The Raglan sleeve is renowned worldwide, throughout both fashion and sport. But just like many fashion designs, it has a deep history behind its invention. In 1815, FitzRoy James Henry Somerset had lost his arm while fighting in the Battle of Waterloo and well-established British brand Aquascutum (another Latin-named brand!), who were then making coats for soldiers, created a sleeve that extended fully to the collar. Instead of a prefixed sleeve, this would leave a diagonal seam from the underarm to the collarbone. This gave FitzRoy Somerset much more room for manoeuvre in his remaining arm and could continue to wield his sword in battle.
In 1852 Fitzroy was raised to the peerage of Lord Raglan, 1st Baron of Raglan in the county of Monmouthshire, just ten miles from where Vive Ut Vivas was founded. This is how it became known as the Raglan Sleeve.
Nowadays, the Raglan sleeve has been used by some of biggest and well-known fashion and sports brands around the world. As it gives greater movement to the wearer, you can often see it utilised in sports where swinging the arms is fundamental such as cricket or baseball.
Our new Patch Raglan Sweatshirts and Vista Raglan Sweatshirts offer a new design for the AW Injection, and are available in a variety of colours now.