The Baker Boy/News Boy Cap

The newsboy cap or newsy cap is a casual-wear cap similar in style to the flat cap. Sometimes also referred to as the:Baker Boy, Bandit Cap, Apple Cap, Eight Piece Cap, Eight Panel, Cabbie, Jay Gatsby (from The Great Gatsby), Fisherman's Cap, Pageboy, Applejack Hat, Lundberg Stetson and the Poor Boy Cap.

It has the same overall shape and stiff peak in front as a flat cap, but the body of the cap is rounder, fuller, and panelled with a button on top, and often with a button attaching the front to the brim (as the flat cap sometimes has).

The style was popular in Europe and North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among both boys and adult men. As the name suggests, it is now associated with newspaper boys, this may give rise to a misunderstanding - while it is true that many newspaper and other young working lads wore flat caps along with other styles, it was not however worn only by boys.

Flat caps were very common for North American and European men and boys of all classes during the early 20th century and were almost universal during the 1910s - 20s, particularly among the working 'lower' classes. A great many photographs of the period show these caps worn not only by newsboys, but by dockworkers, high steel workers, shipwrights, coster mongers, farmers, beggars, (such as Oliver Twist), bandits, artisans, and tradesmen of many types. This is also well attested in novels and films of this period and just after.

Oliver Twist era fashion in the 1910's

While they were worn by boys and men of all social classes, they were worn by the 'upper' classes primarily for leisure activities, and the style became associated with well-to-do country sportsmen, drivers and wealthy golfers

Oxford Blue carries within its belt a very high quality Baker's Boy Hat:http://www.oxfordblueonline.co.uk/products/239/hw96-harris-tweed-8-pc-hat

Made From Harris Tweed, this is a must have for Autumn/Winter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsboy_cap

A brief history of clay pigeon shooting.

A traditionally aristocratic pastime, clay pigeon shooting has evolved to be a widespread pastime amongst all.

It was popular practise in the 1800's for hunting parties to don tweed garments and boots and hunt pheasants, pigeons and other game birds of all varieties in their country estates. It was in 1812 in a London suburb that the first live pigeon-shooting club was born. It was called the "Old Hats Tavern". The old hats were used nas boxes in order to launch the pigeons. This was when the expansion of this sport first started. 

However around the 1850's glass balls filled with feathers were used instead of live game, perhaps in an effort to make the sport less ghastly to the less bloodthirsty inclined sportsmen or even to cut down costs. Mechanisms were devised as a sort of animal trap to release the glass balls into the air, coining the phrase "ball trap."

By 1921 live pigeon shooting competitions were made illegal but by the end of the 19th century the clay target had emerged which Victorian era shooters used as practise before hunting for live game, thus the cklay pigeon had already reach mainstream circles paving its way to take over during competitions, by 1927 it has enough popularity for Britain to host it's first open championship.

Our large range of traditional and genuine shooting jackets can be viewed on our website www.oxfordblueonline.co.uk

1. http://www.oxfordblueonline.co.uk/products/150/w37---mens-tweed-jacket
2. http://www.oxfordblueonline.co.uk/products/10/mtw02-gents-tweed-gilet
3. http://www.oxfordblueonline.co.uk/products/9/ltw05-ladies-raglan-tweed-coat

The country tweed shooting jacket.

Among the British aristocracy was a popular pastime of hunting game and shooting, this was largely done in tweed garments to help shield the wearer from the typically cold and damp British weather. Shooting was largely a seasonal hobby depending on the quarry:

Gamebird and Waterfowl Open Seasons (dates inclusive)

Species	England and Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland	Isle of Man
Pheasant	Oct 1 – Feb 1	Oct 1 – Feb 1	Oct 1 – Jan 31	Oct 1 – Jan 31
Grey Partridge	Sep 1 – Feb 1	Sep 1 – Feb 1	Sep 1- Jan 31	Protected (ban in force)
Red-legged Partridge	Sep 1 – Feb 1	Sep 1 – Feb 1	Sep 1- Jan 31	Sep 13 – Jan 31
Red Grouse	Aug 12 – Dec 10	Aug 12 – Dec 10	Aug 12 – Nov 30	Aug 25 – Oct 31 *
Black Grouse	Aug 20 – Dec 10 (Somerset, Devon and New Forest: Sep 1 – Dec 10)	Aug 20 – Dec 10	—	—
Ptarmigan	—	Aug 12 – Dec 10	—	—
Duck & Goose inland	Sep 1 – Jan 31	Sep 1 – Jan 31	Sep 1 – Jan 31	Sep 1 – Jan 31 – DucksJuly 1 – Mar 31 – Geese**
Duck & Goose below HWM (see below)	Sep 1 – Feb 20	Sep 1 – Feb 20	Sep 1 – Jan 31	Sep 1 – Jan 31- Ducks Jul 1 – Mar 31 – Geese **
Common Snipe	Aug 12 – Jan 31	Aug 12 – Jan 31	Sep 1 – Jan 31	Sep 1 – Jan 31
Jack Snipe	Protected	Protected	Sep 1 – Jan 31	Protected
Woodcock	Oct 1 – Jan 31	Sep 1 – Jan 31	Oct 1 – Jan 31	Oct 1 – Jan 31
Golden Plover	Sep 1 – Jan 31	Sep 1 – Jan 31	Sep 1 – Jan 31	Protected
Coot/Moorhen	Sep 1 – Jan 31	Sep 1 – Jan 31	Protected	Protected

HWM – High water mark:

England and Wales: The area of sea shore which is more often than not covered by the flux and reflux of the four ordinary tides occurring midway between springs and neaps.

Scotland: Area between high and low water marks of ordinary spring tides

Northern Ireland: The limit of where the living seaweed is attached to the stones of the foreshore.

Isle of Man: * Currently a voluntary ban on shooting red grouse is in place. ** Geese can only be shot under general licence under the Wildlife Act 1990. See the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) website for terms and conditions of general licences http://www.gov.im/categories/the-environment-and-greener-living/wildlife/

http://basc.org.uk/game-and-gamekeeping/quarry-species-shooting-seasons/

The shooting jacket had to cater for it wearer in a different respect to a traditional jacket die to the nature of the sport, the 4 main ways are:

1.      Greater manoeuvrability

None shooting jackets do not allow much give when lifting the arms up, therefore should one go clay pigeon shooting where a high flying target moves fast, one would need the extra room and give in the shoulder region to allow such play.

2.       Deep and wide pockets

A defining characteristic, the pockets should be deep to ensure cartridges do not fall out and wide enough to allow quick and easy access to, shooters could also wear bandoliers as an alternative however the jacket also served as an accompanying store.

3.       Hidden zips

The zips would be hidden under flaps of tweed to protect the gun but from getting scratched and surely from making noise, on waistcoats the shoulder would have fabric over layer for the same reason.

4.       Warm and waterproof

Out in the estate all day, one would be up against fairly regularly un friendly British weather, hunting jackets in particular needed waterproof coating.

A theory of how the jacket came about which is not implausible is an evolution from the Norfolk jacket, popular as a sports jacket in the 1860’s but perhaps too restrictive, thus a more baggy coat came about to allow shooters greater play when hunting.

http://www.gentlemansgazette.com/

Our large range of traditional and genuine shooting jackets can be viewed on our website www.oxfordblueonline.co.uk

1. http://www.oxfordblueonline.co.uk/products/150/w37---mens-tweed-jacket

2. http://www.oxfordblueonline.co.uk/products/10/mtw02-gents-tweed-gilet

3. http://www.oxfordblueonline.co.uk/products/9/ltw05-ladies-raglan-tweed-coat

A Brief History of Tweed

Tweed, an icon of British country life, nothing is perhaps more instantly recognisable as British fashion than a classic tweed woven garment.

A HW45 Thelma Hat (Biscuit) and LTW09 Ladies Field Jacket 

The story of tweed is an amusing one, many would think it is after the river tweed that flows through Scotland, however it is quite comical to learn the fact that the name owes it's inception to a simple error in misreading an invoice! Tweel was the original name as a Scottish take on the word twill - its genesis being the fabrics twilled pattern, in 1826 William Watson hailing from Hawick to a London trader James Locke, due to a legibility error or some other factor, Locke misread the name as Tweed rather than tweel and thus the name Tweed as we know it was born. 

W221 and W226 Blazer and Waistcoat respectively (C001L Harris Tweed)

However the style of tweed and its association with gentry, aristocracy came about mid 19th century with the British nobles bringing about what was called estate tweeds. It was common practise amongst the classes of nobility to purchase estates purely for hunting and game keeping, the tweed would protect the wearer from the cold and moist and is considered informal wear by the social classes who adorned it in those days and would often be worn with Wellington's (when hunting) or with tanned shoes when not in the fields. 

The hunting estates coupled with the typical wearing of tweed hence gave birth to what was known as estate tweeds, the staff that would look after the estate were also clad in estate tweed to follow Highland traditions and also to ensure their staff were appropriately shielded from the elements,  

http://pages.rapha.cc/stories/tweed-the-original-performance-fabric

The Highland tradition of specific patterns serving as a distinct identity of each clan surfaced by each twilled pattern specific to an estate as a part of staff uniform. From the 1830's onwards, tweed had become a widespread fashion throughout all estates, and aristocrats would not be seen as genuine had they not followed trend.

LTW09 Ladies Field Jacket, HW57 Helmsley Cap, LTW08 Gilet (Light Green)

In the 1840's the countess of Dunmore introduced Harris Tweed amongst her circles and promoted it heavily to the extent that tweed is now synonymous with the quality and commanding stature of Harris Tweed.

We at Oxford Blue sell a wide range of Harris Tweed garments from blazers, waistcoats, hats and many more, one can always tell a genuine Harris Tweed garment by its smooth feel even though typically tweed is characteristically coarse, visit www.oxfordblueonline.co.uk for more. 

A Brief History of the Wax Jacket

Oxford Blue in it's inception over four decades ago started with just making wax jackets, over the years we have honed this garment to perfection and have now become international selling in Europe, Asia, and even the United States enabling us to become wax garment specialists.

However, what is the wax jacket? How did it come about? Why put wax on a cotton jacket?

All interesting questions.

Like most items of fashion these days, the garment was once an item of functional wear. The wax jacket owes its origins to the initial development of wax fabric itself which found itself first made use by innovative British sailors as a raincoat around the 19th century.

But it all began when sailors noticed that the sails on their ships when wet would slow the vessel down considerably, imagine how heavy your normal everyday jacket gets in heavy rain - now imagine how heavy a large sail a hundred feet in the air on a colossal 19th cent flagship would be! 

The North Atlantic can be a very harsh and inhospitable environment, those sails men who worked at sea over 150 years ago would constantly be slapped by claps of rain, cutting winds and turbulent sea waves. Hence the brave sailors of the day donned a form of armour that shielded them from such harsh working conditions. Survival was of course dependent on the quality clothing one would wear, if a man on deck was soaked he would most definitely render his limbs heavy, slow down work and tire himself out at best, at worst he could catch disease such as pneumonia.

Initially they were apply linseed oil onto their sails and tear off any remains and use them as waterproof smocks - the stage was set for the gradual slope of evolution into the British fashion icon that is the wax jacket.

http://media.tumblr.com/c7b2af171de03e92b32dfe7c5ebf0d8d/tumblr_inline_mn0g4oGm0l1qz4rgp.jpg

However, problems occurred with linseed oil, gradual ageing would turn the garments and sails yellow and in cold the fabric would turn incredibly stiff, it seemed one problem solved turned into a myriad of many more problems. Nevertheless the innovative minds of the day turned to using wax. It rendered the jacket weatherproof yet lightweight and pliable enough for the sailors to carry out their duties.

The traders of the day started selling these garments out to everyone who would benefit from such work wear, thus in the British countryside gamekeepers, farmers, hunters, fisherman and all those exposed to the elements would eventually buy into the wax jacket market. 

Oxford Blue in it's inception started off mainly with functional wear such as:

Our W73 Hobart Cape

W19L Ladies Drover

And indeed we still do make them, however over the years as technology advances, garments such as the hobart cape tend to find themselves reborn into fabrics such as nylon, a much more longer lasting, robust material that does not require re - proofing.

So why keep making traditional wax garments?

The answer is simple, the modern fabrics just cannot displace the image of the aged, antique look of the traditional wax fabric, it has character, history and will continue to live on. The country look would not be the same without a wax jacket on top of a classic shirt and tweed hat. 

That's why we are, classic country clothing, from Oxford Blue.