Anorak - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

An anorak or parka is a type of heavy jacket

Jacket

A jacket is a hip- or waist-length garment for the upper body. A jacket typically has sleeves, and fastens in the front. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which is outerwear...

with a hood

Hood (headgear)

A hood is a kind of headgear that covers most of the head and neck and sometimes the face. They may be worn for protection from the environment, for fashion, as a form of traditional dress or uniform, to prevent the wearer from seeing or to prevent the wearer from being identified.-History and...

, often lined

Lining (sewing)

In sewing and tailoring, a lining is an inner layer of fabric, fur, or other material inserted into clothing, hats, luggage, curtains, handbags and similar items....

with fur

Fur

Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...

or fake fur

Fake fur

Fake fur, also called fun fur or faux fur, is any material made of synthetic fibers designed to resemble fur, normally as part of a piece of clothing...

, so as to protect the face from a combination of freezing

Freezing

Freezing or solidification is a phase change in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. The reverse process is melting....

temperatures and wind

Wind

Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...

. This kind of garment, originally made from caribou

Reindeer

The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...

or seal

Seal hunting

Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. The hunt is currently practiced in five countries: Canada, where most of the world's seal hunting takes place, Namibia, the Danish region of Greenland, Norway and Russia...

was invented by the Caribou Inuit

Caribou Inuit

Caribou Inuit, Barren-ground Caribou hunters, are bands of inland Inuit who lived west of Hudson Bay in northern Canada's Keewatin Region of the Northwest Territories, now the Kivalliq Region of present-day Nunavut between 61° and 65° N and 90° and 102° W...

, Inuit

Inuit

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...

(Eskimo

Eskimo

Eskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....

) of the Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

region, who needed clothing that would protect them from wind chill

Wind chill

Wind chill is the felt air temperature on exposed skin due to wind. The wind chill temperature is always lower than the air temperature, and the windchill is undefined at the higher temps...

and wetness while hunting

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

and kayaking

Kayaking

Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...

. Certain types of Inuit anoraks have to be regularly coated with fish oil

Fish oil

Fish oil is oil derived from the tissues of oily fish. Fish oils contain the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid , and docosahexaenoic acid , precursors of certain eicosanoids that are known to reduce inflammation throughout the body, and are thought to have many health benefits.Fish do not...

to keep their water resistance.

The words anorak and parka are now often used interchangeably, but when first introduced, they described somewhat different garments, and the distinction is still maintained by some. Strictly speaking, an anorak is a waterproof jacket with a hood and drawstring

Drawstring

A drawstring is a string, cord, or rope used to "draw" or tie closed an opening in fabric or other material...

s at the waist and cuffs, and a parka is a knee-length cold-weather jacket or coat; typically stuffed with down

Down feather

The down of birds is a layer of fine feathers found under the tougher exterior feathers. Very young birds are clad only in down. Powder down is a specialized type of down found only in a few groups of birds. Down is a fine thermal insulator and padding, used in goods such as jackets, bedding,...

or very warm synthetic fiber

Synthetic fiber

Synthetic fibers are the result of extensive research by scientists to improve on naturally occurring animal and plant fibers. In general, synthetic fibers are created by forcing, usually through extrusion, fiber forming materials through holes into the air, forming a thread...

, and with a fur-lined hood. Originally an anorak specifically implied a pull-over jacket without a zipper

Zipper

A zipper is a commonly used device for temporarily joining two edges of fabric...

, button

Button

In modern clothing and fashion design, a button is a small fastener, most commonly made of plastic, but also frequently of seashell, which secures two pieces of fabric together. In archaeology, a button can be a significant artifact. In the applied arts and in craft, a button can be an example of...

, or frogged

Frog (fastening)

A frog is an ornamental braiding for fastening the front of a garment that consists of a button and a loop through which it passes....

opening, but this distinction is now largely lost, and many garments with a full-length front opening are now described as anoraks. The anorak and parka have been developed from their traditional forms into a number of different designs using modern materials, notably the Fishtail and Snorkel parkas and the Cagoule
Cagoule (raincoat)
A cagoule, cagoul, kagoule or kagool is the British English term for a lightweight , weatherproof raincoat or anorak with a hood, which often comes in knee-length....

, a form of lightweight anorak.

Etymology

The word anorak comes from the Kalaallisut

Kalaallisut language

Greenlandic is an Eskimo–Aleut language spoken by about 57,000 people in Greenland. It is closely related to the Inuit languages in Canada, such as Inuktitut...

word anoraq. It did not appear in English until 1924; an early definition is "gay beaded item worn by Greenland women or brides in the 1930s". In the early 1950s it was made from nylon

Nylon

Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...

, but changed to poplin

Poplin

Poplin, also called tabinet , is a strong fabric in a plain weave of any fiber or blend, with crosswise ribs that typically gives a corded surface.Poplin traditionally consisted of a silk warp with a weft of worsted yarn...

by 1959, when it featured in Vogue

Vogue (magazine)

Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...

magazine as a fashion item. In 1984, the Observer

The Observer

The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...

newspaper used the term to refer to the type of people who wore it, and "an anorak" became a derogatory term for trainspotters or nerd

Nerd

Nerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive...

s.

The word parka is derived from the Nenets language. In the Aleutian Islands the word simply means "animal skin". It first entered the English written record in a 1625 work by Samual Purchas.

N-3B ("snorkel") parka

The original snorkel parka (USAF N-3B parka, which is 3/4 length and has a full, attached hood; the similar N-2B parka is waist-length and has an attached split hood) was developed in the USA during the early 1950s for military use, mainly for flight crews stationed in extremely cold areas, designed as it was for temperatures down to −60 °F (~-50 °C). Originally made with a sage green DuPont

DuPont

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...

flight silk nylon

Nylon

outer and lining it was padded with a wool blanket

Blanket

A blanket is a type of bedding, generally speaking, a large piece of cloth, intended to keep the user warm, especially while sleeping. Blankets are distinguished from sheets by their thickness and purpose; the thickest sheet is still thinner than the lightest blanket. Blankets are generally used...

type material until the mid 1970s when the padding was changed to polyester

Polyester

Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...

wadding making the jacket both lighter and warmer. The outer shell material also was changed to a sage green cotton-nylon blend, with respective percentages 80–20, 65-35, and 50-50 being used at various times. It gained the common name of "Snorkel Parka" because the hood can be zipped right up leaving only a small tunnel (or snorkel) for the wearer to look out of. This is particularly effective in very cold, windy weather although it has the added liabilities of seriously limiting the field of vision and hearing. Earlier (Vietnam-era) hoods had genuine fur ruffs on the hoods; later versions used synthetic furs. Original manufacturers of this parka for the government included Skyline, Southern Athletic, Lancer, Greenbrier, Workroom For Designers, Alpha, and Avirex. Older nylon-shell parkas have a tendency to exhibit a change in color from the original sage green to a shade of magenta

Magenta

Magenta is a color evoked by light stronger in blue and red wavelengths than in yellowish-green wavelengths . In light experiments, magenta can be produced by removing the lime-green wavelengths from white light...

due to long-term cumulative exposure to ultraviolet

Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...

light from the sun. To some in the military, this is personally desirable, as it lends to its wearer an aura of seasoned experience (referred to as salty

Salty dog (slang)

“Salty Dog” is nautical slang for an experienced sailor who has spent much of their life aboard a ship at sea. A salty dog is often given increased credibility by ship mates in matters pertaining to ship-board life and duties...

by those in the US Navy and US Marine Corps). However, considered in a tactical environment, this is a liability, as it decreases one's ability to be camouflaged on the ground.

The basic N-3B parka design was copied and sold to the civilian market by many manufacturers with varying degrees of quality and faithfulness to the original government specifications. Surplus military parkas are often available for relatively low prices online and in surplus stores; they compare quite favorably with civilian extreme-cold parkas of all types due to their robust construction, designed for combat conditions, and warmth, at (usually) significantly lower prices. However, one would have to be satisfied with the single color choice of sage green.

In the UK, the snorkel parka attained its popularity high point in the late 1970s to mid 1980s when its cheap and hard wearing properties made it the jacket

Jacket

of choice for school kids. It became so popular that at many schools almost every boy had one. Whilst the original N3B parka lining was un-quilted and the same colour as the outer shell, the school type parkas usually has quilted orange lining.

Brands such as Lord Anthony

Lord Anthony

Lord Anthony was a brand of clothing particularly popular in the UK during the 1970s and 1980s, especially their snorkel parka. It became so popular that people would often refer to it as a "a Lord Anthony" rather than a "parka" or "anorak"...

, Campri, Keynote, and Brutus made their names selling snorkel parkas.

In the late 1980s the snorkel parka became unpopular and was associated with geeks and nerds, helping to create the UK term anorak

Anorak (slang)

In British slang an anorak is a person who has a very strong interest, perhaps obsessive, in niche subjects. This interest may be unacknowledged or not understood by the general public...

for such people. As such it became highly unfashionable and for a time wearers became the subject of ridicule.

In Europe the snorkel parka started to regain popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s, being worn by the likes of Liam Gallagher

Liam Gallagher

William John Paul "Liam" Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, the former frontman of the English rock band Oasis and currently of the band Beady Eye. Gallagher's erratic behaviour, distinctive singing style, and abrasive attitude have been the subject of commentary in the press...

, Kenny McCormick

Kenny McCormick

Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is one of the four central characters along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Eric Cartman. His oft-muffled and indiscernible speech—the result of his parka hood covering his...

(South Park

South Park

South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...

), and David Beckham

David Beckham

David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...

. Around 2004, the traditional association with "Anoraks" had faded and the Snorkel Parka became a main-stream fashion jacket once more becoming particularly popular in the indie scene and with now middle-aged people recapturing memories of their school snorkel parkas. It is also once again popular as a school jacket, though at nothing like the same level of popularity as it achieved in the 1970s and 1980s.

Most modern parkas more closely resemble the original 1950s design and have lost the orange quilted lining of the 70's school parkas, however the old school style are now considered highly desirable selling for high prices in vintage clothing shops.

Snorkel jackets remain very popular within Hip Hop culture being worn by both men and women and also have an association with Indie pop

Indie pop

Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...

Fishtail parka

The fishtail parka was first used by the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

in 1951 to help protect soldiers from the elements in the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

.

There are two main styles of fishtail parkas: the M-51 fishtail parka and the M-65. The M stands for military, and the number is the year it was standardized. The name fishtail comes from the fact that the coat is longer at the back than it is at the front. This was so the coat could be tied around the upper legs, much like a Knochensack

Knochensack

Knochensack was the nickname for German parachute jump smocks designed to wear over a paratrooper's equipment made for the Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger during World War II. They were made in a variety of camouflage patterns and made from tough cotton material.There were several models in use in 1936,...

for added wind proofing as they are not, as some think, waterproof. The hood of the M-51 Fishtail Parka is integral to the jacket and folds down inside the jacket collar when not in use. The M-65 fishtail parka has a detachable hood. Both types feature a removable liner. Designed primarily for combat arms forces such as infantry, they are to be worn over other layers of clothing; alone, the fishtail parka is insufficient to protect against "dry cold" (as used in the US military; see FM 31-70, Cold Weather Field Manual) conditions (i.e., below 14 °F.). On the other hand, the N-3B parka (above) has more integral insulation and can be worn alone in colder temperatures than the fishtail parka. Because it has less insulation but is designed to fit loosely, it allows infantry more latitude to add or subtract layers underneath to adapt to changing weather or situational conditions than that allowed by the N-3B parka, which was designed for aircrews who typically worked under more static weather and geographic conditions. With proper additional insulating garments in the US military inventory, one can remain warm with the fishtail parka in −60 °F. temperatures. The fishtail parka has been replaced in the US military by the Extended Cold Weather Clothing System

Extended Cold Weather Clothing System

The Extended Cold Weather Clothing System is a protective clothing system developed in the 1980s by the United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, Natick, Massachusetts...

(ECWCS).

In the 1960s UK, the fishtail parka became a symbol of the mod subculture

Subculture

In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...

. Due to their practicality, cheapness and availability from army surplus shops, the parka was seen as the ideal garment for fending off the elements when on the mod's vehicle of choice, the scooter

Scooter (motorcycle)

A scooter is a motorcycle with step-through frame and a platform for the operator's feet. Elements of scooter design have been present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motorcycles identifiable as scooters have been made from 1914 or earlier...

. Its place in popular culture was assured by newspaper pictures of parka-clad mods during the Bank Holiday riots

Mods and Rockers

The Mods and Rockers were two conflicting British youth subcultures of the early-mid 1960s. Mods and rockers fighting in 1964 sparked a moral panic about British youths, and the two groups were seen as folk devils. The rockers were motorcyclists, wearing clothes such as black leather jackets. The...

of the 1960s.

Cagoule

A cagoul, cagoule, or kagoule is the British English

British English

British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...

term for a lightweight, weatherproof anorak or parka, usually without the lining and sometimes coming to knee-length.

A cagoule which can be rolled up into a very compact package and carried in a bag or pocket was invented by Noel Bibby of Peter Storm Ltd

Peter Storm (clothing)

Peter Storm is an outdoor clothing brand originally developed in the United Kingdom. It was originally created in 1954 by former Royal Marine Noel Bibby as a company supplying waterproof nylon rainwear....

. in the early 1960s. It has an integral hood, elasticated or drawstring cuffs, and a few poppers or a short zip at the neck. Like the original Aleut anorak it does not open fully at the front and must be pulled on over the head. In some versions, when rolled up, the hood doubles as a bag into which the rest of the coat is pushed. It became very popular in the United Kingdom during the 1970s.

External links

A traditional Inuit parka at the Sheldon Jackson Museum, in Alaska

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Etymology

N-3B ("snorkel") parka

Fishtail parka

Cagoule

See also

External links