Mackinaw cloth
Mackinaw clothis a heavy and dense water-repellentwoolencloth, similar toMeltoncloth but using atartanpattern, often "buffalo plaid".It was used to make a short coat of the same name, sometimes with a doubled shoulder. These jackets have their origins on the Canadian frontier and were later made famous by Canadian and Americanloggersin the upperMidwestasworkwearduring the mid-19th century logging boom.
Mackinaw blankets are referenced by Josiah A. Gregg in his 1844 bookCommerce of the Prairiesabout trade on the Santa Fe Trail. He notes that these were contraband, subject to confiscation by Mexican customs officers, but that they could be concealed between the double layers ofOsnaburgsheet fabrics which formed the roof of covered cargo wagons.[1]
Origin of the Mackinaw jacket
[edit]
TheMackinacor Mackinaw region in present-dayMichiganwas an important trade artery during the 18th and 19th centuries; it was named after the Straits of Mackinac, which connectLake MichiganandLake Huron.A military force at the straits could also command traffic from and toLake Superior,which drains into theSt. Marys River,which in turn empties into Lake Huron east of the straits. AlthoughFort MackinacatMackinac Islandhad been ceded byBritainto the newly independentUnited Statesin theTreaty of Parisin 1783, theBritish Armyrefused to evacuate the posts on theGreat Lakesuntil 1796, when the forts atDetroit,Mackinac, andNiagarawere handed over to the Americans. British and American forces contested the area throughout theWar of 1812,and the boundary was not settled until 1828, when Fort Drummond, a British post on nearbyDrummond Island,was evacuated.[citation needed]
TheMackinaw jackettraces its roots to coats that were made by white andMétiswomen in November 1811,[2][3]whenJohn Askin Jr.,an early trader on the upper Great Lakes, hired them to design and sew 40 woolengreatcoatsfor the British Army post atFort St. Joseph (Ontario),near Mackinac. His wife, Madelaine Askin, took an important role in the design of the coat. Askin was fulfilling a contract he received from CaptainCharles Roberts,the post commander; Roberts was desperate to clothe his men, who had last been issued greatcoats in 1807.[2]The jackets were made from three-point trade blankets that Askin, who at the time was keeper of the King's store at the fort, supplied on the captain's authority.[2]Although the order called for blue coats, the number of blue blankets proved insufficient, so the number was filled out by coats made from blankets in red as well as the black-on-red tartan pattern that is associated with the jackets of today.[2]The long skirts of the greatcoat were unsuitable for deep snow, and once these were removed, the Mackinaw jacket was born.[2][4]
Modern use
[edit]
From workwear to sportswear
[edit]In the days of theOld West,heavyweight "buffalo plaid"tartan Mackinaw jackets were worn withknit capsby American and Canadianlumberjacksin theMidwest,Northwest territoriesandAlaska.[5]By the1930s,the jacket had also found widespread use assportswearamong hunters[6]and fishermen, together with aknit cap.A variant of the Mackinaw inolive drab[7]was issued to theUS Armyfor cold weather use byJeepcrews.[8]After the war, plaid jackets of this type, manufactured under thePendleton brand,became popularcasual wearfor American men as an alternative to theHollywood jacket.[9]
Use by teenagers
[edit]During the1960sPendleton overshirts werewidely wornbysurfersandsurf rockgroups such as theBeach Boys.[10]In the late '60s and early '70s "Mac" jackets became standard apparel that helped define the image of Vancouver's notorious Park Gangs, whose members came from tough, working class, logging and labouring families.[11]The jacket made another comeback among the1990sgrunge,[12]hardcore punkandskater subculturesdue to its cheapness, durability, warmth, and protection from falls whenskateboarding.[13]It is also occasionally seen on members of the 2010shipster subculturedue to its practical but timeless feel.[citation needed]
In popular culture
[edit]"Holy Mackinaw!" is the signaturecatchphraseof NHL sportscasterJoe Bowen,while also being associated with the CFL'sHamilton Tiger-Cats.
References
[edit]- ^Gregg, Josiah A. (1844).Commerce of the Prairies.Pantianos Classics. p. 12.ISBN9781545314265.
- ^abcde"7".The Sword of Old St. Joe.pp. 17–21.
- ^HBC Heritage: Hudson's Bay Point Blanket Coat
- ^Cutler, Charles L. (2002).Tracks that speak.Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p.25.ISBN0618065105.
- ^MacKay, Donald (May 2007).The Lumberjacks.Dundurn.ISBN9781550027730.
- ^Breck, Edward (2016-12-21).The way of the woods.Read Books.ISBN9781473347557.
- ^Lemons, Charles (2011).Uniforms of the US Army.Lulu.com.ISBN9781105454820.
- ^Stanton, Shelby L. (October 1994).US Army uniforms.Stackpole Books.ISBN9780811725958.
- ^"The plaid shirt".2 March 2012.
- ^Stebbins, Jon (September 2011).Beach Boys FAQ.Backbeat Books.ISBN9781458429148.
- ^Chapman, Aaron (2016).The Last Gang In Town: The Epic Story of the Vancouver Police vs. The Clark Park Gang.Arsenal Pulp Press.ISBN9781551526713.
- ^Baddeley, Gavin (2015-06-29).Street culture.Plexus.ISBN9780859658775.
- ^Boulware, Jack; Tudor, Silke (2009-09-29).Gimme something better.Penguin.ISBN9781101145005.
| Headwear | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neckwear | |||||||||
| Tops | |||||||||
| Trousers | |||||||||
| Suitsand uniforms | |||||||||
| Dresses andgowns |
| ||||||||
| Skirts | |||||||||
| Underwear andlingerie |
| ||||||||
| Coats and outerwear |
| ||||||||
| Nightwear | |||||||||
| Swimwear | |||||||||
| Footwear | |||||||||
| Legwear | |||||||||
| Accessories | |||||||||
| Dress codes |
| ||||||||
| Related | |||||||||
