English-style blazer

[Alan Eardley]

Great! Perfect illustrations of the club blazer (from which the school blazer is derived). Note that at 'serious' level (i.e. university sports clubs) the ribboned edge ('the blue') has to be earned by sporting representation. This is usually overlooked in schools. Note the patch pockets and dark buttons. Perfect sporting blazers.

There's breathless hush in The Close tonight
Ten to make and a game to win,
A bumping pitch and blinding light
An hour to play and the last man in.
But it's not for the sake of a ribboned coat
Or the selfish hope of a season's fame
That his captain's hand on his shoulder smote...
'Play up! Play up and play the game!'
Sir Henry Newbolt

In the UK, thanks to the current crop of oversize schoolboys and the differential taxation of childrens' clothing it is often possible to go into a schoolwear supplier and buy a blazer that looks very like the ones Ralph Lauren sells (but is arguably more authentic) for less than 20% of the price.

Alan

 

[neyus]

Great! Perfect illustrations of the club blazer (from which the school blazer is derived). Note that at 'serious' level (i.e. university sports clubs) the ribboned edge ('the blue') has to be earned by sporting representation. This is usually overlooked in schools. Note the patch pockets and dark buttons. Perfect sporting blazers.

Alan

Alan might be good idea to show pictures of some cricketers wearing their sporting blazers.

 

[Flitcraft]

English Style Blazer Availability...

Mike H.:
Nautica makes a three-button, double-vented blue wool blazer. They usually cost about $300.00, but I got one on sale for half that.
Mine's a 46 Long- not sure what size you need?

J.C. Penney's also has one, tailored in Poland, that has a three button closure, double vents and ticket pocket. I've seen it in more than one of their stores, but I don't see it on the website.

I don't think Nautica sells anything from the website, but I bought mine in a retail store.

Hope that helps......

 

[Mike K.]

I've never looked into a bespoke blazer.
Any idea how much one might cost?

 

[AlanC]

A less expensive compromise might be made to measure (MTM) rather than full bespoke. Any better men's shop will do it, local or national like Brooks Bros. You can pick your cloth and all your details (number of buttons, pockets, vents), and it is built to your measurements. You'll find it usually a slight markup from RTW, but should be significantly cheaper than full bespoke.

 

[Alan Eardley]

Tut tut. It's Queens' College.

Ah, that apostrophe, it gets you every time...

Thanks for the correction.

Alan

 

[Flitcraft]

A less expensive compromise might be made to measure (MTM) rather than full bespoke. Any better men's shop will do it, local or national like Brooks Bros. You can pick your cloth and all your details (number of buttons, pockets, vents), and it is built to your measurements. You'll find it usually a slight markup from RTW, but should be significantly cheaper than full bespoke.

Brooks Brothers is usually pretty good at this and they have an online MTM service.
Worth a look....

 

[Orgetorix]

Ah, that apostrophe, it gets you every time...

Thanks for the correction.

Alan

Queen's College, Oxford, is singular, while Queens' College, Cambridge is plural--correct? The Oxford college was founded by the wife of one of your Kings Edward, while the Cambridge college was founded by one queen and re-founded by another.

 

[dundeedavie]

i have a dark brown "school " blazer with light blue piping made by Fred Perry and it took a long long time to find it ..... it has patch pockets and a laurel wreath on the breast pocket . beautiful it is .


i recently wore it to a mod weekender with black chinos , black knitted polo shirt and brown/white wingtips

 

[Prof Branestawm]

Ah, that apostrophe, it gets you every time...

Thanks for the correction.

Alan

It's a pain in the neck, isn't it? It's doubly confusing as the full name of the college is 'the Queen's college of Saint Margaret and Saint Bernard in the University of Cambridge'.

 

[Prof Branestawm]

Queen's College, Oxford, is singular, while Queens' College, Cambridge is plural--correct? The Oxford college was founded by the wife of one of your Kings Edward, while the Cambridge college was founded by one queen and re-founded by another.

Oxford has 'the Queen's college', founded in honour of Queen Phillipa, wife of Edward III; Cambridge's Queens' college was founded repeatedly, by Andrew Dockett, by Henry VI, by Margaret of Anjou (now we're on to the Queens) and by Elizabeth Woodville. Richard III was allegedly about to give it new statutes and re-found it in honour of Anne Neville (one of the patronesses) when he was de-throned by Henry VII. It has also had Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (the Queen Mother) and Elizabeth Windsor (the Queen) as patronesses, so it's not hard to see why the 'Queens'' is pluralised!

 

[Alan Eardley]

It's a pain in the neck, isn't it? It's doubly confusing as the full name of the college is 'the Queen's college of Saint Margaret and Saint Bernard in the University of Cambridge'.

Yes. Working in a 'new university', at least I don't have that trouble. I would never be able to remember where I worked!

Anyway, I think Queens' (plural) has the best blazer. And so, apparently, does Ralph Lauren...

See link for 'official' explanation of plural.
http://www.queens.cam.ac.uk/default.asp?MIS=237

I could, of course, being incredibly old myself, claim that my singular spelling simply predates the change to a plural in 1831...

Alan

 

[John K Stetson]

Blazer Source

Perhaps you could find something on sierratradingpost.com ? Searching can be a bit of a chore, but they often have deep discounts on better clothing.

 

[John K Stetson]

Of Singular, Plural and Punctuation

The posts here on proper placement of the apostrophe remind me of the Lynne Truss book
"Eats, Shoots and Leaves," a best seller about...punctuation. There's more - and a punctuation game - at

http://www.eatsshootsandleaves.com/

 

[Alan Eardley]

Sigh....

Ah, Miss Truss, puncuation goddess and my heart-throb. How often I fail her!

Alan

 

[Mike K.]

fftopic:

 

[Prof Branestawm]

fftopic:

Surely correct punctuation is never off topic!

This is though - which university are you based at, Alan?

The Queens' blazer Alan referred to can be seen at http://www.aeclothier.co.uk/sport.html.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Surely correct punctuation is never off topic!

Unfortunately, discussion of punctuation, grammar, syntax etc. tends to lead to epic-scale arguments on this forum. Such discussions are viewed by some as elitist.

Back to blazers.

bk

 

[neyus]

Unfortunately, discussion of punctuation, grammar, syntax etc. tends to lead to epic-scale arguments on this forum. Such discussions are viewed by some as elitist.

Back to blazers.

bk

I agree. I believe in functional grammar before trad grammar.

As long as the concepts are understood, thats all that matters.

Neyus

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Oh, i wasn't stating an opinion either way - i lean towards the grammar Nazi side of things. Just making it known why a grammar discussion might be, and usually is, considered off-topic.

bk