Smoking Jackets

02Apr08

According to Wikipedia, the smoking jacket

…became a popular accessory in Victorian times, when it was believed that the sensitive and delicate nostrils of ladies would be assailed by the pungent fumes of tobacco clinging to everyday clothing. Consequently it became de rigueur for every considerate gentleman to don his smoking jacket before lighting his cigar or pipe, usually after dinner.

Here we see Mark Twain reclining, no doubt he’s coming up with yet another pithy aphorism.

Decades later we see the Superfine Dandelions displaying their superfinery.

If you think having a jacket especially for smoking is strange, the Victorians also wore heavily embroidered smoking caps.

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Tags: clothes, history, retro, smoking cap, smoking jacket, victorians