letterman jackets -Are they popular?

[georgina]

No class rings for my kids, graduation between 2008 & 2013. Athletic DD has a ton of hoodies, jackets, rain pants, sweat pants, a rugby style shirt, etc from her playing days. No letter jackets though.

 

[soccerdad72]

Bought one for my older son after his freshman year when he got his first letter. I think he wore it three times in three years. He never wore a jacket to school because he said there wasn’t enough room in his locker to hang it up.

Younger son never wanted one. I’ve seen a few kids wearing them, but not a lot

 

[tcufrog]

Letter jackets and class rings aren't popular around here now. When I was in college, my university didn't have a ring ceremony but they do now. I don't know how big a deal it is though.

 

[sam_gordon]

Can't remember the last time I saw someone wearing a Letterman's jacket form public or private school. My son got a Letter for being on the baseball team, but he framed it and hung it on the wall of his bedroom, no jacket.

Not in my kids schools in So. Florida but I think too it’s just too hot to wear jackets in general.

They need letter sweaters...

 

[greeneyedchick]

I recently saw an article that said letterman jackets are no longer popular. It also mentioned that now they are used not just for sports but may be used for academics and things like yearbook. As far as I know our public high school only has them for athletic activities but I don't know anyone who has one. A friend just got hers for her son in private Catholic school for football. She said that they have a meaning in private schools but not public schools. Are they popular near you today and is the school public, secular private or religious private.

My daughter has one from her school and she loves it. Her school doesn't have many sports (it's a small, private Arts school). She has pins from yearbook, national honor society, ink and scroll and Thespians. My son goes to a large public high school. He's in a varsity sport. When he asked when he gets a letter for a letterman jacket, they laughed at him. Not popular there. Of course, we live in FL, so jackets in general aren't popular.

 

[Kae]

yes both my kids got them. And DH and had them too and we had letter sweaters.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My son got a lettered jacket for varsity athletics but they gave them out on the last day of the school year so he never actually wore it. I think a Captain’s pin came with it, too. It’s in the closet with plastic over it.

We didn’t have to buy it, I think maybe the Booster Club paid for them.

I never knew you could get a letter by itself.

 

[NotUrsula]

My DD is 15, and it's a trend around here to wear vintage letter jackets. All of the kids are raiding their parents' storage closets.

I have one of my own from HS, and I agree; very warm. I got it at the beginning of sophomore year and wore it through HS (paid for by booster club), but once I graduated I put it away pretty much permanently. DD does wear it sometimes.

 

[mumto3girls]

Class rings aren’t big here either. None of my kids have ever asked for one. My youngest is a high school sophomore though so I guess she could. I don’t know anyone their ages though that have one. Same for letterman jackets.

Youngest DD is my athlete and most of her friends—boys and girls—are athletes. She lettered her freshman year and was given her varsity letter at the end of season banquet, but I don’t know of anyone who wears a jacket. She laughed when I asked her about jackets—she thought it was just something you saw in movies. Her letter is with her mementos.

When I was in high school the jackets were popular. You could letter in athletics or Marching Band. I lettered in band and my parents bought me a jacket that I wore through high school. Most people got class rings, but I thought they were ugly and didn’t want one. I don’t regret that at all.

 

[EMom]

I think it depends a lot on where you live. DD graduated relatively recently from a Texas public HS and they are still popular here. Our school pays for the jacket, one letter patch, and embroidering your name (kind of small) on front. Of course, the kids want more. Mine wanted her name (big, long patch$$$) across the back, and we paid for additional earned letter patches on the sleeves. Then you pay to have them sewn on. That “free” letter jacket from the school ran us $350-400 extra. Thank goodness she resisted adding bling to it. Yes, it was a lot of money, but she didn’t want a class ring, and she’d worked incredibly hard, so we paid for the letter jacket extras. I told her ahead of time that she would never wear that jacket a single day after she graduated, and she acknowledged that. It’s still hanging in her closet, along with her TEXAS SIZE homecoming mums.

 

[Disney Ella]

They were popular when I was in school but no one at my kids' high school had them (different state). They still gave out physical letters but I have no idea what the kids were supposed to do with them.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I only remember them being a thing in movies set on the 50s.

 

[slo]

At the HS my girls went to a letterman jacket is VERY important to the athletes, but not as important to other groups.

The athletes jacket looks different than the other groups. The ONLY way an athlete can buy one is if they earn a letter and only varsity players get a letter. This HS is very large so if you letter as a freshman that is a huge accomplishment. For baseball, softball and maybe soccer if you are JV for freshman & sophmore year, but not good enough to make varsity your junior year, then you’re done - no juniors or seniors are allowed on JV. If you are a 4 year varsity baseball, softball or soccer that is an awesome accomplishment, so kids like my DD wore that jacket very proudly. I just finished putting her last patches on her coat - she’s playing in college now and no longer wearing it, but I still wanted it to be complete

 

[momz]

Not really. I mean I see some kids wearing them, but in general it's reward for the wealthy. I know that may sound extreme. But our school system is very diverse. We have majority minority with a good portion being first generation Chin. These kids earn their letters, but don't have the means to get the jacket. Generally the people you see wearing them in our district are the kids who come from families with means. My son got a jacket, put some of the insignia on it, but it quickly fell out of interest for him. My daughter didn't even want one.

But, letters are earned for a number of things. Athletics are not the only way to work hard.

 

[Micca]

Some places they call them Taylor Ham Coats

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

DS graduated from HS in 2015 from an all boys Catholic high school. The boys ordered the lettermen’s jackets with their names embroidered on them at the beginning of freshman year. Earning the letters came later. For JV sports, they got a mini letter, but none of the boys put the mini letter on the jacket. DS got mini letters his freshman and sophomore years and larger varsity letters his junior and senior years. He has a stack of each kind in a drawer. The boys all waited until they got their big varsity letter to sew one on the jacket. Even if a kid never earned any letter, he still wore his jacket proudly.

My DD went to a public HS. She earned her first varsity letter her freshman year. For subsequent earned letters, she received a pin for each additional year in the varsity sport, which she attached to the letter. Jackets were not a thing at her school. All the teams got sports specific warm up suits with their names and sport embroidered on them. The warm up suit jackets were worn all the time.

 

[georgina]

Some places they call them Taylor Ham Coats

OK, this is the 2nd time I have seen a Taylor Ham reference here. I know what it is referring to, but no idea why it is suddenly a thing again? Did I mess some random pop culture mention?

 

[rowan1813]

Around here it isn't as popular as it was when I was in high school; I teach at the high school I graduated from. A number of factors go into that including cost (we are a Title 1 school with a migrant population that has increased since I was in high school), our go-to store (was around for decades) for jackets closed during the pandemic and while there is another store that has taken over, it isn't as widely advertised, and just student participation in athletics and performing arts (can letter in those) is way down.

I will say that I lettered in choir and academic excellence when I was in high school and my mom got me a jacket. It was bulky and cumbersome for me in high school with a backpack so I didn't wear it very often. Now however, teaching at the same high school, I find myself wearing my letterman jacket on Fridays more than I ever did as a student so it works out. Many faculty on my campus are former students who also wear their jackets when it gets cold and it's fun to see the different generations of jackets that are represented.