The military jacket is considered widely as a staple garment to have in the wardrobe. It is quite interesting to note just how many items of fashion actually owe their roots to the military - a line of work which one would usually expect it to be all about function rather than form.
However, this is where 17th - 18th century Napoleonic European military gifted the world of fashion with the iconic jacket that is so widespread today, more specifically the Hussar and Majorette jacket, the Hussar jacket would've most likely lead to the 19th century American civil war era style Majorette jacket, later in history the Navy would release it's "Pea Jacket" for its crew on board the war ships of Europe.
Left - a Hussar Jacket Centre - Navy Pea Jacket Right - Majorette Jacket
The Hussars, refers to a number of types of light cavalry. This type of cavalry first appeared in the Hungarian army of King Matthias Corvinus, the title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry regiments in European and other armies. A number of armoured or ceremonial mounted units in modern armies retain the designation of hussars.
During the 16th century onwards right until mid 19th
century, the mode of warfare primarily used muskets, a type of rifle which once
fired caused alot of smoke owing to the sulphur powder, the armies of old still
meeting face to face in the field en masse would have a hard time
distinguishing friend or foe had it not been for their brightly coloured and
distinct garments, this function would then lead the jacket to form more of a
statement of rank, pomp and gentry even amongst military.
The same strength of highly visible, distinct uniforms
however would later prove detrimental to an armies war effort soon after the
technology shift of rifles ensured minimal smoke and guerilla units would
easily pick off the packed in mass of stark clad soldiers. Segments of the British army was
the first then to shift to camouflaged khaki uniforms in India
shortly before the Sepoy rebellion of 1857.
The young 21 years old Cornet, (Second Lieutenant) Winston Churchill of the 4th Queen's Own Hussars, 1895
The first written mention of the word "Hussarones"
(in Latin, plural; in Hungarian: Huszár) has been found in documents dating
from 1432 in Southern Hungary (at the time the Ottoman military
frontiers of the Hungarian Kingdom). A type of irregular
light horsemen was already well-established by the 15th century in medieval Hungary.
Henceforth, the light cavalry is called huszár, a name derived from the word
húsz ("twenty" in Hungarian), which refers to the drafting scheme
where for every twenty serfs a noble owned, he had to equip a mounted soldier.
A premise over the etymology of the word Hussar is offered by Byzantinist scholars, who argue the term
originated in Roman military practice, and the cursarii (singular cursarius). Through Byzantine Army operations
in the Balkans in the 10th and 11th centuries when Chosarioi/Chonsarioi were
recruited with especially Serbs, the word was subsequently reintroduced to
Western European military practice after its original usage had been lost with
the collapse of Rome in the west.
Hungarian king and founder of the Hussars Matthias Corvinus
The hussars reportedly originated in bands of mostly Serbian
warriors, crossing into southern Hungary after the Turkish invasion
of Serbia at the end of the 14th century. The Governor of
Hungary, John Hunyadi,
created mounted units inspired by his enemy, the Ottoman Turks. His son, Matthias Corvinus, later
king of Hungary, is unanimously accepted as the creator of these troops.
Initially, they fought in small bands, but were reorganised into larger,
trained formations during the reign of King Matthias Corvinus.
So the first hussar regiments were the light cavalry of the Black Army of
Hungary. Under his command, the hussars took part in the war against
the Ottoman Empire in
1485 and proved successful against the Turkish Spahis as well as
against Bohemians and Poles. After the king's death, in 1490, hussars remained
the preferred form of cavalry in Hungary. The Habsburg emperors
hired Hungarian hussars as mercenaries to
serve against the Ottoman Empire and
on various battlefields throughout Western Europe.
Hussars were often portrait as dashing and un - matched in valour, it is no surprising then that the jacket should find itself within mainstream fashion, those wanting to associate themselves as dashing albeit with a touch of class would fit well wearing the three century old garment marvelling exactly that.
The jacket would see itself form a variation amongst some military units into the majorette jacket, typically worn by cavalry officers during the American Civil War and various other European armies across the globe and it is this jacket that more commonly seen is the fashion realm.
The Majorette in it's modern day habitat
http://www.stylehive.com/bookmark/free-people-majorette-jacket-1164382
The jacket is designed to be flattering and at first amongst civilians saw itself more popular with women, perhaps to do with the women aiming to show off their husbands and thereby families link with the military and show her support to her husband's warrior - hood. To this day it remains a popular garment amongst those who prefer a fitted and gentry style garment and it does indeed still bare the connotations of the aristocratic and noble values of the social classes who first clad them.
Various pop stars wore the garment and thus expanded the garments use and place in mainstream society, such as guitar legend Jimi Hendrix who himself served in the US military:
httpwww.feelnumb.com20111117jimi-hendrix-royal-hussar-british-army-veterinary-corps-military-jackets
This specific jacket's origins date back to the 1700's when General Lasalle otherwise known as “The Hussar General” wore this type of tunic as depicted in the painting below. Inspired by the Hungarian fashion of the day, it is adorned with heavy horizontal tasseled gold rope (pelisse) across the chest and Austrian knots on the sleeves to show rank.
The King of Pop Michael Jackson also surfaces when he too donned the jacket:
Here at Oxford Blue we have our own tribute to this time honoured classic coupled in fine tweed and also wax:
This ladies tweed jacket is made to the same high quality as you expect from Oxford Blue. Elegant and fashionable the new look military jacket looks great when worn in and around town or in the country. Made from 100% Wool Tweed that is Teflon coated.
Our LTW07 Tweed Military Jacket in Sea Blue, Light Green and Biscuit
The Military jacket seen here with our Pilot Jacket
Sea blue
Our best selling and fine quality garment can be purchased on our site here: http://www.oxfordblueonline.co.uk/products/137/ltw07-ladies-millitary-tweed
The jacket can be nicely coupled with our LTW08
Ladies Tweed Gilet (100% Wool, Teflon Coated) available for purchase here: http://www.oxfordblueonline.co.uk/products/154/ltw08---ladies-tweed-gilet
Indeed, the military jacket is a timeless piece that will last through the ages as it has already proved to have done, spanning over three centuries, this garment will be a prized possession for anyone's wardrobe.
Select history sourced from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussar
