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A sportcoat as part of a smart-casual look.

A sportcoat, sports coat or sports jacket, is a tailored jacket for men. Though it is of a similar cut and length to a suit jacket there are many differences. First, it is less formal. Also it is designed to be worn on its own and does not come as part of a suit. Styles, fabrics, colours and patterns are also more varied; sturdier and thicker fabrics are most often used, such as tweed, and in particular Harris Tweed from the north-west of Scotland.

Originally, sports coats were worn as casual attire for hunting and other outdoor sports (hence the name). With time, they have come to be seen as more formal, sometimes being used in school uniforms as at Summer Fields School in England.^[1]

Variant types[link]

A shooting jacket is a type of sports coat worn, as the name suggests, originally in the sports of shooting or hunting. It usually comes with a leather patch on the front shoulder to prevent wear from the butt of a shotgun or rifle, frequently with matching leather patches on the elbow.

A hacking jacket is a wool sports coat for casual horseback riding, often of tweed and traditionally with a single vent.

A blazer is similar to a sports coat but more closely resembles a suit jacket, and is tailored from solid color or striped fabrics. Blazers are often made with metal buttons reflecting its origins in the sport of boating, though this is not necessarily a defining feature.^[2]

See also[link]

• Blouson

Notes[link]

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Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren in his office 1979 by Edgar de Evia
Born	Ralph Lifshitz (1939-10-14) October 14, 1939 (age 72) Bronx, New York
Nationality	American
Education	Baruch College, City University of New York
Occupation	Fashion designer
Spouse	Ricky Anne Low-Beer (1964-present)
Children	3
Awards	Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur
Labels	Polo Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren (born Ralph Lifshitz, October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.

Early life[link]

Ralph Lauren was born Ralph Lifshitz in the Bronx, New York, to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants, from Pinsk, Belarus:^[1] Fraydl (née Kotlar) and Frank Lifshitz, a house painter.^[2]

Ralph attended the Salanter Academy Jewish Day School followed by MTA (now known as the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy), before eventually graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1957.^[3][4] In MTA Lauren was known by his classmates for selling ties to his fellow students. In a moment of spontaneity, when asked what he wanted to do in^[5] his Clinton yearbook he stated under his picture that he wanted to be a millionaire.^[6] During the summer, Ralph attended Camp Roosevelt (Monticello).^[7]

At the age of 16, Ralph's brother Jerry (who was his guardian) changed their last name to Lauren to avoid the unfortunate obscenity reference Lifshitz has in English (although Ralph's brother Lenny retained the name). Apparently Ralph was teased about it in school.^[8] “My given name has the word shit in it,” he told Oprah Winfrey. “When I was a kid, the other kids would make a lot of fun of me. It was a tough name. That's why I decided to change it. Then people said, "Did you change your name because you don't want to be Jewish?" I said, "Absolutely not. That's not what it's about. My cousins who lived in California had changed their last name to Lawrence. So I just thought, "I'm going to pick a nice last name"—it wasn't particularly connected to anything or anyone."^[9]

He went to Baruch College where he studied business, although he dropped out after two years. From 1962 to 1964 he served in the United States Army.^{[citation needed]} He did not attend fashion school, but worked for Brooks Brothers as a salesman. In 1967, with the financial backing of Manhattan clothing manufacturer Norman Hilton, Lauren opened a necktie store where he also sold ties of his own design, under the label "Polo."^[10] He later received the rights to use the trademark Polo from Brooks Brothers.

Personal life[link]

On December 20, 1964, he married Ricky Anne Low-Beer in New York City. The two met six months earlier, in an eye doctor's office where Ricky was working as a receptionist.^[11] They have three children: Dylan, David and Andrew.

The Polo Ralph Lauren flagship store occupying the Rhinelander Mansion on Madison Avenue in New York City

In 1970, Ralph Lauren won the COTY Award for his menswear line. Around that same time he released a line of women's suits that were tailored in a classic men's style, which was when the first Polo emblem was seen. It was on the cuff of the women's suit. Ralph Lauren released Polo's famous short sleeve mesh shirt with the Polo logo in 1972. It came out in 24 colors and soon became a classic.^[12] He also gained recognition for his design after he was contracted to provide clothing styles for the movie The Great Gatsby.

A Polo Ralph Lauren store on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago

In 1984, he transformed the Rhinelander Mansion, former home of the photographer Edgar de Evia and Robert Denning, into the flagship store for Polo Ralph Lauren. This same year de Evia photographed the cover feature story for House & Garden on the Lauren home Round Hill in Jamaica,^[13] which had formerly been the home of Babe and Bill Paley.^[14] On June 11, 1997, Polo Ralph Lauren became a public company, traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RL.

By 2007 Ralph Lauren had over 35 boutiques in the United States. There were 23 locations that carried Ralph Lauren Purple Label, including Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Boston, Charlotte, Washington, DC, Chicago, Costa Mesa, Dallas, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Las Vegas, Manhasset, New York, Palm Beach, Palo Alto, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Short Hills, and Troy.^{[citation needed]} The Financial Times reported in its edition of January 2–3, 2010 that the firm had revenues of $5 billion for the fiscal year 2009. The article addresses succession plans and the future of the overall business.

In 2010, Ralph Lauren was decorated Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in Paris

Surgery[link]

Sometime in early 1987, he was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor. In April 1987 he underwent surgery to remove the tumor and made a full recovery.^[15]

Net worth[link]

As of September 2011, Forbes estimates his wealth at $6.1 billion dollars which would make Ralph Lauren the 173rd richest person in the world.^[16]

Automobile Collection[link]

Ralph Lauren with his Porsche GT3 RS (2010)

Ralph Lauren is also well known as a collector of automobiles, some of which are extremely rare. A large portion of his over 70 automobiles are held in his estate in Katonah, New York. He owns a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, two Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas, three 1996 McLaren F1s (one of them an ultra-rare F1 LM), a Mercedes 300SL Gullwing, a 1929 Blower Bentley, one Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, a Porsche 997 GT3 RS, a Bugatti Veyron, a 1930 Mercedes-Benz CountTrossi SSK (aka "The Black Prince") a 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Mille Miglia.^[17], a Lamborghini Reventón and the rare Reventón Roadster. His cars have won "best in show" at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance multiple times. In 2005 his collection was displayed at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.^[18] In 2011 17 prime members of his collection were exhibited at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.^[19]

Controversies[link]

In 2009, Ralph Lauren apologized^[20] for digitally retouching a photograph of model Filippa Hamilton to make her look thinner. Hamilton also claims that she was fired by Ralph Lauren a few days later.^[21] Another model's photo was also digitally retouched^[22] adding to the row.

See also[link]

• List of swimwear brands

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Gross, Michael: Genuine Authentic: The Real Life of Ralph Lauren. Harper, New York 2003.
• Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A.: Ralph Lauren: The Man behind the Mystique. Little, Brown and Company New York 1981.
• McDowell, Colin: Ralph Lauren: The Man, The Vision, The Style. Rizzoli, New York 2002.

External links[link]

• Ralph Lauren Web Site
• Ralph Lauren designer profile at Fashion Model Directory
• Ralph Lauren at the Internet Movie Database
• Ralph Lauren collections at style.com
• Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention
• Men's Vogue profile of Ralph Lauren
• Ralph Lauren Auto Collection
• WIRED Magazine celebrates the Ralph Lauren Classic Automobile Collection

Joseph Abboud (born May 5, 1950) is an award-winning American menswear fashion designer and author.

Early life[link]

Abboud was born in Boston, Massachusetts.^[1] The Abboud family was a working-class Christian Lebanese family that started out in the South End of Boston and later moved to the Roslindale section of Boston. Abboud's mother, Lila, was a seamstress. On a trip to Australia, Abboud discovered that his great-grandfather had owned Australia's largest men's tailored-clothing company. He now has two daughters, Lila and Ari, and resides in Bedford, New York with his family.

Abboud graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Boston in 1972, then studied at the Sorbonne in Paris.^[2] He turned down a teaching position at the Brookline High School.

Career[link]

Abboud first started working in the fashion industry as a 16-year-old working part-time at Louis Boston. Abboud stated: "Louis Boston was a huge part of my career. I really landed in a world of very glamorous style, beautiful clothes, just the world of what international fashion was about. If this had never happened, then the rest of it wouldn't have happened."

Abboud joined Ralph Lauren in 1981, eventually becoming associate director of menswear design. He launched his own label in 1986.^[3] In 1988, JA Apparel was created as a joint venture between Abboud and GFT (Gruppo Finanziario Tessile) USA.^[1]

In 1991 Abboud worked with fashion director Peter Speliopoulos. Abboud was the first designer to win the CFDA award as Best Menswear Designer two years in a row. Many of Abboud's famous friends are also his customers, including American trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis, author and former TV news anchor Tom Brokaw, and former Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra.^[4]

Abboud sold his trademarks and name to JA Apparel for $65 million in 2000.^[5][6] The company was acquired by private-equity firm J.W. Childs Associates for $73 million in 2004, and Abboud left JA Apparel in 2005.^[7]

In 2007, Abboud launched a new line called Jaz.^[6] He also created the Black Brown 1826 line for the Lord & Taylor department store in 2008.^[8] In 2010, Abboud became the chief creative officer of HMX, owner of the Hart Schaffner Marx and Hickey Freeman brands.^[9] HMX made an offer to buy JA Apparel for $90 million in 2011.^[9]

Book[link]

Abboud wrote Threads: My Life Behind the Seams in the High-Stakes World of Fashion.^[10] He thoroughly describes the fashion industry from designing and selling clothes to naming colors. He also writes about some of the negative experiences that he has endured such as racial profiling after the September 11 attacks, a court battle over legal rights to his name, and a failed flagship store that is now occupied by Donna Karan.

Breast cancer activism[link]

Abboud's mother and sister both succumbed to breast cancer. As a result, Abboud has become a breast cancer activist who designed a one-of-a-kind GMC Sierra vehicle to fund-raise for a Concept:Cure charity event and has participated in many other charity events for breast cancer research. GM offered a Joseph Abboud Limited Edition Buick Regal GS and LS from 2001 to 2004, and a Joseph Abboud Limited Edition Buick Rendezvous for 2004 and 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Abboud was honored as one of five "Men for the Cure" by GQ magazine and General Motors' Concept:Cure during a breast cancer fund-raiser. Concept:Cure raised $2.6 million for breast cancer organizations.^[11]

Abboud stated: "Concept:Cure is a very special program for me. My mother and sister died from breast cancer. It's a disease we really have to find a cure for. I know I speak for my colleagues when I say (Concept:Cure) is not about a monetary or PR opportunity for us, it's about doing something really good." ^[12]

In media and sports[link]

Abboud frequently appeared on Don Imus's radio show and is a regular caller to the New York City radio station, WFAN, to discuss his beloved Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees' rival. In 2002, Abboud was the first fashion designer to throw out the opening pitch at Boston's Fenway Park for a Red Sox game.

Abboud is referenced in the 1991 novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, in Seinfeld episode "The Wig Master" (1996), in The Wire episode "Bad Dreams" (2003), and he meets and exchanges quips with the Boston detective Spenser in Chapter 3 of Robert B. Parker's 2009 novel The Professional.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Joseph Abboud designer profile at Fashion Model Directory
• Abboud's book, Threads at Amazon.com
• JA Apparel Corp v. Joseph Abboud