Do you remember smoking jackets? Did someone in your family, your father, have one?

Aneeda72

Aneeda72

Well-known Member
My father had a smoking jacket. This was not a robe, for those of you who never saw one, but a jacket. His was black and white checkered with a black cloth belt. Dad would get home from work, take off his suit coat, and put on his smoking jacket.

We had early American furniture, as it was called. He had a large red upholstered chair which sat on maple legs and had side wings. It was placed near the back door which was in the living room and led into the back yard patio. He would sit in his chair, after work, in his smoking jacket, and smoke a cigar.

I can picture him there now, frozen in time in my mind-him, his smoking jacket, and his cigar.
 

One of my grandfathers wore them. I still have two of them ... beautiful plaid Pendleton wool fabric with leather buttons. Made in the 1950s. When he arrived home from the office, if he wasn't going out anywhere, he'd change from his suit into casual clothing and a smoking jacket. He never smoked a day in his life.
 
Yes remember them well... my father had one...

There were all sorts of styles and materials... my father's was a silk one similar to this..

mens-smokers-jacket-vintage-smoking-short-lounging-robe-mister-ease-by-australia.jpg
 

Oh yeah. My Mother bought a nice one for my Father. He liked it; wore it often; usually after dinner while smoking his cigar.
I never had one. If it was cool/cold I'd slip on a sweater.
 
My dad had one in burgundy velvet with complimenting satin trim which he wore only on holidays or very special occasions. :rolleyes:
 
Neither my father or my grandfather ever wore one & both smoked. I didn't know what a "smoking jacket" was until I was watching an old '40's or '50's movie with my sister & she explained it to me after I asked, "Why is he wearing a robe in the middle of the day?" Is it supposed to get smelly so your regular clothes don't?
 
Hollydolly,

That looks similar to the type my dad had, no ideal what the fabric was.

Win231,

In the 1950's they were not worried about the smoke smell on clothes or smoking, IMO. I think they wore them because men in the movies wore them. I bet they felt rich and empowered in those jackets. Lol, the kings of their castles.
 
win231 said:
Neither my father or my grandfather ever wore one & both smoked. I didn't know what a "smoking jacket" was until I was watching an old '40's or '50's movie with my sister & she explained it to me after I asked, "Why is he wearing a robe in the middle of the day?" Is it supposed to get smelly so your regular clothes don't?
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I always believed that was the idea.. I could be wrong, but I've always presumed that was the case..
 
the first time I saw a 'smoking jacket' in reality was in a small english village were i spent my youth. I called around for my mate in a quite imposing house opposite the playing fields - his father came to the door [this must have been about 10am in a scottish tartan jacket. I'd never seen anything like it and when I asked my mate was it a special coat for some reason - he retored ' that's my dads smoking jacket'

out of my social class completely
 
win231 said:
Neither my father or my grandfather ever wore one & both smoked. I didn't know what a "smoking jacket" was until I was watching an old '40's or '50's movie with my sister & she explained it to me after I asked, "Why is he wearing a robe in the middle of the day?" Is it supposed to get smelly so your regular clothes don't?
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Ditto. My father was a farmer; he wore bib overalls.
 
I remember them well, and hankered after one in my salad days.

Unfortunately simply affording a jacket was a major exercise back then!

I compromise now, I wear silk brocade waistcoats. I have four and ring the changes between red, black, blue and green. I'd like a yellow one but can't locate one under £100 ($130).
 
Butterfly said:
Nope, my family wasn't exactly in the social strata that wore smoking jackets.
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I was just thinking the same thing. Up until this thread was made I didn’t know what a smoking jacket was.
My father occasionally smoked stinky cigars and smoked them in whatever he was wearing that day like most other people that smoked.
 
I don't think it had anything to do with social strata in the 1950's in California. Our social strata was not "high". We were probably middle income untill parents divorced when I was 15. Then we were lower income. As I said, I think it was the movies and where we were living.
 
When the term ‘smoking jacket’ is mentioned, there’s only one that comes to mind…..

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Heh, he's prolly smoking in it right now
 
When I was in my late teens, my 23 yr. old boyfriend from Yorkshire had a smoking jacket. He also wore 3 piece suits - with a vest. Definitely not the norm for his age bracket (in Canada, at least). I was attracted to him because he was different.
 
Growing up in the 50s, it seemed that everyone smoked.

If you went to the flicks (movies), there were scenes where a couple would be under the sheets doing whatever they did under sheets :D, then they'd light up cigarettes to finish off the act that they had just performed, it was considered sexy back then.
When they were away from the bedrooms, smoking jackets were common in the 40s and 50s films.

I had one given to me as a Christmas gift, I wore it about half a dozen times, but then it took up residence in the dog's basket....:D...one posh dog or what....? :D
 
apart from lookin good they did stop all ya other clothes from gettin messy ; stained or burned - did they ever do smokin trousers??:nose-pick:
 
Aside from the fact that nobody smoked in the house, I only saw them (smoking jackets) in movies - -usually worn by upper class men. Never saw one amongst any of the men in our large family. And then to, I rarely saw many (in our family) wearing business suits. Most were farmers, lumbermen. or surveyors. Suits were a Sunday , wedding, or funeral only attire.

Rural low class - -that was us. :)
 

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