Real basic question

[tonyb]

Is there anything that absolutely distinguishes a suit jacket from a sportcoat? I've heard some alleged experts opine that yup, there is: A suit jacket comes with a pair of matching pants. But then I've also heard that there are real differences (they're cut differently, more than one person has told me), but I've yet to hear those differences clearly articulated. (How are they cut differently? for instance.)
I'm something of a rube when it comes to this stuff, guys, so please be gentle. I just want to know if it would be considered tres gauche if a wore a suit jacket with something other than the pants it originally came with. Jeans, say, or khakis.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

That's an interesting question.

Back in the 19th century, there were no sportcoats in the modern sense. However, some men wanted to wear white flannel or canvas trousers at the beach, when sailing, etc., and they needed coats to wear. What to do? The solution was to borrow suit coats and pair them with the white trousers. Usually these suit coats were of navy blue or striped serge and cut in the short "lounge" style; they were single or double-breasted, or in the Norfolk style. This was being done as far back as the 1870s.

In the early 20th century, sportcoats started to marketed as something distinct from suit coats.

.

 

[Frederick Chook]

Almost all the rules of menswear have basically just been invented for the silliest reasons in the past hundred years or so - the king did it once so we continue doing it long after his death, or because some mass producer did it to save money, or so on - so don't take them too seriously. If you wear it while watching, or talking about, sport, then it's a sportcoat. Otherwise, it's just a coat: wear it with whatever you please.

 

[iammatt]

Sportcoats should have patch pockets.

 

[Feraud]

Sportcoats should have patch pockets.

Why should they?

 

[manton]

I don't think there are any essential differences; that is, differences in the absense of which one could safely say "that is not a sportcoat."

However, some believe that a sportcoat (or odd jacket) should be a cut a bit more full, to make it look slightly more casual and comfortable, and also to accomodate a sweater. This latter consideration is obviously more important with tweeds and fall/winter cloth than with linens and spring/summer cloth.

Beyond this, an odd jacket is more likely to take sporty details like patch pockets, ticket pockets, hacking pockets, throat latches, etc. I would not say that an odd jacket must have patch pockets, but I do like the look. Though I like patch pockets on certain suits as well.

 

[6StringShooter]

An appropriate suit coat (i.e. one that looks good and complements the rest of the outfit) can always be used as a "sportcoat" with pants that do not exactly match. Here is an example of that http://www.josbank.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=&pcount=&Product_Id=311091

I have found that sportcoats that are sold as free standing entities (leaving the buyer to pair it up with pants at his own discretion) are usually a classically recognized staple (the navy blue with brass buttons, seersucker) or a more "textured" or subtly patterned alternative (certain types of herringbone, houndstooth, check patterns). I believe that the classic sportcoat as we know it today is a direct descendant of english riding jackets. As such, they are more apt to have a center vent and to be cut like those jackets. However, many makers have expanded upon that to the point that many sportcoats today are not much more than interestingly patterned suit coats with no matching pants to them.

 

[Micawber]

Sportcoats should have patch pockets.

I disagree. What makes you say that?

 

[Jovan]

Always a tricky subject for new people.

As mentioned, certain details will often set them apart from suit coats, but even these are done on more casual suits, especially vintage. Heck, I've seen some suits that have elbow patches on the coat. Cuts can also be as form fitting or relaxed as anything else you'll see.

So I guess the best definition is just the old standby... a coat without matching trousers. But I wouldn't hesitate to use a suit coat with odd trousers if it looked good.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I always thought 'sportcoat' was just another way of saying 'odd jacket'. So, it's just what you call an odd jacket when it's being worn at some kind of "sporty" occasion.

bk

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Anyone know when the term 'sport coat' was actually coined?

bk

 

[iammatt]

Why should they?

Because I think that they look better that way. It is certainly not an absolute, which is why I did not say must.

 

[Will]

Anyone know when the term 'sport coat' was actually coined?

bk

At the very beginning. Early odd jackets were all for sport. Shooting (the Norfolk), golf (the Sussex, I believe), etc.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

And striped coats for cricket and boating, too.

.

 

[Alan Eardley]

Sport coat

Anyone know when the term 'sport coat' was actually coined?

bk

I think the British use of the term 'sports jacket' predated it. This term is seen in the early 20th Centrury. The 'sports' were those that usually required specialist trousers - breeches for riding, plus twos/fours for golf or cycling, flannels for tennis and cricket etc. - which meant that the jacket could be a 'separate'. An 'odd' jacket would therefore be used for various sports by changing the trousers.

Alan

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

At the very beginning. Early odd jackets were all for sport. Shooting (the Norfolk), golf (the Sussex, I believe), etc.

It depends how "early" you are talking about. Odd jackets were very common even prior to the Civil War period. I have even read in some places that at first the wearing of an all-matching "suit" was thought of as the mark of a rube. However, as the 19th century progressed the practice of wearing odd jacket, waistcoat and trousers seemed to go into decline especially with the middle class. If you look at sartorial arts publications from the late 19th/early 20th century you really see no truly mis-matched sack-coat-based outfits except for the early sporting coats talked about here.

 

[flat-top]

Don't forget that your everyday men's (and women's) clothing is called "sportswear", and, for the most part, has nothing to do with playing any sport!