What the @#$% Is a Smoking Jacket?

You’ve seen Hugh Hefner in his smoking jacket. In fact, we think he might, like the last of a dying species, be the only gentleman left on the planet who wears one on a regular basis. The smoking jacket more than anything else, in his case, seems to be more a residual part of the entire Playboy brand since he quit smoking years ago. He shuffles around the mansion in them as if the jackets were bath robes.

However, this somewhat eccentric garment served a purpose at one point, so we were dying to find out: what the fuck is a smoking jacket?

Well, although today it might seem more like a conscious fashion choice rather than a garment that serves a purpose, the original smoking jacket was just basically “any old jacket that you do most of your smoking in.” It’s an item of clothing that mostly came out of cigar culture and dates back to the Victorian times. Cigar smoke and pipe smoke is thicker, heavier, and more aromatic — the scent lingering often stronger than cigarette smoke. Rather than smoking up your entire wardrobe, especially long before the existence of heavy duty automated washing machines in every home, you had to be economic with what clothes you were going to stink the hell up with your habits.

Cigar and pipe smoking as a social event meant that gentlemen wanted to meet up with other guys in their best duds. Business would be conducted and deals would be made. Let’s say you lived in Victorian times and you were out for a stogie with your colleagues. You think you’d just leave your ascot in the car so you didn’t smell it up? Fuck no. You’d show up in the most proper smoking jacket in town to impress your buddies. And because women were kept busy taking short breaths thanks to their tightly strung corsets, that gave men just one more reason to consider them too delicate for the smoke. So with the smoking jacket came the smoking room as well. Bango!

Hollywood legend and style icon Peter O'Toole

Smoking jackets had what you’d call a shawl collar and folded cuffs, and were usually made from velvet or silk. In the 1950′s, they came back to visit on the backs of Hollywood legends such as Cary Grant and Peter O’Toole, becoming symbolic of a gentlemen’s culture. These days, if you see them at all, they belong more to Hollywood’s version of “pimp culture” than anything, the velvet and silk more reminiscent of a Lothario’s lifestyle than his smoking habits. They are, after all, categorized as “chamber garments.” That makes sense.

You’ve noticed how Hugh Hefner’s smoking jackets seem to function more like a bathrobe than anything else? Well, that’s not so far off-base from their original purpose either. Smoking jackets weren’t something you’d wear out to an event. They were worn mostly among the wealthy and elite, and were meant for leisurely time spent indoors.

1940's pattern for a smoking jacket.

In a strictly utilitarian sense, the smoking jacket has come full circle. It is still “the jacket you do most of your smoking in.” Many men have a specific jacket that they use only for the evening or afternoon at the cigar bar or cigar shop and that either stays in the car or the garage upon returning home for the day.

If you’re wondering about rocking a smoking jacket as strictly fashion, the answer is, yes, you can. It has never really gone away. Nowadays, it’s proper and acceptable for the brave and forward-thinking gents out there to wear one to semi-formal events where a tux would be too much and your leather jacket or black suit would either be too standard or not quite enough. It’s one of the more pretentious items of clothing out there though because it’s more of a costume, so wear with caution if you must.

What about you? Do you have a jacket you use just for your smoking? Tell us about it in the comments below.