- Harrington jacket
A Harrington jacket is a type of short, lightweight jacket, made of
cotton ,polyester ,wool orsuede — usually with atartan or check-patterned lining.The first Harrington-style jackets were made by British clothing company Baracuta in the 1930s. As of 2008, the company still makes the same model, the G9.
Elvis Presley popularized the Baracuta G9 when he wore it in his 1958 movie "King Creole ". This style of jacket earned the nickname "Harrington" because it was worn by the character Rodney Harrington (played byRyan O'Neal ) in the 1960stelevision program "Peyton Place"; John Simmons, who opened 'The Ivy Shop', Richmond, London, claims to have coined this description.Similar to the 1950s
United States Ivy League look, the jacket became fashionable in theUnited Kingdom in the 1960s among mods andskinhead s. They again became popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s with skinhead andmod revival ists, as well as withscooterboy s. Within thosesubculture s, Harringtons are often worn withFred Perry orBen Sherman shirts. In addition to Baracuta, companies that make Harrington jackets include Fred Perry, Merc London, Ben Sherman, Lonsdale and Warrior Clothing.Due to the 70th birthday of Baracuta in
2007 , the brand released three special edition G9s with quotes bySteve McQueen ,Elvis Presley andFrank Sinatra , all of them frequent wearers of the Harrington jacket, printed on the lining.Appearances in film and television
*
Elvis Presley in "King Creole " (1958).
*Ryan O'Neal in the 1960stelevision program "Peyton Place".
*Frank Sinatra in "Assault on a Queen" (1966)
*Jack Klugman in the 1970s television series, "The Odd Couple".
*Brad Majors in theRocky Horror Picture Show (1975).
*Christopher Reeve in "Superman II " (1980).
*Kevin McNally in the beginning of "The Long Good Friday " (1980).
*Michael Keaton in "Mr. Mom " (1983).
*Michael Palin in "A Fish Called Wanda " (1988).
*Wayne Knight in the 1990s television series "Seinfeld ".
*Michael Moore in his documentary "The Big One" (1998).
*Thomas Turgoose in "This Is England " (2007).External links
* [http://www.baracuta-g9.com/v2/newsite/ Baracuta Harrington G9] website
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