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"Planning on flexing your sartorial muscles in the blog arena? You\u2019ll need to come packing. And no, we\u2019re not referring to your pocket square game. Every week on The Eye, we\u2019ll cover a basic term you need to know right now... before you get laughed off the internet.\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\nOf all the purchases we make heading into the cooler months, few are as calculated and researched as the winter coat. Weights are studied, fabrics are investigated, lengths are compared, all in hopes that we\u2019ll find that elusive &amp;quot;perfect jacket.&amp;quot; Yet, in the end, wouldn\u2019t it just be easier to forget all that and pick a jacket based purely on name? Because let\u2019s face it; is there any piece of clothing that sounds cooler than the Snorkel? Before you think I\u2019m about to chalk up one of the greatest pieces of outerwear ever designed to nothing more than a name, let\u2019s take a step back half a decade, before the snorkel parka ever even had it\u2019s mighty moniker, back when it was simply known as the N-3B.\n\nIt was around this time that the U.S. military began to outgrow their current parka style, the predictably named N-2B. While the waist length, split-hooded N-2B had worked for years, it was simply not hearty enough to withstand the increasingly harsh conditions that soldiers faced. Thus the N-3B was invented. A three-quarters length, fully hooded jacket, it was designed specially for aircraft carrier flight deck crews who could face temperatures as low as negative sixty degrees fahrenheit. The hood was the jacket\u2019s key finishing touch, allowing the wearer to completely seal off their entire face except for one tiny gap at the top that acted as an air hole - hence the Snorkel nickname.\n\nFor a decade or so, the military produced the jackets with a nylon shell and a blanket lining, but as the years past, new technologies emerged, allowing for constant improvements to the jacket\u2019s composition. In the \u201970s, polyester was introduced to the market, and while most might hear that word and think about itchy suits and awful disco tracks, to the military polyester was the final key in realizing the snorkel parka\u2019s intended protective power. The polyester lined snorkel could brave fierce ocean winds, and subzero temperatures, ensuring the utmost level of protection on the front lines. And hey, if it\u2019s strong enough for the military then it\u2019s more than enough for us civilians. It was around this time surplus companies began producing the snorkel parka to the exact same specs as the military version and selling it everyday folks.\n\nSnorkel parkas for Fall 2012: (L to R) Michael Bastian, Todd Snyder, Viktor Rolf\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\nMuch like the MA-1 bomber and other military pieces, the early adopters were all drawn to the garments for their exceptionally low price points. In the case of the snorkel, it became a staple of school kids in the UK; chosen by parents who wanted something both cheap and something that could also take all the mayhem that a teenager could and would throw at it. Soon thereafter, the jacket spread to the masses, not only in England, but throughout Europe and in the states well. In the \u201980s and \u201990s, it was donned by East Coast rappers who loved the jacket\u2019s puffy lining and oversized hoods while simultaneously picked up by indie rockers in the Northwest lo for something simple that could carry them through the blustery winters.\n\nRecently the snorkel parka has become a favorite style for American designers that bridge the gap between sportswear and surplus. Designers such as Aaron Levine at Club Monaco and Todd Snyder have worked to update the outerwear, subbing out its puffy lining for slimmer options like fleece blankets and toying with colors that break from the typical sage green (think punchier options like safety orange). If you\u2019re looking for a workhorse piece of outerwear that will get you through a potentially hellish winter just think of what those \u201950\u2019s-era soldiers wore working on ships and the choice becomes pretty clear. And let\u2019s be honest, does anything sound more badass than saying you\u2019re wearing a snorkel parka? Yeah, I didn\u2019t think so.\n\nJake Gallagher writes the blog Wax-Wane. He lives in Manhattan."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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