History
The word jacket, perhaps unsurprisingly, is of French origin, from the old French word jaques, a nickname for peasant. Associated with more of a tunic style as opposed to the capes and cloaks popularised in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, jackets are now by far the more popular form of outerwear, while the latter have been consigned to the narrower market of superheroes and villains.

Uses in promotional wear
Since the term jacket is an umbrella term for many different types of garment for all occasions, it's important to remember what the term has come to mean in promotional clothing.

Formal styles, such as dinner jackets, blazers and those that form part of a suit, are known as corporatewear and will be discussed in more detail in a separate feature. Popular styles in retail, such as denim and leather jackets, have not really made it over into the promotional market.

Since popular markets for promotional jackets are sports teams and clubs, workwear, schoolwear and corporate functions, it makes sense that the most popular jackets are high-performing, comfortable and practical. Leading promotional jacket supplier Result claims that roughly 25% of promotional jackets are polar fleece, 25% are body warmer or gilet-style garments, with the remaining 50% ranging from budget windcheaters up to top-end technical jackets.

Made for decorating
One of the key features of jackets in the promotional market is that many will have special features enabling them to be decorated without having to dismantle and re-assemble the garment.

Since the padding of some jackets can interfere with printing or embroidering, many have zipped access into the inside of the outer layer, allowing embroiderers to frame just the outer to be embroidered and the printer to place the top layer of the jacket on the print bed.

While most jackets can be printed on (although check with the supplier first - fleece jackets are unsuitable for printing), embroidery is by far the more popular method of decorating jackets.

STYLES

There are several popular variations in promotional wear, ranging from the more lightweight jackets, such as macs, to the technical, heavyweight styles, bodywarmers and gilets.

Lightweight styles: rain coats, windcheaters and macs
Lightweight jackets with only one or two layers are a popular budget option; the outer is usually shower or waterproof. Many come with a small bag into which they can be packed. Some are fleece lined and have more of a sporty look.

Midweight styles: cotton/leisure jackets
An umbrella term for a generic light- to mid-weight jacket, sometimes in a 'blouson' style, with cuffs and usually zipped up the front. Pockets can be at the waist or chest (or both) and often have an inside 'poachers' pocket.

Heavyweight styles: technical, threein- one jackets and parkas
The main challenge for heavyweight jackets is to keep the wearer warm without smothering him or her. The trick is therefore to keep heat in whilst wicking away sweat and moisture, which can build up inside a waterproof fabric.

Technical or system jackets incorporate several different layers made from different fabrics, each designed to keep the wearer warm, dry or cool. They’ll have features such as drawstrings, stormflaps, removable hoods, airholes and adjustable cuffs, all with this in mind. Usually three-quarter length, there will often be a drawstring at the hem or the waist to keep gusts of wind out.

A parka is a knee-length padded winter jacket with a fur-lined hood, made popular in the seventies. It is similar to the manager's jacket, which you are likely to see the likes of Jose Mourinho wearing on the sidelines of a football pitch. Lastly, three-in-one jackets have a removable fleece inner which can be worn separately from the outer, thus creating three different wearing combinations.

Bodywarmers and gilets
Popular promotional wear items, bodywarmers and gilets are characterised by the absence of arms.

Workwear/uniforms: blazers, donkey jackets and chef's jackets
Usually associated with corporatewear, blazers in the workplace are often made from a polyester blended fabric, to make them hardwearing, and worn with a shirt and tie. Blazers are also, of course, still a staple in school uniforms.

Bearing little resemblance to its animal namesake, the donkey jacket used to be synonymous with the British manual worker. It is a short, buttoned coat typically made of black or navy woollen fabric, unlined and usually with a plastic panel covering the shoulder.

Chef's jackets (or 'whites') are characterised by the round collar around the neck; workwear clothing will be discussed further in a future article.

FABRIC

Long gone are the days when acrylic, anti gliss and nylon were the only fabrics around; the range of performance fabrics available is now as wide as the number of styles on the market. But the yarns are still nylon or polyester based; they are simply woven into all kinds of different finishes and coated with a variety of waterproofing substances. So do you know your Tactel from your Taslon? Read on and find out.

Natural fibres
Cotton and wool are still very popular in jacket fabrics – the former in lightweight garments, and the latter in heavier coats.Woven cotton and cotton twill is still common in the outer layers of light summer jackets, while ribbed cotton is more common in jacket lining. Wool is warm and breathable, but quite heavy and hot and does not tend to be used in technical jackets.

Fleece and microfleece
A common inner layer of jackets; these fabrics have been discussed in great detail in a previous issue.

Breathable synthetic fabrics
Breathable synthetic fabrics are at the cutting edge of textile technology and are constantly being refined and improved. There are far too many to go into great detail, but here are just some of the current fabrics featuring in outerwear:

Taslon is a nylon fabric generally used in rugged outerwear. Windproof and water resistant, it is very durable and a popular choice for outerwear. Cheap versions can be stiff and noisy when moving around, however.

Hydrafort is an outerwear fabric used in garments by outerwear specialist Regatta. It is both waterproof and windproof, and has been independently tested to ensure it exceeds BS3424 for waterproofness.

Tactel is a registered trademark of DuPont. Big in skiwear, Tactel is a very fine nylon fibre that makes a breathable, soft yet tough fabric.

Part of the Isotex family of fabrics, Isotex 5000 and Isolite 5000 are both popular outerwear fabrics. Both are waterproof, windproof and breathable, designed to withstand the toughest of working conditions.

Gore-tex, a registered trademark of WL Gore & Associates, has a polyester outer layer and uses a micro porous PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) membrane hidden between the outer and inner linings of the garment. The pores, which are much smaller than a water droplet, will not allow liquid water through, but will let smaller-sized water vapour through, thus making the membrane 100% waterproof, breathable and windproof. With a fast drying mesh lining, the fabric also manages to be lightweight.

The newest kid on the block is softshell, a lightweight bonded three-layer performance fabric that is waterproof and breathable. With a microfleece inner layer, a thermoplastic urethane (TPU) breathable waterproof windproof mid layer and a stretchy polyester spandex outer layer, it is warm, breathable, lightweight and stretchy. Its USP for printers and embroiders is that it prints, transfers and embroiders without backing.

Ripstop fabric is made by weaving polyester or nylon fabrics in such a way that tears in the fabric are prevented from spreading. It's easily recognisable from tiny squares in the weave. Polyurethane (PU) is sometimes used to coat the outer fabric layer to make it water resistant.

Insulation fabrics
There are a number of synthetic insulation fabrics/fibres used in the inner layers of winter jackets and sleeping bags which trap air to help keep the wearer warm in cold conditions. They are soft, lightweight and warm, and unlike wool, are quick drying and easy to care for.

Price points
A garment’s price is influenced by many different factors such as:

• Style and special features: additional tailoring and extra features.
• Fabric: the technical features and variety of technical fabrics used in the construction of the garment.
• Size and quantity: generally, larger sizes tend to cost more than smaller sizes and larger orders benefit from a lower unit price compared with smaller orders.

Sizing
Outerwear sizing tends to be limited to Small, Medium and Large but can go up to seven sizes (SS, S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL). Sizes always allow for garments to be worn underneath.

Brands

The following brands (in alphabetical order) supply outerwear to the promotional market:

Best in Town
Blue Max
Finden + Hale
Fruit of the Loom
Glenmuir
Henbury
Ingrams
James & Nicholson
Jerzees
Kariban
Kustom Kit
Premier
Regatta
Result
Slazenger
Stormtech

The author would like to thank Result for supplying images and help with this article.