Textiles and Dress

Chore jacket

A chore jacket, also known as a chore coat or French worker's jacket, is a jacket that originated in 19th-century France. Designed for laborers, railroad workers, and farmers, it is traditionally crafted from durable fabrics like denim, heavy cotton drill, or moleskin, featuring roomy pockets (originally for tools and tobacco tins), and button cuffs to allow easy rolling of the sleeves. The American variant is called a barn jacket. Both share a boxy cut, multiple front pockets, and durable fabrics, though the barn jacket is generally warmer, heavier and more structured, often with a waxed or weatherproof finish designed for outdoor work in colder climates. Its most recognizable feature is the corduroy or leather collar, a detail absent from traditional French chore coats.

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See also

• ▸1650–1700 in Western fashion
• ▸Faiyum Oasis
• ▸Bralessness

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