TheNehru jacket is a hip-length tailored coat for men or women, with amandarin collar, and with its front modelled on the longer Indianachkan orsherwani frequently worn byJawaharlal Nehru, the prime minister of India from 1947 to 1964.
The Nehru jacket is a variation of theJodhpuri where the material is oftenkhadi (hand-woven cloth). TheJodhpuri itself is an evolution from theAngarkha. Popularized during the terms of Jawaharlal Nehru, these distinct Bandhgalas made from khadi remain popular to this day.[1]
Unlike the achkan, which falls somewhere below the knees of the wearer, the Nehru jacket is shorter. Jawaharlal Nehru, notably, never wore this type of Nehru jacket.[a][2]
The jacket was first marketed as theNehru jacket in Europe and America in the mid-1960s. It was briefly popular there in the late 1960s and early 1970s, its popularity spurred by the aspirational class' growing awareness of foreign cultures, by theminimalism of theMod lifestyle and, in particular, bySammy Davis Jr.[3] andthe Beatles.[4][5] Some were also worn byRoger Delgado's version of the renegadeTime Lord known asthe Master on the British science fiction television showDoctor Who.
Charles Barron andMahathir Mohamad are among the politicians who frequently wear Nehru suits.[6][7]
In 2012, the Nehru jacket was listed among the "Top 10 Political Fashion Statements" byTime magazine.[8]