Asmoking jacket is aninformalmen's style oflounge jacket originally intended fortobacco smoking. Designed in the 1850s, a traditional smoking jacket has ashawl collar, turn-upcuffs, and is closed with either toggle orbutton fastenings, or with a tie belt. It is usually made fromvelvet and/orsilk.
Originating in the 1850s,The Gentleman's Magazine ofLondon, England, defined the smoking jacket as a "kind of short robe de chambre [i.e., abanyan], ofvelvet,cashmere,plush,merino or printedflannel, lined with bright colours, ornamented with brandebourgs [i.e.,frog fasteners], olives or large buttons."[1]
The smoking jacket later evolved into thedinner jacket, essentially adress coat withouttails, following an example set by Edward, Prince of Wales (later KingEdward VII) in 1865. The smoking jacket has remained in its original form and is commonly worn whensmoking pipes andcigars.
The smoking jacket is named due to its association withtobacco smoking.
As afalse friend, the name carried on to its derivation thedinner jacket in several non-English languages. In Bulgarian, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and other European languages, the termsmoking indicates a dinner jacket, or a tuxedo jacket.
In the 17th century, goods began flowing intoEurope fromAsia and theAmericas, bringing inspices,tobacco,coffee, andsilks. It became fashionable to be depicted in one's portrait wearing a silkrobe de chambre, ordressing gown. One of the earliest mentions of this garment comes fromSamuel Pepys, who rented a silk gown for his portrait because he could not afford a new one:
Thence home and eat one mouthful, and so to Hale's and there sat until almost quite dark upon working my gowne, which I hired to be drawn (in) it—an Indian gown, and I do see all the reason to expect a most excellent picture of it. —Diary, 30 March 1666[2]
In the 18th century, gentlemen often referred to a specific style of "night gown" called thebanyan, a knee-length robe, a more comfortable design than thejustaucorps, onto whichshawl collars became prevalent. The shorter smoking jacket evolved from these garments.
To protect their clothes, many men would wear their robes-de-chambre while smoking in private. These robes acted as a barrier against ash and smoke, while also allowing them to showcase another garment from their collection.[1][3] When theCrimean War of the 1850s popularisedTurkish tobacco in Britain, smoking gained in popularity. After dinner, a gentleman might wear a smoking jacket and retreat to asmoking room. The jacket was intended to absorb the smoke from his cigar or pipe and protect his clothing from falling ash.[1]
The smoking jacket remained popular into the 20th century. An editorial inThe Washington Post in 1902 wrote that the smoking jacket was "synonymous with comfort",[4] while a Pennsylvania newspaper in 1908 stated that it would be "putting it mildly to say that a new House Coat or Smoking Jacket will give any man reason for elation".[5] Due to its comfort, it was also worn by men as a leisure garment outside of smoking. Famous wearers includedFred Astaire (who was buried in a smoking jacket),Cary Grant,Dean Martin,Jon Pertwee, andFrank Sinatra.[1]
While smoking jackets declined in popularity from the 1950s, a minority of wearers persisted;Playboy mogulHugh Hefner was a notable example. In its January/February 1999 issue,Cigar Aficionado stated that the smoking jacket ought to be brought back, perhaps as an "alternative type offormalwear".[2]
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