Vintage Burberry Blazer Jacket. Perhaps no brand is more closely associated with the idea of Britishness than Burberry. Founded in 1856 by Thomas Burberry, the company began as a manufacturer of technically innovative outdoor apparel. Like the 19th century equivalent of Arc’Teryx, Burberry became the uniform of outdoorsy guys with cash to burn. Thomas Burberry’s sons began using the nova check—a white, black and red plaid against a beige background—to line the brand’s weatherproof garments and let customers know they were buying quality. Advertisements featured explorers, like Captain Scott and Sir Ernest Shakleton, and during the Boer War and World War I, Burberry outfitted officers with their iconic trench coats (most famously worn by Lord Kitchener, a real life British version of Uncle Sam). After the war, the trench entered civilian wardrobes –where it has remained a mainstay of British fashion ever since.
