Jackets worn by school children as part of a uniform in a lot of British schools.
Most of them are straightforward colours like black or dark blue but my own school had a particularly revolting colour scheme of red and navy blue stripes.
This wasn`t as bad as another local school though which had a sickening combination of orange and silver stripes.
Maybe it was meant to encourage a kind of tribal warfare.

Originally, a man's light jacket, often single-breasted, that is not part of a standard suit, specifically because the jacket is a different color from the pants. It is often part of a uniform, and in the case of school uniforms a blazer may be striped in the school colors. As you might imagine, while blazers are socially acceptable in the proper context, they are often a bit on the ugly or gaudy side.

The term blazer is comparatively recent, first appearing as a bit of British university slang in 1880. It comes from the 'blazing' red of the flannel jackets worn by the St. John's College, Cambridge boating club, and was quickly generalized to any bright jacket worth by college students.

These days most blazers are black, grey, or dark blue, and are fairly stolid garments. They are distinguished from a sportcoat, if at all, by a less formal cut and bright metal buttons. They are also no longer just a men's jacket, and most blazing blazers seen today are worn by women.

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Blaz"er (&?;), n.

One who spreads reports or blazes matters abroad. "Blazers of crime." Spenser.

 

© Webster 1913


Blaz"er (?), n.

1.

Anything that blazes or glows, as with heat or flame.

2.

A light jacket, usually of wool or silk and of a bright color, for wear at tennis, cricket, or other sport.

3.

The dish used when cooking directly over the flame of a chafing-dish lamp, or the coals of a brasier.

 

© Webster 1913

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