# Velvet smoking jackets



## A.Squire (Apr 5, 2006)

1. Do you? Would you?

2. Do you, would you object if I did?



https://www.brooksbrothers.com/IWCa...ection_Id=512&Product_Id=929530&Parent_Id=227

Really, what do you think about a smoking jacket?


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

I think they're great.


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## hopkins_student (Jun 25, 2004)

I really, really, really want one. Navy blue from T&A preferably.


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## A.Squire (Apr 5, 2006)

Without admitting to cigar, cigarette, pipe, hoocka, etc when might you don yours, Alan?

Where did you get it?


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

Allen said:


> Without admitting to cigar, cigarette, pipe, hoocka, etc when might you don yours, Alan?
> 
> Where did you get it?


I like them, but, alas, do not have one. If I ever get one I'm sure it will come from one of two places: ebay or thrift.

I do have a paisley Viyella robe, but that's not quite the same thing.


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## bigCat (Jun 10, 2005)

I don't have one, but would like to get one and defiitely would not object to anybody using one for it's intended (or similar) purpose.


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## jackmccullough (May 10, 2006)

You know the company you keep, but I can't imagine being in any situation in which a velvet smoking jacket would not be greeted with merciless ridicule.


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## Fogey (Aug 27, 2005)

jackmccullough said:


> You know the company you keep, but I can't imagine being in any situation in which a velvet smoking jacket would not be greeted with merciless ridicule.


I suggest making new friends.


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## csheehan (Feb 27, 2004)

Allen said:


> Without admitting to cigar, cigarette, pipe, hoocka, etc when might you don yours, Alan?
> 
> Where did you get it?


I have a vintage one that has seen better days but I still wear it. After a particularly hard day, slipping off the day's jacket and shoes, putting on the smoking jacket, slipping into slippers, and mixing a drink can make an awful lot right.

Go for it.

Chris


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## jackmccullough (May 10, 2006)

JLPWCXIII said:


> I suggest making new friends.


It doesn't matter. If I had one it would make me quote Nelson Muntz and say that it makes me want to punch myself.

https://animatedtv.about.com/library/gallerysimpsons/blphoto_other_nelson.htm


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## bigCat (Jun 10, 2005)

jackmccullough said:


> You know the company you keep, but I can't imagine being in any situation in which a velvet smoking jacket would not be greeted with merciless ridicule.


Even if you are smoking a cigar, ALONE in your study?


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## jackmccullough (May 10, 2006)

I would never be in that situation, but yes. See post # 10.


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## FerrisBueller (Sep 23, 2006)

I would love to have a place to wear one. I do not think if would be comfortable around the house though.


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## Prepdad (Mar 10, 2005)

Absolutely, unequivocally... no.


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## geojohn (Aug 17, 2005)

Allen said:


> 1. Do you? Would you?


Not in velvet, but I've been thinking of picking up this one: https://www.duluthtrading.com/86082.aspx



Allen said:


> 2. Do you, would you object if I did?


How can you be a country squire without one?


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## dpihl (Oct 2, 2005)

*Time and place*

A close friend of mine used to work for Burberry's. He is a gifted organist, and was asked to play a solo in church last Christmas. He arrived in a burgundy velvet smoking jacket, and a green ascot tie.

Nobody said anything negative about his get up, but I sure saw a lot of eyes rolling, and a lot of people feeling uncomfortable. Even though they didn't come out and say what they were thinking, you could feel the tension in the air as they tried to withold judgement and/or ridiculous laughter.

Christmas is a time for goodwill and all that, but after all, this was church.

The solo went of without a hitch, and he remains much admired by the community. However, I question his sense of time and place sometimes...


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## Foghorn (Feb 2, 2005)

Allen,
Its one of those things that; must be inherited or a gift from a woman & only worn when she's around.
If a gift, it must be wholly UNSOLICITED. That is the only way that you have deniability i.e., "Good gad woman, what the devil is this thing?" 
Otherwise there is no way, its far too flamboyant & extravigant. 

Regards,
F


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## Rocker (Oct 29, 2004)

I like them - don't own one. I do not like that "robe" style, however - seems cut rate. I think a smoking jacket should have button/frogging closures. Think it looks much better - otherwise, IMO, it's just a robe.


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## Tomasso (Aug 17, 2005)

*They're very continental.*


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## jpeirpont (Mar 16, 2004)

Vintage Gent posted some beautiful jackets on the Style Forum. I'd love one, but have no idea where I'd wear it. 
Heres the thread:


And the jackets:


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## Untilted (Mar 30, 2006)

I'm living in my fraternity's house next year, with people who will never ridicule me because of my style. I'm thinking about getting a smoking jacket to wear when I lounge around the mansion at night. mmmm, "velvet smoking jacket" just entered my ebay favorite searches.

oh, it will be more of a robe than a jacket.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

A.Squire said:


> 1. Do you? Would you?
> 2. Do you, would you object if I did?
> Really, what do you think about a smoking jacket?


1. No, No
2. No, No! However, I would like it also to be noted that I think, in these fora, some posters are a bit too quick to become overly judgmental in their offerings. To my mind, anything one wears in the privacy of one's home (even if it be in a Frat house) is OK. As I sit staring in to a roaring fire , in my "gentlemans den," wearing my old shawl collared cardigan, a good book in my lap and a drink on the table beside me; am I presenting an affected persona based on a mental image I harbor from some cherished image of the past? Absolutely and we all do it to some extent. Some are just a bit more courageous in acknowleging such.

A. Squire, should you be desireous of a fancy smoking jacket and choose to wear such, I applaud you for it. However, as illustrated by dphils post, I would limit such forays of sartorial adventurism to the home front.


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## Good Old Sledge (Jun 13, 2006)

I should be quite disappointed, Squire, if I were to call on you for a nightcap and discover that you weren't wearing a smoking jacket.


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## Brooksfan (Jan 25, 2005)

We went to the Lewis Black show here in suburban Chicago last night and I'll bet at least 300 of the roughly 2,000 guys there were wearing velvet smoking jackets. They're not just for staying home anymore.


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## Mad4Madras (Jul 24, 2006)

I really can't see what the controversy is. In my opinion, a bow tie is at least as remarkable as a smoking jacket. The biggest concern I could see would be that, to some, the more robe-like pieces would be seen akin to wearing pajamas, and that might be a perceived as an insult. But, the shorter jacket, with frogging closures, would be far more passable, and perhaps only regarded as "unusual".

As for being extravagant, I don't think a smoking jacket rises to the level of ostrich boots, or diamond-studded cufflinks.

And in the end, aren't all clothing options an affectation of some sort, anyway? Isn't even the most mainstream person making a conscious decision to dress in an unremarkable style? Unless you are in the military or a monastary - where you are told what to wear, you are guilty of putting on an aire of costumery to some degree, so I wouldn't worry just because the costume is timeless and distinguished. On the contrary, I would think that's the essence of Trad.


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## knickerbacker (Jun 27, 2005)

eagle2250 said:


> Some are just a bit more courageous in acknowleging such.


That's another way of saying "Coming out of the closet with a velvet smoking jacket on", now isn't it?

far too dandy even for a trandy....


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## Mad4Madras (Jul 24, 2006)

I move to recognize a "playboy" Trad variant, complete with rolling wet bar, hi-fi cabinet set (maybe even with stereophonic sound), and a well-thumbed little-black-book. And a smoking jacket.


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

Any time Hugh invites you to the Playboy Mansion, you'll fit right in!


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## knickerbacker (Jun 27, 2005)

Mad4Madras said:


> I move to recognize a "playboy" Trad variant, complete with rolling wet bar, hi-fi cabinet set (maybe even with stereophonic sound), and a well-thumbed little-black-book. And a smoking jacket.


Not to say that all variants can not be trad, but it seems as if the variant you propose (just in terms of clothing, the women are welcome) would be better suited to the main forum. I say that as an opinion, but not one which implies that being better suited to the other forum is any kind of a dig. It just seems that this idea is more similar to the recent lounge trends and revivals (just with a little eurodandyism added in) than that which caused this forum to exist separate from the main forum in the first place. I really don't see the velvet smoking jacket as equivalent to wearing a bow tie at all, but these are just my thoughts.


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## Mad4Madras (Jul 24, 2006)

But surely you would not suggest relegating all talk of bow ties to the main board in the event they become popular?

Other than the recent embrace of the fashion-forward, why are smoking jackets any less viable a topic here than ascots or Land Rovers?

As for the bow tie : smoking jacket analogy, both are anachronistic and to many, eccentric, and both were/are items of clothing often found in a distinguished man's wardrobe. Also, both require a degree of panache to pull off successfully.

The biggest distinction might be that bow ties are a garment for all, where smoking jackets might arguably be class-sensitive (but certainly no more so than ascots or Land Rovers).


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## Literide (Nov 11, 2004)

Brooksfan said:


> We went to the Lewis Black show here in suburban Chicago last night and I'll bet at least 300 of the roughly 2,000 guys there were wearing velvet smoking jackets. They're not just for staying home anymore.


Challenge Flag!!!
I'll be a lot of guys were wearing velvet sport jackets which are suddenly very popular, but smoking jackets, I doubt it.

Field guide;
Notch lapels & Pocket flaps = sport jacket
Shawl collar & no flaps = smoking jacket (there can be other details, see below)

I dont think too many were wearing anything like either the first or third on this site;
https://www.pakeman.co.uk/products.asp?cat=26

Cheers


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## Brooksfan (Jan 25, 2005)

My mistake...the lighting was dim and I'm sure you're right.


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## knickerbacker (Jun 27, 2005)

Mad4Madras said:


> But surely you would not suggest relegating all talk of bow ties to the main board in the event they become popular?
> 
> Other than the recent embrace of the fashion-forward, why are smoking jackets any less viable a topic here than ascots or Land Rovers?
> 
> ...


The popularity is not why I don't think they belong here, it's because they seem much more dandy oriented than trad (though the variant you proposed sounded a bit like some aspects of the lounge revival); they, and ascots as well, are not trad, nor are gucci horsebit loafers on men, monocles, velvet sport coats, 40's swing revival clothes, the Brideshead revisted English country gentlemen look (TBRECGL) which polo has co-opted and blended with the Ivy look, pleats on your trousers, swooshes on your shoes, etc. My saying this is not a provocation, just an opinion. Just because something might not be trad per se, does not make it necessarily bad- I would rather travel the Antarctic in clothes loathed by this forum when seen on the streets of NYC than wax cotton & wool. It's just different.
I disagree about your assessment of bow ties; many gentlemen in the US who wear bow ties would likely never wear a smoking jacket (possibly because it may smack of an elitism and dandyism that, to them, bow ties do not) .
As far as land rovers go, the old land rovers were a typical sight on the Vineyard and Nantucket in the pre OHPH days; they were bare bones and believed to be quite effective. Anyone who has logged any real miles in a series 1, 2 or 3 know that they were no luxury vehicles; that is an invention of the more recent era. Again, in my opinion, they belong here far more than a lot of what people try to pass off as trad.


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## The Raven (Nov 7, 2006)

True, they aren't smoking jackets, but JAB has several velvet dinner jackets on clearance for an astounding $58 (orig $595). Peak grosgrain lapels with single-breasted front.

https://www.josbank.com/IWCatSectionView.process?IWAction=Load&Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=14969


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## A.Squire (Apr 5, 2006)

knickerbacker said:


> That's another way of saying "Coming out of the closet with a velvet smoking jacket on", now isn't it?
> 
> far too dandy even for a trandy....


What?
You're saying wearing a smoking jacket means I'm gay?
Really, Knicko, what gives?


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## A.Squire (Apr 5, 2006)

The Raven said:


> True, they aren't smoking jackets, but JAB has several velvet dinner jackets on clearance for an astounding $58 (orig $595). Peak grosgrain lapels with single-breasted front.
> 
> https://www.josbank.com/IWCatSectionView.process?IWAction=Load&Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=14969


O.k., on your very first post you cost me $58 x 2. What's next?


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## knickerbacker (Jun 27, 2005)

A.Squire said:


> What?
> You're saying wearing a smoking jacket means I'm gay?
> Really, Knicko, what gives?


Sorry Squire, it was just too tempting to resist and dovetailed with a past mention of velvet jackets....Anyway, I don't think that either it is indicative of sexual orientation nor do I think that there is anything wrong non- heterosexuality; I just couldn't resist...
Besides, I'm wearing a pink tutu as I write this and I fly straight as an arrow...


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## Joe Tradly (Jan 21, 2006)

A.Squire said:


> O.k., on your very first post you cost me $58 x 2. What's next?


Holy Moly, $58? Even if it is darted. That's a winner:










JB


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## The Raven (Nov 7, 2006)

A.Squire said:


> O.k., on your very first post you cost me $58 x 2. What's next?


Is the jacket half-canvas or half-fused? Look on the bright side; you saved an imaginary $537 x 2.

What I enjoy most is that for $58 one is able to separate the two questions: should I buy it and should I wear it?


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

OK, I am impressed...yesterday, AM, at a pre-school Christmas pageant, NW Indiana...as I stood in the back of the room wearing a Harris Tweed sportcoat and filmed the grandkids first public performance, spotted a young father seated near the front of the room, wearing what appeared to be a black velvet sportcoat (subsequent closer examination proved the coat to be navy velvet). The younger gentleman was in fact, quite nicely turned out, in spite of being a bit over dressed for an AM performance. This velvet smoking jacket/sportcoat thing may have advanced much further than we originally thought!


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## Literide (Nov 11, 2004)

The Raven said:


> Is the jacket half-canvas or half-fused? Look on the bright side; you saved an imaginary $537 x 2.
> 
> What I enjoy most is that for $58 one is able to separate the two questions: should I buy it and should I wear it?


Alas, the dreaded pockeet flaps, but cant beat the price.
Lapel a little too skinny for my taste too.


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## Literide (Nov 11, 2004)

eagle2250 said:


> This velvet smoking jacket/sportcoat thing may have advanced much further than we originally thought!


The 2 are quite mutually exclusive. Nothing against either as I own one of each, but far from the same "thing" despite being made of the same fabric.
Cheers,


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## Rocker (Oct 29, 2004)

Untilted said:


> I'm living in my fraternity's house next year, with people who will never ridicule me because of my style. I'm thinking about getting a smoking jacket to wear when I lounge around the mansion at night. mmmm, "velvet smoking jacket" just entered my ebay favorite searches.
> 
> oh, it will be more of a robe than a jacket.


That's interesting - 'course I'm pushing 17 years since I graduated from college but, I found my fraternity house to be the ONE place where people felt no polite compunction to refrain from giving another person [email protected] for the way he was dressed. Wearing a bit of polyester, wearing "tighty whities", wearing knit/sock ties, wearing any jeans but Levis, wearing anything "fashionable by the dictates of "pop" culture - and probably wearing a smoking jacket would all unleash a wave of ridicule and/derision.


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## Rocker (Oct 29, 2004)

Literide said:


> Alas, the dreaded pockeet flaps, but cant beat the price.
> Lapel a little too skinny for my taste too.


In looking at one in the store, the pockets are a combination flap/besomed so that the flap can be tucked in and the opening of the pocket is sewn in grosgrain to match the lapels and to give it a besomed effect.


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## Untilted (Mar 30, 2006)

Rocker said:


> That's interesting - 'course I'm pushing 17 years since I graduated from college but, I found my fraternity house to be the ONE place where people felt no polite compunction to refrain from giving another person [email protected] for the way he was dressed. Wearing a bit of polyester, wearing "tighty whities", wearing knit/sock ties, wearing any jeans but Levis, wearing anything "fashionable by the dictates of "pop" culture - and probably wearing a smoking jacket would all unleash a wave of ridicule and/derision.


sounds like the brothers in your house were pretty tradly dressed.

not the same in my case, there is already a big variety of styles.


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## knickerbacker (Jun 27, 2005)

*Velvet Goldmine*

While shopping with the Mrs. at Target today, I couldn't help to notice that velvet sportcoats are all the rage- they were prominently featured in the menswear aisle and I've been seeing many hipsters wearing them about
town...not smoking jackets, but they are on the in crowd, never the less.


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## Blackadder (Apr 3, 2004)

Yes, you'll find that velvet jackets are quite fashionable these days.

I lust after the Favourbrook ones, but unless one smokes, I think they're quite costumy. If one smokes, however, they are fantastic, as they preserve your clothes and smoke granules are much easier to brush from velvet than wool. For the full effect, you can go with the velvet cap too, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you wish to be mistaken by your intimates for a Dicken character.


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