I grew up in the midwest and letter jackets were the thing. You never wore one without a letter and I was so relieved when I finally lettered in one of my sports and we could go down to the local sporting goods store and order mine at last. When I go home to my parents and we go to church in the winter, the kids are still wearing them. It's unnerving to see the class numbers that don't start with "9".

I live on the west coast now and it's only a thing at specific schools. It's a very big deal at our local large state flagship university among the athletes, which is perplexing because otherwise it's not a school that's really known for school spirit. The current athletes don't really wear them but when they come back as alumni they definitely do.

I graduated high school in 1994 and played three varsity sports and didn’t buy a varsity jacket and almost no one in my high school did.

My kids go to a FCPS high school and have earned varsity letters. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a varsity jacket for their school. But the kids get spirit wear for their teams including kinda expensive rain jackets that they love.

Anonymous wrote:Why do you feel sad for them if it's something they never looked forward to?

+1

The jackets are not trendy and mostly stay in the closets. Tastes change, not to mention, so many kids do sports through private clubs rather than school.

https://community-sitcom.fandom.com/wiki/Troy%27s_letterman_jacket

“ You were on top of the world before and now no one gives a rat's a**. I can help you with your image. First lose the jacket, you look like a high school b*****.”
PIERCE, "INTRODUCTION TO FILM".

I graduated HS in 2006 in northern CA and these were not a thing. It may be regional because, growing up, I always associated these jackets with teen drama shows and wasn’t aware there were areas where these were popular amongst actual HS students.

I had a letterman's jacket in high school (class of '84), which I wore frequently, but the letter I earned remained pinned to the bulletin board in my room. For some reason, we didn't sew them on.

I still have my jacket and love it--it is so warm. But i only wear it to walk the dog sometimes. Mine is not in the classic bomber style--for some reason I and many of the girls in my high school went with jackets that were more like wool barn coats-- the sleeves are wool, not leather, it has a wool shirt collar, not ribbed, and it falls to the tops of my thighs, with no ribbing at the waist. High school name in a half circle on one breast, my name embroidered on one sleeve. Rich purple. Gorgeous. 🙂