British Influence on American Traditional Clothing

By James H. Grant

The United Kingdom of Great Britain has many well-known clothiers and outfitters: Aquascutum, Barbour, Burberry, Harrod’s, Liberty of London, just to name a few. Although less heralded perhaps, the firm of J.C. Cording & Co., Ltd., at 19 Piccadilly, London, is one of the finest brands for traditional men’s and women’s quality clothing.

In 1877, Cordings relocated from an earlier location in the Strand to 19 Piccadilly, where it stands today. The company has enjoyed the patronage of many distinguished customers, including members of the royal family, and enjoyed the prestige of their royal warrants.

In 2003, the firm experienced financial difficulties, and Cording’s management approached one of their best customers and asked if he would assist in a buyout. The customer was Eric Patrick Clapton, and he has served on the firm’s board of directors since that time. Eric Clapton CBE is a classic rocker, guitarist and composer of the quintessential rock anthem, Layla. In 2004, Clapton was elevated to the rank of Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He has performed at London’s Royal Albert Hall 211 times since 1964.

Today, the three-story Piccadilly flagship store features collections of field and country clothing, city suits, and an exclusive lady’s collection. J.C. Cording & Co. might just be Britain’s quintessential traditional British clothier and outfitter.

Many items of American traditional clothing – particularly the clothing associated with the Ivy League style – can be traced to roots in Great Britain. Here are a few examples:

Part I: Clothing and Textiles

• Button-down collar shirts – Said to have been innovated by British polo players in the early 20th century, ostensibly to keep their collars from flapping as they rode their horses.
• Rugby shirts or “jerseys” originated at British prep schools and universities in the mid-19th century – perhaps at Rugby School in Warwickshire.
• Tattersall vests and shirts were inspired by the checked woolen horse blankets displayed at the Tattersalls horse market situated near Hyde Park Corner in London as early as 1766.
• V-neck sweaters or “jumpers” originated in the Edwardian era for golfing, tennis and cricket. Some were white and featured a striped border around the neck in school or team colors. The V-neck jumper was popularized in the 1920’s when it was frequently worn by the future Edward VIII – before his abdication.
• Cardigan sweaters were buttoned up the front (as opposed to being a pullover). The style was named for James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, who coincidentally led the charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War in 1854.
• Raglan-sleeve sweaters were named for FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan, who served as the Duke of Wellington’s Aide-de-Camp at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The Raglan sleeve design was also used on waterproof outerwear developed and marketed by the British firm, Aquascutum, Regent Street, London.
• Cuffed trousers – According to tradition, King Edward VII originated turned up cuffs in the 1890s so he could avoid getting the bottoms of his trousers wet and muddy.
• The sack suit with no darts was reportedly developed in France, popularized in Victorian England, and later by Brooks Brothers in America in the early 20th century.
• Navy blazers originated in the 19th century when British naval officers adopted the double-breasted navy wool jacket with brass buttons.
• Waistcoats (vests) with pocket watches, chains and fobs – According to tradition, the pocket watch and chain attached to a waistcoat goes all the way back to Charles II in the 17th century, who reportedly coined the term “pocket-watch.”
• Knee-length sporting pants were known in Britain as Plus-4’s, Plus-2’s and “breeks.” They were used for golfing, shooting, stalking, angling, and were the forerunners of the American Knickerbocker (Knickers) golf pants.
• Bermuda shorts were innovated in 1914 by a native Bermudian, a tea shop owner named Nathaniel Coxon, who hemmed the uniform pants of his employees allowing more comfort in the summer heat. The style was subsequently adopted by the British Army in Bermuda and made of khaki cloth during World War I.
• Viyella is a twill shirting cloth, a blend of 55% merino wool and 45% cotton, developed by James and Robert Sissons of William Hollins & Co., Derbyshire, England, in 1893.
• Oxford cloth was a shirting fabric woven in the Borders of Scotland in the 19th century. Actually, the University of Oxford played no part in the original development of the cloth. According to tradition, the Scottish mill had four different weaving patterns, which they named Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Yale. Apparently, Oxford cloth was the most popular and withstood the test of time, to the exclusion of the other three.
• Khaki cloth was named after the Hindi word khaki, meaning “dust colored.” It was developed by the British military in India in the 19th century for troops stationed in that country and other colonial outposts with extremely hot, humid temperatures.
• Covert cloth was developed in the late 19th century by Fox Brothers & Co., in Wellington, Somerset, England. The term is derived from the French couvert (shelter or hiding place). It is woven of different fibers in a twill weave to create a soft, earth-toned hue. The Victoria & Albert Museum attributes the development of the textile to the British outfitter J.C. Cording, Piccadilly, London, in the early 20th century.
• Glenurquhart, gun club, estate, shepherd’s check (houndstooth) and herringbone Tweeds – These various patterns were woven in the highlands and islands of Scotland from early times but were eventually adopted and popularized by lowland textile mills in the Scottish Borders during the industrial revolution.
• Scottish tartans were woven in the Scottish highlands and islands by rural artisan craftsmen from at least the late Middle Ages. After the invention of power looms during the industrial revolution, large quantities of tartan were woven in the Scottish Borders for military regiments and for export.
• Harris Tweed has been produced as a cottage industry on the Isle of Harris, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, for more than a hundred years. Today, the tweed is still woven on treadle-powered looms, without the aid of automation or electricity, under the direction of the Harris Tweed Authority. All Harris Tweed garments have the HTA’s distinctive label of authenticity.
• Paisley textiles – Floral motif textiles were woven and printed in Asia as early as the Middle Ages. In the 19th century, fabrics known as Paisley were woven in the town of that name, near Glasgow, Scotland. Paisley motifs were also block and screen printed in mills around Norwich, Norfolk, England, throughout the 19th century.
• Madder silk, often used in men’s ties, originated in Asia and became popular in Europe and Britain in the 17th century. The production of the fabric became an important industry in the city of Norwich, where dyers became adept in producing a range of shades of red and pink known as “Norwich red.”
• Foulard is a lightweight fabric, either twill or plain-woven, made of silk or a silk-cotton blend. Foulards are usually small-printed designs (as opposed to woven) in a block repeat in various colors. Foulard refers to the pattern rather than the material. As with other exotic fabrics used for ascots, neckties, and scarves, foulards originated in East Asia and were imported to continental Europe and Britain.
• Waxed cotton waterproof fabric and outer garments were developed by J. Barbour & Sons Ltd., South Shields, Tyne & Ware, England. The firm was founded in 1894, and its products have continued to flourish down to the present day.
• Worsted wool is a high-quality wool yarn named for the small English village of Worstead in the county of Norfolk. The production of the material was facilitated by a large influx of Flemish artisan weavers, who immigrated to Norfolk in the late Middle Ages.
• Authentic India Madras cloth comes from Chennai (Madras). It is a hand-woven fabric of 100% cotton yarn colored with vegetable dyes. The cloth is characterized by small bumps or flaws known as slubs. In the mid-17th century, the British East India Co. established a trading post in Madras, and the exportation of Madras cloth commenced. Sears Roebuck offered a Madras shirt for sale in its 1897 catalog, but it was to be sixty years before Madras clothing became popular in America. In 1958, Brooks Brothers purchased 10,000 yards of Madras cloth for their workrooms. Unfortunately, they were unaware that “bleeding” could occur in the wash. The Madras garments could emerge in a faded and discolored condition if not gently washed in cold water. To counter the complaints of many dissatisfied customers, the Madison Avenue advertising firm of David Ogilvy coined the phrase “guaranteed to bleed” and used this feature as a selling point rather than a defect.
• Seersucker is a 100% cotton lightweight, comfortable fabric with a puckered or crinkled texture. Its most outstanding feature is that it is an excellent option for extremely hot weather. Seersucker is available in many colors but light blue and gray are the preferred hues for menswear. Seersucker cloth originated in India and was exported by the British East India Company as early as the 17th century. Mr. Joseph Haspel, a New Orleans haberdasher, was
instrumental in popularizing seersucker clothing in America in the early 20th century.
• Donegal Tweed was originally handwoven in County Donegal, Ireland, by the firm Magee of Donegal Town, in 1866. Today, Donegal Tweed is produced on mechanized looms.
• Flannel fabric – The origin of flannel is uncertain, but a similar fabric can be traced to Wales as early as the 16th century. Although it was made of wool, it was called Welsh cotton because of its soft-brushed, fluffy surface.

Part II: Outerwear, Shoes and Accessories

• The “Macintosh” coat, a forerunner of modern rain gear, was made of rubber sandwiched between two layers of cotton. The cloth was invented in 1820 by a Scottish chemist, Charles Macintosh. In fact, the raincoats were called Macintoshes, often times shortened to the sobriquet Mac. Even today, many British old-timers refer to a raincoat as a Mac.
• Aquascutum and Burberry rainwear– The Aquascutum raincoat was developed by John Emary, who owned a shop in Regent Street, London. He developed a waterproof wool cloth and began producing rain gear in 1853, under the name Aquascutum (Latin for water shield). A rival merchant, Thomas Burberry, developed a fabric he called gaberdine in 1879. It was a twill material that was both breathable and waterproof. He achieved this by coating each individual fiber (rather than the whole fabric) with lanolin, an oil found naturally in sheep’s wool. Burberry opened a dry goods store in the Haymarket, near Piccadilly Circus, where he sold rainwear. Today, the Burberry flagship store is located in Regent Street – across the street from Aquascutum.
• The Trench Coat was a distinctive outer garment developed about the time of World War I and used primarily by British Army officers. The coat was double-breasted with raglan sleeves, an attached waterproof cape over the shoulders, and a belt around the waist. From the waist, the coat flared out like a skirt to allow freedom of movement. D-rings were attached to the belt to accommodate binoculars, a map case, a sword or a pistol. The pockets were large and deep. The straps at the cuffs and the collar could be tightened to protect against inclement weather. Many coats were also available with a warm, removable wool inner lining. The shoulders had epaulettes that indicated the rank of the wearer. Burberry was credited with the creation of the trench coat although other manufacturers, including Aquascutum and J.C. Cording also produced similar coats during the war.
• The Balmacaan overcoat is a long, loose-fitting, usually double-breasted, overcoat with raglan sleeves, made of Tweed or gaberdine. It was named for the Scottish highland estate of Balmacaan, near the old ruin of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness.
• Crombie textiles and overcoats – The weaving firm of J. & J. Crombie was founded in 1805 at Crothal, near Aberdeen, Scotland. It became the largest and most famous woolen mill in the United Kingdom. In the mid-19th century, Crombie started manufacturing its own brand of overcoats in Crombie fabrics. That venture was also extremely successful. In World War II, they supplied overcoats to the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Other customers included King George VI, Sir Winston Churchill, Cary Grant, General Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, the Prince of Wales, and later, the Beatles, Mick Jagger, Elton John, and Eric Clapton.
• Camel hair overcoats and jackets were developed by the British firm Jaeger of London in 1919, when wool was in short supply after World War I. Camel hair overcoats later became popular in the United States in the 1920’s and 30’s.
• Duffle coats with hoods and toggle horn buttons were named after the waterproof duffle fabric manufactured in Antwerp, Belgium. The coats were first used by the Royal Navy and later by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery’s Army troops in World War II.
• The G-9 Harrington jacket – The iconic G-9 wind-breaker was developed in 1938 by Baracuta® in Manchester, England. Quite a few American manufacturers have marketed similar jackets, notably McGregor and London Fog over half a century ago.
• Oxford Shoes – The precise definition and origin of the Oxford shoe, sometimes called a Balmoral, is unclear. Basically, it is a shoe with shoelace eyelet tabs attached under the vamp, as opposed to the Derby or blucher style shoe which have shoelace eyelets attached to the top of the vamp. The Oxford is a generic lace-up shoe that can be made in a variety styles and materials. It was reportedly derived from the Oxonian half boot, which was popular in Oxford circa 1800.
• Wing-tip shoes and cap-toe brogues – The concept of a shoe with perforations, which allowed rainwater to pass through without being absorbed by the leather, originated in Scotland and Ireland – perhaps as early as the 17th century. Wing-tip shoes are sometimes called full brogues from the Irish and Scottish Gaelic brog, meaning shoe.
• Tennis shoes or Plimsolls had canvas uppers and rubber soles. They were produced by the Liverpool Rubber Co. in the 19th century and later used by the Royal Navy as deck shoes.
• Loafers were first introduced as bespoke “slip-ons” by Wildsmith Shoes of London in the mid-19th century. An early model was designed for King George VI. Another English manufacturer marketed a loafer called “the Harrow.” Still another known as the Aurland shoe was developed by a Norwegian designer, Nils Tverganger, and based on native American moccasins he had seen on a trip to Canada in the early 20th century. His shoes were marketed in Europe as Norwegian Moccasins. And of course, the American manufacturer G.H. Bass designed the iconic Bass Weejun® in 1936, which was inspired by Tverganger’s Norwegian moccasins.
• Chukka boots were ankle-high leather boots first worn by the British Army in India. They were also used by polo players and the name was derived from the Indian word chukker, which was a period in a polo match. The Duke of Windsor popularized chukka boots in England when he returned from India in 1924. They were also used by British soldiers in the Western Desert Campaign during World War II. Chukka boots made of calfskin or suede were sometimes called “desert boots.” They were made popular by the British firm, C.&J. Clark, in the 1950’s.
• Regimental stripe (rep), school, and club ties – The goal of these distinctive, colorful accessories was to develop a sense of camaraderie or esprit among members of a military unit, school or club. The first known example of a school tie was in 1880, when the Exeter College (Oxford) “Eights” rowing team wore ties in their school colors. Striped ties gained popularity in the United States in the next century. It is said that the stripes of Brooks Brothers ties were oriented in the opposite direction to their British counterparts.
• Surcingle belts were inspired by the “girth straps” used to hold blankets and saddles in place for the British Cavalry in the 19th century. The woven straps were produced by East Indian weavers in Army regimental colors
• Straw “boater” or “skimmer” hats – Originally adapted from straw hats worn by Venetian gondoliers. Similar hats were issued to Royal Navy sailors for use on deck. The style was further adapted to the rigidly shaped flat-top, flat-brimmed skimmer in the late 19th or early 20th century. These later models were embellished with brightly colored silk hat bands, a feature also borrowed from the Italian gondoliers.
• Tortoise shell accessories (snuff boxes, razor and brush handles) were produced in Britain from the 17th century. A plastic simulated tortoise shell was developed by an Englishman, Philip Oliver Goldsmith, in 1926. Some of his original faux-tortoise eyewear (glasses) designs are in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
• Handkerchiefs or pocket squares – The origin of the handkerchief is unclear, but they were mentioned in Shakespeare’s time and used in Britain in the 18th century for much the same purpose as we use them today. Pocket squares came into fashion during the decade of the 1920’s on both sides of the Atlantic. They are generally made of linen, cotton, or silk and can be deployed in a variety of styles ranging from conservative to flamboyant.
• The ubiquitous black umbrella – According to tradition, Englishman Jonas Hanway was the first man to carry and use an umbrella in the streets of London in the 1750’s.

Although I was stationed in Britain in the late 1960’s while serving in the U.S. Air Force, I had no idea that all these unique styles, textiles and products originated in the United Kingdom. Perhaps some readers of Ivy Style have other examples which have escaped my attention.