think the look is classic, albeit not Ivy.



eagle2250 said:


> Personally, I think I would look to be a bit of an idiot wearing a 47/48 year old varsity jacket (even if it still fit, which BTW, it does not!) but, back in the mid to late 1990's I wore and still do occasionally wear a Harley Davidson riding jacket, crafted in the varsity design. I've received a whole lot of very positive comments wearing that jacket...mostly from members of the fairer sex. For those of us enjoying perhaps the more advanced states of maturity, the fatal flaw in this situation is not wearing jackets of the varsity design but rather, in wearing jackets reflecting a long past affiliation with a high school or college!


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## 4dgt90 (Dec 2, 2009)

I went to a college prep school in TX (not northeast elite boarding), they issued these first to the girls field hockey team and years later they got some for the guys basketball team. we also had letter jackets.



chilton said:


> For prep school, it's the Boatman...


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## Saltydog (Nov 3, 2007)

32rollandrock said:


> What I don't understand is, why it is OK to wear a letterman-style jacket but not the real McCoy? I have two, one all black that I bought new, the other blue with yellow sleeves that I thrifted. Both coats are warm and well-made in the United States. Neither has had letters or anything else stitched on.
> 
> I think the look is classic, albeit not Ivy.


Who said it was OK? Not me. Get a bomber jacket. Or, for warmer weather and you want to impress the babes, nothing says cool like Members Only. Should be on about their 5th trip through the thrift stores by now. a bit threadbare perhaps. Maybe you'll find a gold chain in the pocket to wear around your neck.


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## StevenRocks (May 24, 2005)

I had a baseball-style jacket in my teens when it was somewhat fashionable, but never a letter jacket. I wouldn't wear either now. It remids me too much of the era.


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## Pink and Green (Jul 22, 2009)

As much as a fan as I am of the preppy aesthetic, in this case, and increasingly more cases, I find Fred's look to be cartoonish.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

32rollandrock said:


> What I don't understand is, why it is OK to wear a letterman-style jacket but not the real McCoy? I have two, one all black that I bought new, the other blue with yellow sleeves that I thrifted. Both coats are warm and well-made in the United States. Neither has had letters or anything else stitched on.
> 
> I think the look is classic, albeit not Ivy.


In my case, age is the issue. A person in their 60's wearing a letterman's or varsity design jacket (or, EGAD, even my issued A2 Flight Jacket for that matter! ) looks too much like we are perhaps, desperate to cling to the memories and trappings of the days of our youth! Not a good thing...not a good thing at all.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

eagle2250 said:


> ...looks too much like we are perhaps, desperate to cling to the memories and trappings of the days of our youth! Not a good thing...not a good thing at all.


With pony tail!!


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
LOL. Ironically, an overly thoughtful(?) relation of mine gifted me with a baseball cap with a pony tail attached, several years ago!


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## C. Sharp (Dec 18, 2008)

You make a good point here. It was the same for college. I have seen college ones with wool arms the same as the body with the name of the school on the back. I have even seen this for Ivy schools of the period.



Cruiser said:


> When I was in high school in the mid-60's we called them school jackets and everybody wore them, not just guys with letters. They were sold in all of the local clothing stores in all of the local school colors. In addition you could have the school name on the back of the jacket, but you had to pay extra for that.
> 
> For example, here is a picture taken in 1961 of some friends and me boarding the school bus. All three of the people wearing the school jackets are 8th graders and we were wearing the jacket of the high school that we were going to attend in the coming years. Like I said, everyone had one of these jackets whether they had a letter or not. Even girls wore them as can be seen in the picture.
> 
> ...


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Peak and Pine said:


> Did the bus arrive each morning with the name of the county blacked out like that


No, it was like that in the afternoon after we vandalized it that morning. As you can see we respected property enough to vandalize it in a very neat manner.

Cruiser


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
LOL. Looks like severely repressed rebelliousness to me...but, perhaps better to leave any further interpretation to the 'head' docs', resident in these fora!


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## linklaw (Aug 1, 2007)

Last spring I bought a brown wool with dark tan leather sleeves varsity style jacket made by Bills Khakis. It was on the sale rack and more of an impulse buy than anything else. I wore it last fall to a couple of my son's high school football games (his school colors are blue and gold, not brown and tan) and this winter and have had several people ask where I got it (in a complimentary manner, not as in "where the h*** did you get that?"). I haven't and won't wear my high school letterman's jacket. When I threatened to wear it to my daughters' high school football game a couple of years ago (homecoming at the same high school I attended) they disapproved strongly. I did not wear it.


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## david809 (Jul 1, 2003)

I saw these at Union Made in San Francisco, and they look cool:

https://www.selectism.com/news/2010/09/23/golden-bear-for-unionmade-1950s-varsity-jackets/

I think they are subtle enough that most guys could wear, like a slightly more athletic Barracuda. Yes, the hipsters have completely embraced varsity jackets, but they are usually rocking them with skinny jeans and unlaced boots (or limited edition Nikes).


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## godan (Feb 10, 2010)

david809 said:


> https://www.selectism.com/news/2010/09/23/golden-bear-for-unionmade-1950s-varsity-jackets/


This inspired a Google search that turned up a couple whose contrast is more muted, and possibly more interesting to anyone beyond typical undergraduate age.


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## hookem12387 (Dec 29, 2009)

Brooks actually has a really cool version, that is, if they'd remove the ____ golden fleece logo. I wish they'd stop tacking that on to everything.


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## godan (Feb 10, 2010)

hookem12387 said:


> Brooks actually has a really cool version, that is, if they'd remove the ____ golden fleece logo. I wish they'd stop tacking that on to everything.


Did you find that on the current BB website? If so, where, please?


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## hookem12387 (Dec 29, 2009)

godan said:


> Did you find that on the current BB website? If so, where, please?


https://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCa...olor=BLUE&sort_by=&sectioncolor=&sectionsize=


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## godan (Feb 10, 2010)

hookem12387 said:


> https://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCa...olor=BLUE&sort_by=&sectioncolor=&sectionsize=


Thanks. A bit too bold for me, but I see what you mean about the logo.


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## hookem12387 (Dec 29, 2009)

godan said:


> Thanks. A bit too bold for me, but I see what you mean about the logo.


I really, really like the grey one at Unionmade david posted above. Did you see that one? Not flashy at all.


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## dcjacobson (Jun 25, 2007)

> In my case, age is the issue


I agree. If you are, say, 22 or younger, go ahead! One other poster said 25. Maybe, if you are are particularly youthful-looking.



> When I was in high school in the mid-60's we called them school jackets and everybody wore them, not just guys with letters.


Interesting, Cruiser. I graduated in 1976. In my school, you did NOT wear one of these jackets if you were not on one of the teams. They were called letterman jackets in my school for a reason.

Good luck,
Don


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## godan (Feb 10, 2010)

hookem12387 said:


> I really, really like the grey one at Unionmade david posted above. Did you see that one? Not flashy at all.


Yes, but it is still a bit bold for me. In terms of subdued color and contrast, the jackets at leatherup.com are interesting. However, the very low price point bodes ill for quality. A higher-end version of their "classic varsity wool and leather jacket" would be tempting.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

dcjacobson said:


> Interesting, Cruiser. I graduated in 1976. In my school, you did NOT wear one of these jackets if you were not on one of the teams. They were called letterman jackets in my school for a reason.


I guess the difference is that these were not the jackets that letters were worn on at my school. They were school jackets worn by the student populations at all of the high schools in my city back in the 60's. Letters were worn on special sweaters or jackets purchased just for that purpose to only be worn by lettermen. At the end of the year each sports team would decide how they were going to wear their letters.

For example, the golf team wore sweaters in 1965










while the football team opted for long jackets like this player's girlfriend is wearing. After all it was the girlfriends who wore the things most of the time.










Cruiser


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## Mr. Knightly (Sep 1, 2005)

I wore them in high school and college. I was fortunate that both institutions had the same handsome colors (navy blue and gold). The models were identical (blue wool, leather sleeves, gold trim), but they were decorated differently. My high school jacket had to have my class year, bars for every time I lettered, stars for teams I captained, and other patches for various accomplishments (things like all-conference, state qualifier, school record, etc.). In contrast, the college jacket just had one letter. Everyone's was identical. I liked the simplicity, and the fact that it made an inherently boastful garment slightly more modest. Also, I got to wear that one much more than my high school jacket, the latter generally being in the custody of some young woman, whereas the artsy girl I dated in college would have preferred that I just get rid of the thing.

I think they nicely straddle the line between sportswear and "real clothes." I much preferred to wear something made of wool and leather than ripstop nylon.

That said, I don't think it's something you can wear after college. I tried mine on a few times, looked in the mirror, and just felt a bit ridiculous. These days, I get a similar sporty look from a G9, though it's not nearly as warm.


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## Starch (Jun 28, 2010)

dcjacobson said:


> In my school, you did NOT wear one of these jackets if you were not on one of the teams. They were called letterman jackets in my school for a reason.


Same.



Cruiser said:


> Letters were worn on special sweaters or jackets purchased just for that purpose to only be worn by lettermen.


Not really different, just that in the late '70s all the jackets of that style _were_ "special ... jackets purchased just for that purpose to only be worn by lettermen."

I do recall kids wearing the style - sometimes with a pro sports team name on it - in Junior High, but in High School, a jacket of that style was either a real letter jacket or a _faux_ letter jacket. So to my current eye, and adult wearing one makes it appear he is one or a combination of several of: (a) suffering from excessive reliance on the accomplishment of his lost youth, (b) faking it or (c) trying to pass for thirteen.

The sweaters, in my era, strike me as more collegiate than high school. At my college, they were all simple sweaters (not even cardigans), with just one letter on the front ... and all the same.


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## 10gallonhat (Dec 13, 2009)

I played varsity lacrosse for 3 years and I have a letterman for it. I wore it a lot in high school, and I wore it the last day of high school even though it was hot as hell because I knew it would be the last time I'd wear it.

Wearing a high school letterman post high school doesn't look right to me. And wearing a letterman for a school you didn't attend or a sport you didn't play is just plain ridiculous. If you wanted one so bad you should have played a sport.


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## Fraser Tartan (May 12, 2010)




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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

Here's an older BB one on eBay


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

a!!!!1 said:


> And wearing a letterman for a school you didn't attend or a sport you didn't play is just plain ridiculous.


If it doesn't have a letter on it, it's just a jacket. It isn't the jacket, it's the letter that is special; and I agree that if someone is wearing a letter that they didn't earn it is ridiculous.

Cruiser


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## Starch (Jun 28, 2010)

Cruiser said:


> If it doesn't have a letter on it, it's just a jacket.


When I was in high school, not so: if it was of that style and didn't have a letter on it, it was a letterman's jacket with the letter missing. If it was in your school colors, this was blatant. If it was in some other colors, you were apparently declaring allegiance to some other high school, which in some ways was worse.

Same in college, though there you looked like an idiot even with the letter (the last impression may be influenced by the fact that the one guy I remember who actually _did_ wear one often _was_ an idiot).

A military uniform without any rank insignia isn't just a suit ... it's a military uniform with the rank insignia missing.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Starch said:


> A military uniform without any rank insignia isn't just a suit ... it's a military uniform with the rank insignia missing.


You mean like a U.S. Navy pea coat? How idiotic would someone look if they got caught wearing one of those when they weren't actually in the Navy? :icon_smile_big:

Cruiser


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

a!!!!1 said:


> If you wanted one so bad you should have played a sport.


You mean they don't hand out letters to members of the Chess Club or Band where you are??

Heh, heh.


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## Starch (Jun 28, 2010)

To restate the analogy in more obvious visual terms - 

A military uniform that looks like this:



but without any rank insignia isn't just a suit ... it's a military uniform with the rank insignia missing.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Starch said:


> To restate the analogy in more obvious visual terms -
> 
> A military uniform that looks like this:
> 
> but without any rank insignia isn't just a suit ... it's a military uniform with the rank insignia missing.


OK, so what is the pea coat that was issued to me when I was in basic training? It was part of my uniform and to my way of thinking is at least on par with a high school varsity jacket in this regard.

So my question remains the same, why is it ridiculous for someone to wear a varsity jacket without the letter but not ridiculous for someone to wear the coat that goes to my military uniform when they didn't earn it, but rather just bought it in a store?

Just having a little fun with this. :icon_smile_big:

Cruiser


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## 10gallonhat (Dec 13, 2009)

Cruiser said:


> OK, so what is the pea coat that was issued to me when I was in basic training? It was part of my uniform and to my way of thinking is at least on par with a high school varsity jacket in this regard.
> 
> So my question remains the same, why is it ridiculous for someone to wear a varsity jacket without the letter but not ridiculous for someone to wear the coat that goes to my military uniform when they didn't earn it, but rather just bought it in a store?
> 
> ...


I have a feeling you actually agree with us and you're just trying to be difficult, lol.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

We can surely all agree that this is among the most rediculous thing BB has ever proposed a grown man wear.


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## Pink and Green (Jul 22, 2009)

Cruiser said:


> OK, so what is the pea coat that was issued to me when I was in basic training? It was part of my uniform and to my way of thinking is at least on par with a high school varsity jacket in this regard.
> 
> So my question remains the same, why is it ridiculous for someone to wear a varsity jacket without the letter but not ridiculous for someone to wear the coat that goes to my military uniform when they didn't earn it, but rather just bought it in a store?
> 
> ...


Once more, Cruiser bludgeons us with common sense and a well rounded sense of humor.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

a!!!!1 said:


> I have a feeling you actually agree with us and you're just trying to be difficult, lol.


Sort of, but not trying to be "difficult" per se; I'm just having some fun while trying to see the logic behind some of the comments. I guess it's a matter of time and location, but in the city where I went to high school in the mid-60's varsity jackets were worn by everyone at all of the high schools; they just didn't have letters on them, just the name of the school on the back. It was almost embarrassing to not have one because people treated you like you had no school spirit. But I never wore one after high school.

Having said that, I just saw something a few minutes ago that if someone here told me this I would say that they are making it up.

I went to the grocery store and saw a 40 something guy in the store wearing a varsity jacket, leather sleeves and all. I walked over near him to see what the small writing on the chest said and read "Warner Brothers Motion Pictures." This struck a chord with me because I lived in Nashville for many years and had forgotten how popular varsity jackets used to be with the people who worked in the recording industry. They all seemed to have had them with the name of the record company on the back, Warner Brothers being one of them. I had forgotten that.

Cruiser


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## 10gallonhat (Dec 13, 2009)

Cruiser said:


> Sort of, but not trying to be "difficult" per se; I'm just having some fun while trying to see the logic behind some of the comments. I guess it's a matter of time and location, but in the city where I went to high school in the mid-60's varsity jackets were worn by everyone at all of the high schools; they just didn't have letters on them, just the name of the school on the back. It was almost embarrassing to not have one because people treated you like you had no school spirit. But I never wore one after high school.
> 
> Having said that, I just saw something a few minutes ago that if someone here told me this I would say that they are making it up.
> 
> ...


That's interesting. Andy should make some that say "Andy's Fashion Forum" on the back. And you get different sleeve patches depending on your post count.


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