Raccoon coat

Automobile coat made out of raccoon fur (1906, U.S.)

Raccoon coats were a fad in the United States during the 1920s, particularly with (male) college students in the middle and later years of the decade. They are full-length fur coats. They became popular due to the stories of Davy Crockett and popular artist James Van Der Zee.[1] George Olsen and His Music released a recording highlighting the fad in 1928, titled "Doin' the Raccoon", with the lyrics:

From every college campus comes the cheer: oy-yoy!
The season for the raccoon coat is here, my boy!
Rough guys, tough guys, men of dignity,
Join the raccoon coat fraternity, soon,
To do the raccoon!

A few months after Olsen's recording hit the air, the November 16, 1929 issue of The Saturday Evening Post featured an Alan Foster illustration of several college men wearing raccoon coats.[2] The raccoon coat (many times accompanied with a straw boater, wingtip spectator oxfords, and either a saxophone or a ukelele) has been referenced numerous times in movies and television, both as a symbol of the Jazz Age and as a cliché motif of collegiate enthusiasm.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Fashion Encyclopedia: Modern World 1919–1929. Entry for Raccoon Coat
  2. ↑ The Saturday Evening Post - Alan Foster Gallery

External links