The Norfolk

[uppercase]

The Norfolk never really entered my consciousness as a cool coat until I saw 'uman's' superb Norfolk below, bespoke for him by Poole.

Very nice!

The other examples are by Steed and tweed-jacket.com







"A Norfolk jacket is a loose, belted, single-breasted jacket with box pleats on the back (and sometimes front), now with a belt or half-belt. The style was long popular for boys' jackets and suits, and is still used in some (primarily military and police) uniforms. It was originally designed as a shooting coat that did not bind when the elbow was raised to fire."

It was named either for the Duke of Norfolk or for the county of Norfolk and was made fashionable after the 1860s in the sporting circle of the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII whose country residence was Sandringham House in Norfolk."

[Bishop of Briggs]

By coincidence, I am planning on ordering a shooting jacket with a similar design. My interest was sparked by one that caught my eye on a recent visit to Cordings to replace a pair of worn out moleskins. Cordings' website is down for maintenance so I cannot post a link. It is similar to this design from Farlow's - http://www.farlows.co.uk/product_info.p ... 3c78d58287. The action back gives more room for a heavy jumper if you need one. The large pockets are very practical.

[uppercase]

Farlows has a nice site.

I've never been to that store though passed by it many times. I always thought that it was a fishing supplies store.

[storeynicholas]

These all look like fine examples but they need to be broken in. I recently saw a photo of a competitor in a shooting competition and he was dressed like a Cording's window dummy - all new tweeds; all uncreased; unbeaten; unbattered and all too clean; including a crisp brown Trilby straight out of the box. Tweeds shouldn't really be allowed to be seen until they are in a state that some Townies would describe as nearly fit for gardening duty. Here is the Browning - du Mauier family outside Menabilly, in the midst of country pursuits which the clothes facilitate; they are not the centre-piece. NB all the crumples and mud; suggesting a good time had by all.







NJS

[alden]

Farlow's is a must. I have been a client for 30 years and really appreciate the place.

Michael Alden

[uppercase]

Here is the Browning - du Mauier family outside Menabilly, in the midst of country pursuits which the clothes facilitate; they are not the centre-piece. NB all the crumples and mud; suggesting a good time had by all.

NJS

I certainly agree with this.

Though we discuss clothing on this forum, clothing is ofcourse only ancillary to the main course, whatever that may be. Really, clothing is just there to enhance an experience, whether walking, dining, shooting, going to the bookstore, lounging at home, whatever; it is just one of life's small pleasures.

Only this morning, I was in a country store with the usual assortment of town and country people; those with money, those who work for them, those who live in the country, those who come to visit them. The differences, in so many respects, are very clear to a casual observer. It is very hard to escape appearing as coming from the Town though it doesn't really matter much anyway.

But with regard to the aspect of clothing, Country is a matter of being worn and used while getting on with the day's pursuits. This is what is called authenticity; you just can't buy it.

Here is Farlow's advice to the townie visiting the country:
http://www.farlows.co.uk/what-to-wear.php

[storeynicholas]

uppercase - I entirely agree. Of course, the gear on the models is out of the shop and needs to be used. The finest shots that I know nearly look like scare crows when they go out. It isn't an affectation; they are fond of the clothes that they customarily wear and the clothes are, in a sense, old friends and, for those who know them, badges of their experience; but not experience in wearing clothes; experience in the pursuit for which they are worn. I am not sure whether I am anymore: a countryman (as I began), a townie (as I became), or just a grumbling, rumbling ex-pat, sweltering 'neath a tropic sun, but I am sure that clothes need to be worn (if they are necessary - and here, frankly, they are not), often enough to become a part of our experience of living. It is all very well having, as did Evander Berry Wall, 500 outfits but (even if he did change six times a day), how many of them could have been really familiar to him?
NJS.

[YoungLawyer]

To resurrect an old thread rather than start a new one...

I'm considering having a Norfolk Coat made to match some plus twos that I have already. The use would be for occasional shooting and more regular winter cycling, as an alternative to a hacking jacket.

The first one in 'Kind Hearts' is quite smart to my eye (http://clothesonfilm.com/wp-content/upl ... de.bmp.jpg). The features that distinguish this for the more standard cut seem to be that the buttoning point is higher, although there are still 4 buttons (or 3, with one on the belt?), and it is altogether closer fitting, than the examples above in this thread. Not a dedicated shooting coat, but surely useful enough.

The few Norfolk Coats I see are all quite loose fitting. Does anyone have any experience with a more fitted Norfolk coat like this one?

[alden]

YL

I would print the very first picture in this thread (coat made by Poole) and take it to the tailors.That's about as good as a Norfolk gets.

Cheers

[YoungLawyer]

I agree it's very good indeed.

[Leonard Logsdail]

I work closely with the shooting industry and attend several shows during the year in order to obtain new clients. In the 15 years I have been doing this, I have never made a Norfolk jacket for someone to shoot in. I've made several of them, but only for weekend or country wear.

As I understand it, the reason behind the vertical straps goes like this - poachers, when out plying there trade, could only be stopped by the game keepers if the game they had bagged could be seen on the poacher. So they devised 2 things. the vertical straps and the poachers pocket. The straps stop the garment from bagging down under the weight of the game hidden within. And it was hidden in the poachers pocket that has a strap from the outside of the pocket to the armhole, where it is secured. between the two "tricks" the poacher might void being nicked.

Logsdail

[Manself]

Perhaps the Norfolk jacket is going to be revived. I see that someone was wearing one at Pitti Uomo last week:
http://tinyurl.com/poya547