Jacket Jargon — 8 Fascinating Facts About Winter Wear Throughout History
Today’s winter wear involves a lot of high-tech materials and processes that weren’t available to people just a few short decades ago.
Protective gear for the winter has always been a necessity for humans, ever since we started traveling to colder climates.
The history of winter clothing is one of many mistakes, interesting inventions, and hilarious holdouts.
Here are just a few of the more fascinating facts from our cold and distant past.
- First Down
The first goose-down coat was created by a gentleman whose name still lives on today, Eddie Bauer.
After nearly freezing to death because his wool coat froze while on a fishing trip, he was inspired to design the first lightweight down coat.
Similar goose down coats are still widely used today, except that now we also have a cruelty-free synthetic down, that has the benefit of being highly water-resistant.
2. Lower Class Sleeves
Until the 18th century, coats with sleeves were only for the peasants and the working class.
The wealthy elite wouldn’t be caught dead with sleeves on their jackets — and kept warm with cloaks instead.
3. Hats Of Status
It’s often joked about that the larger a person’s hat, the more important they are in an organization.
In the early 1900s, Russians took things in a different direction, with their Ushanka’s.
The fuzzy hats would let you quickly determine a wearer’s social standing, based on the kind of fur it was made of.
4. Waterproof, Winterproof
The Inuit people, who inhabited frozen lands in the Arctic regions of Canada, Alaska, and Greenland, made waterproof parkas using intestines from seals and whales.
Now we mostly use plastics of course, or recycled plastic if you shop with a sustainable fashion line.
5. Cloaks Are Cancelled
Have you ever got so tired of seeing something, that you wish you could just ban it entirely?
I feel that way about crocs.
Augustus Caesar felt the same way about cloaks, and since he was the ultimate authority, he used that power to ban them from the Roman forums and circus.
6. Woes Of Waterproof Wool
Wool has never been a great material for wearing when it’s wet, but in 1823 a method was patented for making it waterproof.
Unfortunately, the solution used naphtha, which doesn’t handle temperature variation very well.
In warm weather, the wool would get sticky, and in cold weather, it would turn stiff.
7. Rubber To The Rescue
We take waterproof footwear for granted now, but even in the early to mid-1800s, their rubber soles tended to crack and break frequently.
Vulcanized rubber was invented quite by accident — when Charles Goodyear (yes, the tire manufacturer) spilled rubber, sulfur, and white lead onto his hot stove.
8. Pashmina Perfection
Pashmina shawls are made with the underbelly and neck fur of goats who only live in the mountains of Nepal, India, and Tibet.
It’s estimated that nearly 100 workers required an entire day to create just a single handmade shawl.
This made them so valuable, they were often considered to be a great investment and frequently included in dowries.
Times have certainly changed, and we don’t make winter wear the way we used to.
A fact which I’m very happy with, because not only do I want to have sleeves on my jackets, I also don’t like the idea of wearing wet wool in the winter.
Now we have so many options, it’s hard to even know where to start, or what’s the best.
What is important though, is that we’re using way more sustainable materials, recycled plastics, and cruelty-free insulation.
There was nothing wrong with people using the materials they had at hand throughout history — you have to make do with what you’ve got.
The times have changed though — and we should too.
