The history of the jacket goes back to the late Stone Age, when the first hunting clothes were produced from the hides and fur of animals that had been hunted or caught. During the 18th century, the formal and military coat became the symbol of the noblemen, and the officers of the Army and Navy. The earliest reference to the word "jacket" is dated around 1530, when it appeared in the English language in a poem, The A-esope of Folly" by John Skelton. In the second half of the 19th century, the use of the jacket to refer to a man's coat began to fade, while it was still being used to refer to a woman's coat. The term "jacket" is still used to describe the shorter mens coat, which is a part of a suit. It can be used interchangeably to refer to the waist-length, often single-breasted, garment worn with a pair of pants or a skirt. The garment is also often incorrectly referred to as a "vest", but is actually a type of coat.
