Frontier Partisans

The Adventurers, Rangers and Scouts Who Fought the Battles of Empire

The Field Blazer — Who Wore it Best?

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My friend Craig Rullman and I share a great deal in common, including aesthetic taste. Recently, I ran across a photo of an Afghan hunter from the 1970s that brought up an important point of appreciation that often goes overlooked: the manly fashion statement that is the Field Blazer.

Craig’s commentary was:

“Huge fan of the field blazer in most scenarios. He’s rocking this ensemble.”

 

Indeed, he is. But this line of thinking inevitably led to the key question in every fashionista scenario: Who wore it best?

After all, the Field Blazer has been deployed by some of history’s most renowned Frontier Partisans, from Boer War commandos to Mexican Revolutionary fighters. And, of course, it is a staple of British shooting/hunting tradition.

Boer General Christiaan De Wet was a snappy dresser even under the most arduous of veldt conditions. Even his choice of Mauser rifles was stylish:
A bowtie adds some panache for a young General Jan Smuts.
Many of the riders with the Boer Commandos rocked the Field Blazer, at least until guerrilla warfare conditions reduced them to rags and captured khaki (which could get them executed).

Corduroy is an excellent choice for the fashionable commando commander.

 

The full-torso bandolier is an impressive touch, but not for everybody.

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Then you have Mexican Revolutionary General Francisco Villa, who managed to look frumpy no matter what he was wearing, and the cool, ferocious elegance of the extremely dangerous General Rudolfo Fierro (to Villa’s immediate right in photo):

 

UPDATE: Tom from Arizona quite rightly points out that none other than Geronimo should be in the running here. Those conchos bring an awful lot of panache, must admit.

 

Weigh in in the comments section. Who wore it best?

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Comments

  1. Matthew says

    I’m a t-shirt and jeans man myself, but it is stylish.

    By the way, is that a fox that the guy in the first photo is wearing as a mask?

    Reply

  4. tom says

    i think top prize for a blazer wearing warrior just might go to geronimo, the chiricahua apache who ranged here in the southwest and northern sierra madre in mexico. however, since i am no “clotheshorse” those jackets he wore in many photos might not be identified as blazers?

    Reply

  5. Clint Richards says

    Ahhh yes, the old tactical tweed. I’ve always loved the look of the insurgentes in the Mexican Revolution with their bandoleers of Mauser ammo strapped over their jackets and sweaters. Like the Boers before them, fighting the power in somewhat dignified yet rough-hewn style. After living on the border for a few years though, I wonder how they wore all of that stuff without dying of dehydration. Even in the winter it usually still warmed up enough to make me feel a bit overheated in a jacket or suit. Seeing all of these pictures makes me wonder. What would the modern equivalent be today? If I wanted to raid border towns in style, would I just go to JC Penney and get a “two-for-1” special on suits and go with that? Modern suits just don’t seem to be as sturdy as the suits that those partisans, ruffians, and raiders wore back in the day.

    Reply

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