A fleece jacket (or simply a fleece) is a lightweight

casual Casual or Casuals may refer to: * Casual wear, a loosely defined dress code **Business casual a loosely defined dress code **Smart casual a loosely defined dress code * Casual Company, term used by the United States military to describe a type of ...

jacket A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves, and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which ...

made of a

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...

synthetic wool such as polar fleece. A fleece jacket will typically have a zipper up the middle, rather than buttons or other fasteners. It will provide thermal insulation but is not normally weatherproof and so it will not effectively keep out wind and rain.

History

Polar fleece originated in Massachusetts in 1979 when Malden Mills, (now Polartec LLC), and Patagonia developed Synchilla (synthetic

chinchilla Chinchillas are either of two species (''Chinchilla chinchilla'' and ''Chinchilla lanigera'') of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha. They are slightly larger and more robust than ground squirrels, and are native to the Andes mount ...

). It was a new, light, strong pile fabric meant to mimic—and in some ways surpass—wool. Company CEO Aaron Feuerstein intentionally declined to patent Polar fleece, allowing the material to be produced cheaply and widely by many vendors, leading to the material's quick and wide acceptance.

References

Jackets {{clothing-stub