The Letterman Jacket: What the Patches Mean and How to Wear One as an Adult
The first letterman "jacket" wasn't a jacket. In 1865 the Harvard baseball team added an Old English "H" to gray flannel shirts, and that single letter became the whole idea. Players earned the letter, and everyone who saw it knew what it meant.
The wool-and-leather jacket we picture today took a while longer. By the 1930s it had settled into its final form. By the 1980s it was showing up well outside the gym, in The Breakfast Club and on hip-hop stages. Here's what it is, what the patches mean and how a grown man wears one without looking like he's about to be late for homecoming.
What a letterman jacket is made of
The body is wool, the sleeves are leather and the lettering is chenille. That recipe was settled by the 1930s. According to Wikipedia's history of the letterman, a wool body with contrasting colored leather sleeves was standard by then.
Chenille is the fuzzy stuff. Short lengths of fiber are woven between two twisted core threads, which gives the soft raised pile you can feel through a sleeve. The letter itself is usually 4 to 8 inches tall. The trim is rib knit at the collar, cuffs and hem, usually with stripes, and the front closes with snaps or buttons. Two waist pockets finish the job.
Varsity and letterman mean the same garment. "Letterman" stresses the letter you earned. "Varsity" is just what most people call it.
What the patches mean
Every piece on a real school jacket says something.
The big letter. The school's initial, in school colors, on the left chest.
Sport patches. A football helmet, a music note, a pair of drama masks or a microscope shows what the letter was earned in. Letters weren't only for athletes. Band, drama and academics earned them too.
Year bars. One hangs below the letter for each extra year in the activity.
Pins and numerals. Pins mark extras like team captain or all-conference. Numerals usually give the graduation year.
Schools set their own minimums, so the rules vary. The point stays the same: the jacket is a record of what you did.
Why it got big in the 80s
One teen movie did a lot of the work. In The Breakfast Club (1985), Emilio Estevez's character, Andrew Clark, wears a blue and gray wool and leather jacket with a chest letter, and replica makers have been selling it ever since. Meanwhile the jacket was moving to the street. Run DMC and N.W.A wore letterman jackets in the 80s and 90s, and Stussy started making its own in 1987 using the old wool and leather methods.
Which is the quiet reason it works now. The jacket survived because it carries two meanings at once: school spirit and street style. You can wear it for either.
How a grown man wears one
Most style guides agree on one thing: let the jacket be the loud part. Everything else stays plain.
Start with a quiet colorway. Black, navy, cream and white are the easy ones. A jacket in loud school colors is a bigger statement, so save it for round two.
Check the length. It should end at the hip, with the shoulder seams sitting on the shoulder bone and the sleeves landing at the wrist. Pair it with trousers or jeans at the natural waist, because a very high rise leaves a gap that shows.
Keep the rest simple. Straight black jeans, a white tee and a leather belt is the classic. A crisp button shirt and chinos moves it toward smart casual.
Pick shoes that match the mood. Trainers are the natural fit. Boots add grit. Loafers add a sleek twist.
We make three letterman designs, all $110: the Retro VHS Letterman Jacket, the RetroHead Letterman Jacket and the Synth Letterman Jacket. Underneath, a plain tee is plenty. For shoes, the Retro Streetwear Sneakers 1987 ($89.99) keep it in the decade.
Can you wear one you didn't earn?
Culturally, plenty of people say a jacket with a real school's letter should be earned. For style, choose one with no school letter at all, or a design that clearly isn't a high school. That solves the problem without a debate at the bar.
Letterman, bomber or windbreaker?
If you're still deciding between the three, we sorted them in Bomber, Windbreaker or Varsity: Which 80s Jacket Is Actually Right for You. And if you'd rather build the look around denim, The 80s Denim Jacket: Styling It Without Looking Like a Costume has the same keep-it-simple logic.
Questions we get
What is the difference between a letterman and a varsity jacket? Nothing in the garment. Letterman stresses the earned school letter, and varsity is the more common word.
Where did the letterman jacket come from? The letter tradition began at Harvard in 1865 with baseball. The wool and leather jacket form settled in by the 1930s.
What are letterman jackets made of? A wool body, leather sleeves, chenille letters and rib knit trim at the collar, cuffs and hem.
What do the patches on a letterman jacket mean? The big letter is the school, emblems show the sport or activity, bars show extra years, pins show honors or captaincy and numerals usually show the graduation year.
How should a letterman jacket fit? It ends at the hip, the shoulders sit on the bone and the sleeves reach the wrist.
Explore the collections: Jackets · 80s Jackets & Windbreakers · VHS Sneakers · T-Shirts
For your letterman look
Free worldwide shipping · Taxes & customs included
Leave a comment